For those of you wondering, this is a video I found in an old external drive and had never released, so we had some fun and thought we would put out a "Way Back Wednesday" so for those of you thinking I changed my look, got less bald, shaved the beard, and used some amazing face cream... I am sorry to disappoint you :) back to "old Mark" videos later this week. If you want to keep up with some of our current travels visit our @woltersworldshorts channel and see where we are today!
And here I was hoping you would be able to share your secret for regrowing hair and your skin-care routine! I had AWESOME hair until the Marines got ahold of my grape!
Morning from freezing Ireland, try Armacao de Pera. Have been going there for 22years on holiday. (Have been around the World twice) my tip is eat where the locals eat.
Mark, speaking of Illinois, when I visited Portugal I went with 2 ladies from Illinois. Before we traveled there we checked the similarities between Illinois and Portugal. Both places are about the same size and both places are at about the same latitude. Illinois suffers from a continental climate while Portugal has such a nice climate due to be so close to the ocean. As far as the nice, smaller cities, I would suggest Sagres. It's a sleepy little fishing town with great views and it even has a fort you can visit. It's also where they make the great cerveja (beer) named after the town.
Fantastic video. What a passion for sharing great tips. I moved with my fam last August and live in Portugal since. Exactly fro the reasons you've mentioned. Sunny days, friendly people, fantastic food and music. We live almost all day outside wearing short and t'shirts most days! You can see it is chosen as one of the best places to spent the weekend or for expats to life as it is getting bussier every month.
In Portugal and Spain, we have our eating hours very tabled. Lunch 12-14, dinner from 20-22. Restaurants downgrade to coffeshops outside of those hours exept for the turistic stuff.
Tip: Most all European countries close their kitchens from 2-7 and some until 8. A good idea is to stop at a market or grocery store and grabs some nonperishable food like protein bars. Have it in your backpack. Because you will be doing a lot of walking, and burning calories so it's good especially to have protein bars available. And to book your places to eat for 8 because you are eating with the locals instead of the tourists and it will be guaranteed a spot. Especially Michelin star places. I am traveling to Portugal in October for 3 weeks. Starting from Porto and traveling through the north (of course the Douro), through the Alentejo region, and then down to the south for a couple days. Booking any tours you might take in advance will save you money and time. But in my opinion the only tour you SHOULD take in the south is a boat/kayaking tour to explore the caves. Also, Alentejo has amazing wineries as well, so don't completely focus on the Douro while there.
Have a friends trip to Portugal coming up soon. This was super helpful and quite timely! In addition, as a part of the trip, my wife and I are scouting it to possibly retire 4-6 months a year there as well. Super excited to go!!
Thanks Mark for putting this video out. I went to Spain 3 years ago, Barcelona was my favorite out of all of them I've seen there (Alicante,Granada,Madrid,Segovia) for anyone reading this. I recommend checking out all of those places I just mentioned actually. That being said, I loved Barca the most. This summer if all goes well, my girlfriend and I are heading to Portugal for 8 days at the end of August. It's been under my radar of places I want to go for some years now.
Heading back to Spain a few weeks and all of these are true. I remember my first time in Spain and getting used to eating dinner after 8pm was an adjustment lol
As a Canadian, I can't imagine spending all that money to travel to a foreign place just to spend the whole time drunk. If they must, why not get drunk at home then? Yet thousands of European tourists do precisely that, and miss out on all the musea, interesting sightseeing or unique non-drinking cultural experiences that one could experience in those places.
@@Pedruu17 I was in Portugal for 3 months on an academic exchange as a part of my PhD program, working about 14 hour days, and took a 4-day whirlwind trip across the country at the end (it's all the free time I had), seeing 14 different cities. It was in Albufeira where I noticed nothing but bars and overtourism ruining the historic city (Faro and Portimao were much nicer in my opinion). I saw all 3 cities (along with Lagos) in the same day. The price premium for eating out in Portugal (restaurant prices as a multiple of the cost of buying the raw ingredients at the supermarket) was about 1.5-2x, versus Poland at about 3x and Canada at 5-10x. I ate out a lot during my time there. And yes, I remember the 2 Delta Cafés on every block in many cities, and was advised to avoid them and go to the independent pastry places instead.
In my comute I use some of the most turistic streets in Lisbon. Sometimes I see tourists confused and I try to slow donw and show that I'm available for answering any question. Most of the times they dont ask. Sometimes I just stop and ask if they keed help. They ask for directions and I help, but just coming up to people and ask if they are in need of help feels weird, but I get very conscious about myself if i see someone looking stressed at a map and dont do anything. If you need help, just stop the first person you see if they dont look like they are in a rush. They will most certainly stop and help you. And I goes to the jar of the "good action of the day".
I've found walking into a random grocery store to buy some produce and eating at an ordinary workers' cafeteria in a foreign land more culturally enriching than most restaurants (and better prices too), especially fine dining ones, which I find have a sort of 'sameness' to them.
Hi! Spain and Portugal, we are the same kind, the same family. We are Iberians, I’m Spaniard , and feel that Portugal is my family. Greetings from Madrid (where the streets have no name) P. D. I love U2 and I subscribe 😊
The English part isn’t very true for Portugal, but I guess that this is an older video, so I guess that back then English wasn’t so widely spoken in the country. Currently, almost everyone will be able to communicate in English, even the old ladies in the fish market.
Agreed, was there for two weeks back in March (in Porto to be precise) and everyone speaks at least some english. As to overpriced flip-flops/swimsuits/sun blockers - not really, it's about the same price, unless you are buying in typical "tourist traps"
Agreed, tho in Spain is still not very spoken (but everyday more and more tho) , in Portugal almost everyone can speak it at some level.......must be an old video (probably pre-pandemic)
I also noticed that if the Portuguese couldn't speak English as a second language, they quite often could speak French as a second language (especially older people).
@@A_Canadian_In_Poland Because French used to be the universal language instead of English, so previous generations used to learn it in school, just like younger generations now learn English in school
I think you hit the knocking points!! Were there any cities in Spain that reminded you of Portugal/Bairo Alto? That side of the world is so gorgeous. Think I'll share this with one of my students. Thanks for reaching in the disposal and grabbing this.
As a portuguese I absolutely hate that some restaurants put some appetizers on the table and then Bill you for it: 1. It Is a scam for anyone outside of Portugal that doesnt know this practice. 2. It is a psychological game. They make you wait for the food while the appetizers are there and if you touch Just a little bit of bread, you have to pay it for it all. 3. It is not very hygienic, if you don't touch it they are Just going to put it on another table and I am pretty sure that it has been touched before
It absolutely isn’t, it’s cultural. If you don’t want it you shouldn’t eat it and you won’t be billed. People shouldn’t be idiots and assume it’s free (because it’s not). It’s not even aimed at tourists
@@dinis8271 it is not cultural. Only some restaurants do that and usually are the bad ones. Transperacy is giving you the menu so that you know exactly what you are paying when ordering. And if you dont want it no one is going to put that in your face. Absolutely no logic and has nothing to do with portuguese values in my opinion, specially when you consider that some restaurants Bill you an unproportional amount when compared with the main courses.
I had to smile at the bit about drunken German and English tourists. As a proud Brit, this kind of situation is one of the few where I play the WELSH card, to distance myself from that reputation, which I've seen all too often myself. Don't get me wrong, the Welsh can be just as bad, but it's one of those situations where other nations conveniently (and wrongly) consider Britain and England to be one and the same. Loved my time in Lisbon, too. Seeing those shots brought back good memories.
For free tapas with your drink, go to Jaen or Granada! I don't know how they make money when they give you shrimp or meat for free with your one or two euro beer!
Been to Spain & Portugal a few times and noticed the people in the towns outside the main touristy areas don't like tourists. We noticed it when we ate at restaurants near Lisbon and near Madrid. They either give you a dirty look, serve you stale food, or both.
People in iberia can be very honest. If they are working a crappy job they will not hide their feelings so be honest and empathise. Also theres a lot of people I've spoken to getting ripped off by staff in the last 2 yrs. I use lidl and public bbqs for fresh fish meals and avoid restaurants unless it's for a few beers but still triple check the bill.
Something I just found out today is that Portgual doesn't accept U.S. vaccination cards! You need to take a covid test prior to entering the country. That REALLY sucks.
That will be gone soon, at last. I went to Portugal on an academic exchange and had to get re-vaccinated in Poland for Covid so that I could have the EU Digital Certificate. So I have 6 vaccine doses now. Poland and Germany honoured the Canadian vaccination records outright, but Portugal did not recognise any non-EU records. Spain and Greece recognised foreign records to enter the country, but not to enter any venues once inside the country.
I love visiting Spain. Especially the northern section. Santander and Torrelavega have been some of nicest people when visiting. Is there other places in Spain or Portugal similar? I don’t like crowed cities but Spain is very empty and rual inland… so it’s tough to find somewhere in the middle.
Apologies for our crappy education. Spaniards "study" English in school but it's just such a terrible system that people actually only learn how to pass a test. It's getting better with the younger generations though
I live in the US & with all of this governing I am DONE & want to move out. I heard that Portugal is the best place to retire to. I dont know all of the ins & outs of doing so. I love to take a vacation & see this County for myself. Do you know if it is hard to move here being a US Citizen?
Gr8 info/ video Mark. One small question 🙋♀️, how’s the crime rate? Is it like west coast US or NYC ( no offense, but I almost got mugged once) or is it not so bad, unless I take a wrong turn? Thanks 😊 much, Amy
drunk people drive me nuts! especially traveling. You CAN get a buzz on some good Portuguese wine and not act like a loser. Sorry, I'm 33 and have outgrown that phase personally.
I'm Portuguese and hearing you speak about "Iberia" is strange. I get it, you want to simplify the language, but that gives the impression it's all the same country or culture. It's not. Different people. Dont mix it up please. Thank you
I really didn't like the Siesta when I was there that they take even at many museums, it was just annoying to have everything close even in Late Fall because it is still a "Cultural Thing"
Wolter, I love your videos, but I couldn't finish watching this one as you kept talking about coming to "Iberia" over and over again. In Spain NOBODY talks about Iberia, apart from being the name of an airline. We talk of the "Iberian peninsula" when speaking of geography, but Iberia does not exist. To get the idea, it's as if your next video where titled "5 things tourists hate when visiting America of the North" (Mexico, USA, and Canada) and you went on about the good and bad things of visiting those three totally different countries as if they were a unit. Very, very weird video.
I went to Barcelona and to Portugal. What I did not like about Portugal was that most Portuguese I met were dumb and those working with tourists were not exactly service oriented. I felt the nice smart ones all emigrated. hI don't plan to go back. What I did not like about Barcelona is that there were way too many tourists and it was impossible to see main attractions without a reservation done a few days in advance. But I loved the vibe and plan to go back.