I am not a good tourist!

We just returned from a two-week trip to Spain and Portugal (an addition to the countries of the world that I have been to) which was a very good trip, Transportation went smoothly (still a bit long however), Accommodations were terrific. Support at all locations was above expectations. What more could you ask for?

We spent three days in Madrid and three more in Lisbon and took tours in both cities. But if I never see a city tour again, especially by bus, it will be too soon, Typically, these city tours entail a hour or so bus ride to some 17^th or 18^th century buildings that are features of that city. In these cases, the buildings were made from the local granite and included the architecture and the sculpture icons. That was the material that was available to the artisans of the time. Our guides were well informed and elicited lots of energy and excitement. But none of them were of interest. So, on the following days we walked the neighborhood around our hotel, found a good restaurant and ignored the tours,

The core of our trip was a Viking River cruise which was very good. Service was great, Food was terrific (I gained about 10 pounds.) And the views in some cases were spectacular.

When you see the Viking River cruise advertisements on tv, the boat is sailing by views of villages and interesting scenery. This may be the case with the majority of their cruises, but the Portugal River cruise was different.

My wife signed us up for most of the onshore excursions which meant we got off the boat fairly early and took a one-to-two-hour bus ride to the featured location of the day, When you take the daily trips, you see the country side from the window of the bus which was very beautiful but still it’s from a bus. And only two of the featured sites of the day wound up being interesting.

There was lots of talk about wine and wine tasting but being in California for decades, I have done wine. As you would expect there was lots of discussion of Port which is a national treasure of Portugal. Unfortunately, port is too sweet for my taste and when you get to the 15- to 20-year-old vintages they are quite expensive,

When you get back to the ship, you’re kind of tired so go to the cabin to recoup for a bit and then it’s time for the presentation of the next day’s activities which leads into dinner time. So, there is not really a lot of time to sit and watch the scenery go by.

I skipped one of the days and stayed on board. It was a very relaxing day but also one where the ship stayed docked rather than repositioning itself further down river. So, no floating by villages and such.

The reason if say I am a bad tourist is that I had no interest in shopping at any of the local stores, no interest in picking up souvenirs, and almost no interest in walking through any of the buildings and venues that we drove to. I guess the problem is that I have traveled too much and seen the best venues in the world. Perhaps that warped my perspective.

I did a search for the top 25 places that should be visited and received this list. I have missed all of the middle east, Egypt, and mainland China sites and do not expect to be able to get to them at this stage, but I have been to lots of fantastic places and seen some wonders of the world. That is perhaps why the landmarks of Portugal did not spark much enthusiasm for me.

The list:

• The Great Wall of China (China)
• Machu Picchu (Peru) 
• The Pyramids of Giza (Egypt)
• The Colosseum (Rome, Italy) 
• Taj Mahal (Agra, India) yes
• Petra (Jordan)
• Santorini (Greece) 
• Angkor Wat (Cambodia) 
• Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA) 
• Eiffel Tower (Paris, France) 
• Stonehenge (Wiltshire, England) 
• Christ the Redeemer (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
• Burj Khalifa (Dubai, UAE) 
• Mount Fuji (Honshu, Japan) 
• The Acropolis (Athens, Greece) 
• Sagrada Família (Barcelona, Spain) 
• Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) 
• Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia)
• Neuschwanstein Castle (Bavaria, Germany) 
• Banff National Park (Alberta, Canada) 
• Yellowstone National Park (USA) 
• The Blue Lagoon (Iceland) 
• Great Barrier Reef (Australia) 
• The Louvre Museum (Paris, France) 
• Victoria Falls (Zambia/Zimbabwe) 

From this list, I have been to 15 and to this list I would add other significant places and exhibits that I have been to. And there are lots of other places that have been of interest during my travels, but the list gets too long and may become irrelevant to most.

• Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) (Kyoto, Japan)
• Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City)
• Ise Grand Shrine (Ise, Japan)
• Blue Mosque and Topkapi castle (Istanbul, Turkey)
• Wat Rong Khun (White Temple) (Chiang Rai, Thailand)
• Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• The Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kamakura, Japan)
• Wat Pho Reclining Buddha (Bangkok, Thailand)

So, at this stage, there is little that would really grab my attention including the local crafts and related. Thus, I am a bad tourist and should probably just stay home and enjoy the activities here.