Good to know about the busses. Been here a couple of days and taken the metro to porto 2x. Let's not say America though, but as you noted, your very sheltered, suburban city. NYers, rich and poor, outer borough and inner-city alike rub elbows without judgement.
Hi Carol, great information and fun to read about your first bus ride in Portugal. I have to admit that growing up in a small town in Colorado did not expose me to public transportation and getting your first driver's license was a great thing. Buses going between towns were not the thing most of us considered and stations so often were not in the best part of towns. 😉
Great story! We'd like to publish it in Portugal Living Magazine (portugallivingmagazine.com). May we have your permission, Carol? All attributions/acknowledgments will be given. /Bruce
Thanks for your message. Happy to have you publish in your magazine (I'm a subscriber and really enjoy reading it)! If you need some details, feel free to email me at: ourportugaljourney@gmail.com.
I loved your bus story !!!! It really sounds like the busses in Portugal are much cleaner than here!! Also seems like there must be less seating, and I say that from the pictures you posted. When I was a teenager my friends and I would take the bus to Providence on the weekend, see a movie, shop at ALL the many stores and have lunch at the Waldorf Cafeteria soooo much fun and as I remember it was bus #32 for Rumford and we were never concerned about running into any problems and I think the busses were quite clean. Sounds like the busses in Portugal are clean and safe! Keep your adventures coming I thoroughly enjoy reading them
You really got to understand the Portuguese people! I have traveled around the world and even lived in America for some time, but the best place to live is in poor, still backwards in some aspects, but friendly Portugal.
Carol, fun fact the Cascais buses got a major upgrade right before you moved to PT. The bus you picture, the wifi and USB ports are relatively new. They instituted the M lines at the same time. The first few weeks were tough as drivers got used to the new routes…but, of course, now it is better. Finally, like you observed https://expatinportugal.substack.com/p/did-the-cleavers-move-to-portugal?s=w
I LOVE this! It’s so true! Oh my gosh! I don’t ride the bus in Rhode Island in a lovely neighborhood across the bay from Barrington (or Borrington as some say). I do ride the commuter rail and the T in Boston and to get to the airport and I think it’s similar to riding the bus here. People are rude and pushy, rarely exchange
pleasantries and sort of grunt at each other. It’s rather unrefined and there is clearly a lack of acquired cultivated civility in southern New England. When I first moved here about twenty years ago, I was rather out off by it and thought I might not stay because it was more brash than other places I have lived. Needless to say, I am still here (for now) as I have managed to wade through all of that and find lovely friends, good people and beautiful places here. But you are so right about the Portuguese people- lovely, kind souls and that is what impressed me about Portugal. Everywhere I went it was the same- kind people, cultivated civility even in the poorest places. And that is remarkable and heartwarming! This is probably my favourite of your posts so far! And I loved the video! Well done!
Excellent op-ed and we totally agree with everything you have said having recently completed our first recon trip to Lisbon, Tomar, Evora and Tavira during which we took the bus, train, Uber, taxi, and a private driver. The bus trip from Tomar to Evora via Lisbon couldn't have been nicer and the driver was engaged, polite and very professional. Train travel likewise. We loved our time in Portugal and look forward to returning to explore the Northern half of the country soon!
Thank you for your comment, Don. We have 2 favorite taxi drivers who speak English. We call them when we need a ride for an appointment or when we're catching the high speed train for a trip. They're always pleasant, prompt, and polite. So happy that you enjoyed Portugal! Let me know how you like the North when you return!
I love your story and it's absolutely true that when you live in suburbia riding the bus gets you funny looks. I grew up on San Francisco and the greater Bay Area, and took public transportation everywhere until I moved to Merced, CA, big time suburbia, where seemingly only people that couldn't afford cars and were a bit unsavory would ride the bus. I wanted my kids to take public transportation to feel a bit of independence, but they didn't want to because their friends would look at them funny, as they were driven everywhere. So, I didn't force it on them there. But, we also traveled out of the country a bit and in those places I introduced them to the ease of public transportation and showed them that it wasn't just for people who couldn't afford a car. There were people like them and us on the buses, and people like you who don't want a car. It's a great lesson and I'm glad I wasn't the only one to think that about public transportation in places in the U.S. Thank you for sharing!
Veronica, thank you for your comments. Portugal is such a learning experience for me. I thought it would just be about retiring to a nice place - but it has been so much more and I'm a better person for it!
Good to know about the busses. Been here a couple of days and taken the metro to porto 2x. Let's not say America though, but as you noted, your very sheltered, suburban city. NYers, rich and poor, outer borough and inner-city alike rub elbows without judgement.
As part of our recon of Portugal in a week, we are going to look at towns and villages along the AP/IC train lines, north of Lisboa.
Looks like you are going to be "Published"! Great job!
Thank you! If you're in our neck of the woods, let us know. Safe travels!
Hi Carol, great information and fun to read about your first bus ride in Portugal. I have to admit that growing up in a small town in Colorado did not expose me to public transportation and getting your first driver's license was a great thing. Buses going between towns were not the thing most of us considered and stations so often were not in the best part of towns. 😉
Great story! We'd like to publish it in Portugal Living Magazine (portugallivingmagazine.com). May we have your permission, Carol? All attributions/acknowledgments will be given. /Bruce
Bruce,
Thanks for your message. Happy to have you publish in your magazine (I'm a subscriber and really enjoy reading it)! If you need some details, feel free to email me at: ourportugaljourney@gmail.com.
I loved your bus story !!!! It really sounds like the busses in Portugal are much cleaner than here!! Also seems like there must be less seating, and I say that from the pictures you posted. When I was a teenager my friends and I would take the bus to Providence on the weekend, see a movie, shop at ALL the many stores and have lunch at the Waldorf Cafeteria soooo much fun and as I remember it was bus #32 for Rumford and we were never concerned about running into any problems and I think the busses were quite clean. Sounds like the busses in Portugal are clean and safe! Keep your adventures coming I thoroughly enjoy reading them
You really got to understand the Portuguese people! I have traveled around the world and even lived in America for some time, but the best place to live is in poor, still backwards in some aspects, but friendly Portugal.
Carol, fun fact the Cascais buses got a major upgrade right before you moved to PT. The bus you picture, the wifi and USB ports are relatively new. They instituted the M lines at the same time. The first few weeks were tough as drivers got used to the new routes…but, of course, now it is better. Finally, like you observed https://expatinportugal.substack.com/p/did-the-cleavers-move-to-portugal?s=w
I'm glad that we're experiencing the upgrade - it certainly has helped with my perception of public buses. Love the Cleavers post - so true!
Carol-
I LOVE this! It’s so true! Oh my gosh! I don’t ride the bus in Rhode Island in a lovely neighborhood across the bay from Barrington (or Borrington as some say). I do ride the commuter rail and the T in Boston and to get to the airport and I think it’s similar to riding the bus here. People are rude and pushy, rarely exchange
pleasantries and sort of grunt at each other. It’s rather unrefined and there is clearly a lack of acquired cultivated civility in southern New England. When I first moved here about twenty years ago, I was rather out off by it and thought I might not stay because it was more brash than other places I have lived. Needless to say, I am still here (for now) as I have managed to wade through all of that and find lovely friends, good people and beautiful places here. But you are so right about the Portuguese people- lovely, kind souls and that is what impressed me about Portugal. Everywhere I went it was the same- kind people, cultivated civility even in the poorest places. And that is remarkable and heartwarming! This is probably my favourite of your posts so far! And I loved the video! Well done!
Thank you, Barb. I'm glad you enjoyed the post!
Excellent op-ed and we totally agree with everything you have said having recently completed our first recon trip to Lisbon, Tomar, Evora and Tavira during which we took the bus, train, Uber, taxi, and a private driver. The bus trip from Tomar to Evora via Lisbon couldn't have been nicer and the driver was engaged, polite and very professional. Train travel likewise. We loved our time in Portugal and look forward to returning to explore the Northern half of the country soon!
Thank you for your comment, Don. We have 2 favorite taxi drivers who speak English. We call them when we need a ride for an appointment or when we're catching the high speed train for a trip. They're always pleasant, prompt, and polite. So happy that you enjoyed Portugal! Let me know how you like the North when you return!
Hi Carol,
I love your story and it's absolutely true that when you live in suburbia riding the bus gets you funny looks. I grew up on San Francisco and the greater Bay Area, and took public transportation everywhere until I moved to Merced, CA, big time suburbia, where seemingly only people that couldn't afford cars and were a bit unsavory would ride the bus. I wanted my kids to take public transportation to feel a bit of independence, but they didn't want to because their friends would look at them funny, as they were driven everywhere. So, I didn't force it on them there. But, we also traveled out of the country a bit and in those places I introduced them to the ease of public transportation and showed them that it wasn't just for people who couldn't afford a car. There were people like them and us on the buses, and people like you who don't want a car. It's a great lesson and I'm glad I wasn't the only one to think that about public transportation in places in the U.S. Thank you for sharing!
Veronica, thank you for your comments. Portugal is such a learning experience for me. I thought it would just be about retiring to a nice place - but it has been so much more and I'm a better person for it!