It was great spending time with people from Anshe Emeth including Rabbi Bennett Miller and his wife, Joan. Special thanks to Laura Leibowitz for finding and booking the hotel in the airport when several of us missed our flight home. The trip had a good mix of Jewish culture and history, general Portuguese culture and history, scenery and nature. The accommodations and the included food were top notch. I felt that our first guide, Sandra, walked and spoke too fast, particularly on our day of arrival and on the morning of the next day on the bus.

The trip to Portugal was great. We traveled with a wonderful group of people, ate good food, and had comfortable accommodations. We learned and experienced much that would be unavailable to us with any other tour group. All but one day was well planned. We were there in the rainy season and it rained almost the whole time we were in Lisbon. The Hotel Da Baixa in Lisbon was our favorite. All in all, it was a fabulous trip and has left us with great memories and a desire to return.

It was okay. The first guide we had in Lisbon walked too fast. The weather was rainy the first few days. I went home on the recommended flights and missed my United flight to Newark and had to stay overnight an extra night by Lisbon airport due to my luggage being misplaced, the luggage should have been checked thru. Also, it’s a 3 hour drive on google maps from Porto to Lisbon airport due, maybe we could have been driven by bus instead of flying on a 1 hour flight. In general, not enough free time during the daylight hours. Also, we were there two Friday nights, but were not able to go to a temple for Shabbat services. Accommodations and food was okay, lunch took too much time, I would have been just as happy to eat a picnic lunch, a sandwich and a piece of fruit outside overlooking the ocean or a nice view and have more time for touring.

Although we were a large group (N=35), it was an excellent trip. Scholars Fred Rosenbaum and Rachel Beale were excellent as well as Ariel Goldstein and Barry Lloyd who provided services as travel organizers. The itinerary was very full and possibly too much walking on 1st couple of days. Average age was probably in mid-70s, and building up walking stamina might have helped. We needed more time in each place, so possibly drop off a couple of visits and increase time in cities away from hotel sites. The two hotels were super and the food for group meals was outstanding. I highly recommend these historians, as well as Ariel.

My Tiyul trip to Alsace and the Rhine River Valley was extremely well planned and intellectually enlightening. We stayed in the best hotels in Frankfurt and the charming city of Strasbourg. I couldn't have asked for a better vacation and I'm looking forward to my next Tiyul trip to India.