Welcome!

This blog is to provide additional information about traveling to the Portugal Fall Festival, with teachings by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Topics covered include travel tips, suggestions about what to see in Cascais and Lisbon, vegetarian restaurants, etc.

Disclaimer: I cannot verify the accuracy of any information here but will try to post the source.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Self-cater Meals in a Hotel Room: What to Pack

Some suggestions from a Sangha friend for how you can prepare meals cheaply in a hotel if you bring a few small items:

  • A flexible cutting board (lots of real estate for preparing meals and cutting bread and veggies but light and easy to fit in a suitcase). [I saw a thin MSR Alpine Cutting Board that rolls up at REI for $5 but haven't used one and didn't find any reviews from searching online.]
  • One re-usable plate, bowl, and mug per person (also consider getting a mug at Jumbo market in Cascais and save weight and space in your suitcase). [For more about Jumbo and other shopping in Cascais, see Shopping in Cascais, Estoril & Carcavelos.]
  • One set of knife, fork and spoon made of Lexan or other durable material. [Lexan is very strong, light and inexpensive.]
  • A sharp knife, with a sheaf for safety, for cutting bread, veggies, cheese and so forth.
  • A small can opener of some type in case you want to buy anything in a can.
  • Resealable bags of several sizes.
  • Clothes pins for closing bags. [Binder clips work well too.]
  • Small scissors for getting into packaging.
  • Extra shampoo or liquid soap for cleaning up after the meal. [Dr Bronner's all-in-one soap is another option; it comes in a 2oz plastic bottle with a flip top that's great for travel, and is Fair Trade and organic. You can use it as a shampoo, body soap, and dish soap. I just read that the company "caps all executive compensation at 5 to 1 to the lowest paid warehouse position, and dedicates all profits not needed for business development to worthwhile causes and charities worldwide."]
  • Quick-drying scrubber for cleaning dishes.
  • A bag for transporting the meal to an outdoor location for a picnic.
A hot pot can be used to heat water for tea, broth and veggies, canned soup and so on.

Shopping in Cascais, Estoril & Carcavelos

The Portuguese Wal-Mart, Jumbo, is  across the street from and within sight of the Cascais train station.

Pingo Doce, which is the biggest grocery chain in Portugal, is inside the Cascais Villa Shopping Center, which is next door to Jumbo; map here. Their website has photos of what they carry with prices; it's in Portuguese but you can make a lot of it.

The Farmer's Market, is Wednesdays until 2pm [and some Saturdays? conflicting info on the Web], near the intersection of Avenida 25 de Abril and Avenida Dom Pedro, 5 minutes' walk from the Cascais train station; map here.

USA Today says to buy clothes at "CascaiShopping, a major shopping mall on the outskirts of town. Cascais Villa and Jumbo both have cheap clothing, but if you want anything nice you should go to CascaiShopping. This mall is well beyond walking distance and using buses to reach it is overly complicated and time consuming, so take a taxi. The mall has a taxi-stand, so there is no need to keep the taxi after arriving."

More Resources
CascaisPortugal.com Shopping - a nice overview, including suggestions about what gifts and souvenirs to bring back and where to get them, as well as short descriptions of shopping centers.

Markets, fairs & shopping centres in Cascais, Estoril & Oeiras, which has a zoomable map and a table of days and times.

Virtual Tourist Info about Shopping in Cascais - including everything from street markets to shopping centers to supermarkets.

Frommer's Info about Shopping in Cascais, which includes addresses and phone numbers but doesn't cover grocery stores.

Insider Cooking on Markets and Groceries in Cascais, Sintra & Lisbon - also lists the market in Carcavelos and the Cascais textile market. Note: "bio" means organic.
Tips about the Carcavelos market from Cascais-Travel.com:
"If you are looking for a bargain this is the place to go. Carcavelos market, opposite the Train Station in Carcavelos is on every Thursday from 8am. Cheap clothes, shoes, bags, jewelry, linen, towels, etc. Some weeks have better quality goods than others. It's alright to haggle a little. Best go early."

Electricity in Portugal

Electrical Plug/Outlet and Voltage Information for Portugal shows useful photos of different kinds of wall sockets and which kinds of plugs work in Portugal. Hint: Not ones from the U.S.
It also says:
"But the shape of the socket is only half the story!
Electrical sockets (outlets) in Portugal (República Portuguesa) usually supply electricity at between 220 and 240 volts AC. If you're plugging in an appliance that was built for 220-240 volt electrical input, or an appliance that is compatible with multiple voltages, then an adapter is all you need.
But travel plug adapters do not change the voltage, so the electricity coming through the adapter will still be the same 220-240 volts the socket is supplying. North American sockets supply electricity at between 110 and 120 volts, far lower than in most of the rest of the world. Consequently, North American appliances are generally built for 110-120 volts.
But that doesn't mean that your specific appliance isn't already compatible with the higher voltage -- it may very well be."

According to this Adapter and Converter Finder:
"If you are bringing an American appliance or electronic device, you will need an Adapter Plug for almost every country in order to plug into their electrical outlets.
If that appliance or electronic device is not dual-voltage and you are visiting a country with 230 volt electricity, you will need either a Voltage Converter or a Transformer.
If you are planning to run your non dual-voltage appliance or electronic device continuously, you will need a Transformer."

Adapters are light and cheap but transformers are heavier and more expensive.

If you have questions, I'd recommend going to a travel store, such as Wide World Travel Store in Wallingford or Rick Steves' in Edmonds.