Today was a solo hike in Liberty Lake – about 10 minutes from the house. Great scenery and views and, if you don’t count the yeti, just me on the trail!

We drove to Newman Lake to hike the Turtle Rock and Bedrock Ridge Loop. It was a beautiful day and we had the trail pretty much to our selves.

We had great views from Turtle Rock.

Today’s hike was with Meetup on one of the trails in the 275 acre Trautman Conservation Area.

Hoping to find some fall color and not wanting to waste a warm day, we hiked to the CCC cabin atop Beauty Mountain in Mount Spokane State Park.

Today’s Frontrunner walk was a hunt for fall colors in Kendall Yards and along a portion of the Centennial Trail.

Today I met a Meetup group at Indian Painted Rock to hike the Knothead Valley Loop.

The trail passes the Little Spokane River.

It was raining when we left the condo at 5:30 for our flight to Frankfurt.

Our flight to Seattle was late and the drug-sniffing dog found the banana I forgot to eat, so we had to go through the agriculture screening. We made our connection but only because our gate was right outside Passport Control and the flight had been delayed. We arrived in Spokane after 22 hours of travel, but the checked bags missed the connection and will be delivered in the morning.

All in all, a great trip!

This was the second day of our Hop On Hop Off bus tour. We hopped on near the harbor (once again under the watchful eye of El Cap de Barcelona – created by Roy Lichtenstein for the 1992 Olympics) and hopped off at Olympic Port.

After some beachcombing we hopped back on the bus.

The 42-acre Park Güell was was constructed between 1900 and 1914 and was envisioned as a residential community.

The walk to the metro station took us by some interesting buildings including Casa Vicens. Gaudi’s first major project – plans drawn between 1880 and 1883 and construction beginning in 1878.

Gaudi’s Basilica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia was consecrated in 2010. Groundbreaking occurred March 19, 1882. I believe it is 80% complete.

We checked out the west facade.

Then we went up Passion tower. Access is by elevator and a short climb. There are several balconies before, and during, the climb down the spiral staircases.

Gaudi also designed some furniture/accessories.

After lunch and a nap we took a harbor cruise.

The 37th America’s Cup race is going on.

Casa Milà (La Pedrera) was the last private residence designed by Antoni Gaudí. The main floor was occupied by the Milà family and the rest of the building was rental apartments.

Casa Batlló during the day. Saint George is the patron saint of Barcelona. The tiled roof is said to symbolize a dragon’s back, the bottom floors symbolize his lair, and the spire symbolizes St George’s lance.

La Casa de les Punxes (Casa Terrades) was originally three residences for sisters. It was designed by Josef Puig i Cadafalch and construction started in 1905.

Tonight we had dinner on the waterfront.

We had an early transfer to the airport.

We arrived in Barcelona around noon – in time for a bite to eat and a nice nap.

We had dinner at an excellent tapas restaurant and passed Gaudi’s Casa Batlló on our way home.

We sailed for Porto at dawn and enjoyed a relaxing morning on the river.

After lunch we took a city tour.

Then we walked across the upper deck of the Luiz I Bridge.

We walked across and back on the lower deck before heading back to the boat.

We had a morning excursion to Lamego. A highlight was the Baroque staircase – 686 steps – from the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Remedies to the plaza.

12th century tower and 16th century cathedral.

I was able to sneak in a quick visit to the cemetery.

Bus ride to the ship.

Back through the lock (155’) at Carrapatelo Dam.

Sailing to Entre-do-Rios.

We left port early and cruised until midafternoon.

Our afternoon excursion was to Quinta San Luiz where we visited C N Kopke winery, established in 1638.

After dinner we had a demonstration of opening vintage Port.

After breakfast we rode the bus to Salamanca.

Salamanca was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. First we had some time to explore on our own.

Then we had a traditional lunch followed by a flamenco demonstration.

Our visit ended with a city tour.

Then we met the ship in Barca d’Alva, Portugal.

Rain and clouds on the cruise to Foz do Sabor

After breakfast we had a Pastéis de Nata baking demonstration and sample.

After lunch we took a bus to the Costelo Rodrigo.

We had light rain for our tour of the castle and the walled city.

We met the boat at the dock in Spain and will spend the night here.

Fog in Porto delayed sailing for about an hour.

Carrapetelo Lock is the tallest lock (115’) on the Douro River

Our afternoon excursion was to Mateus Palace and Gardens.

Dinner was across the river at Quinta da Pacheca. Documents mention the winery in 1551 and the Pacheca estate in 1738.

We boarded the buses and headed for Óbidos, our first stop on the way to Porto.

Óbidos is a walled medieval city dating from the 12th century although the area has been inhabited since at least the 8th century.

Our second stop was a tour and lunch at Qinta Do Sanguinhal Winery, established in the 19th century.

At our last stop we encountered a motorcycle club on a run.

We reached the cruise ship terminal in Porto around 5:30.

Our group tour officially started with a guided tour of Lisbon. First stop was Edward VII Park.

Our next stop was the Bethlehem (Belém) neighborhood where we visited the Church of St Jerome’s Monastery and the garden at Empire Square.

Then we stopped at the Tower of Belém.

Our final stop was Tower of Discovery where we were treated to our first sample of port wine and pastel de nata (the “originals” from Pastéis de Belém).

After a brief rest we explored the area around the hotel.

After a farewell breakfast at our favorite cafe we were off to Figueira da Foz – the Queen of Beaches.

Fort Santa Catarina – believed to be from the reign of King John I (1385-1433).

Next we headed for Nazaré – home of world record waves (but not at this time of year).

We walked through narrow streets and walkways and discovered some hidden gems.

The funicular of Nossa Senhora da Nazaré was inaugurated on July 28, 1889. The last modernization was in 2002. It connects the neighborhoods of Praia and Sítio rising over 1000’.

We took a quick tour Sítio.

We returned to Praia to continue our drive to Lisbon.

Lisbon from the lounge of our hotel.