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| Typical "portuguese" roofs |
Another county and we continue our travels. Are we weary of
travel yet? For me, some days yes, but most days no. Each new place is a new
adventure and we are so well suited to the lifestyle and travel style that we
are comfortable doing this. I will say that it was lovely having a break with
the family in England in between these two different countries - Spain and now
Portugal.
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| view from our Airbnb - the river in front |
Portugal is new for both of us - new geography, new language
and all unknown territory. Thankfully I have researched so much before in my
Lonely Planet guide that I am prepared for what we might like to visit in each
place - it does take work to make these reservations and plans but it suits me
well. I consider it an act of creative living and am grateful to be able to
carve out this interesting life for us.
We began with a walking tour with Dick, an odd duck to
say the least. We were the only ones so enjoyed many hours and saw all of the
Alfama district (where we were and are staying), visited several churches and
monuments and were introduced to all the important areas to return to. As
is usual for us, we discovered a great vegan restaurant (Princesa do Costelo).
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| the Cathedral Se from above |
In our several days we walked all over town, took a
tram 28 and visited San Vincente - monastary with amazing tile work and views
of the city. On Saturday we found the large flea market
full with hundreds of vendors.
I was amazed when I found Celerio - a large health food
store and veg restaurant in Roccio Square. Within a few days we found our way
around many areas but realized that the 3 days were not enough. Through Airbnb
I found another apt for our return and we wandered the streets of Alfama to
find it. Many museums are free on Sundays so we headed down to river and
to Museum of Fado. This is a Portugese style of music which comes from this
area. The museum was an excellent introduction with the opportunity to hear
recordings of many different singers. Here, from wikipedia is some information
for those of you who might be like I was - new to this style. "In popular belief, fado is a form of music
characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of
the poor, and infused with a sentiment of resignation, fatefulness and
melancholia. This is loosely captured by the Portuguese word saudade, or "longing", symbolizing a feeling of
loss." Since we do not understand the words, the music sounds deep and
beautiful.
We are now on our second
visit to Lisbon (or Lisboa as written in Portugese) as we have to pass through
here on the way by train to many cities. Our return to Lisboa was well worth it
as we already feel comfortable here and added a few new parts of town and
sites. First was a walk to the Museu de Azulejos (Tile Museum) in an old
Convent. Then a bus to the opposite side of town - Belem to see the Jeronimos Monastery
and the modern art Museu Colecao Berardo - a large collection of modern art in
a new cultural center. We topped off the weekend with the third visit to our
new favorite vegan restaurant - Princesa do Castelo.
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| Cathedral in Belem |
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Alfama area - we lived right up behind
these buildings |
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| Cathedral in Belem |
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| Museum of "Revolution" in Portugal |
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| View from one of the miradors |
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| Roasted chestnuts - one of our snacks |
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| on the tuk tuk to the train station |
We were then off in a Tuk Tuk from our apt to train station to go to Sintra (only 45 minutes from Lisboa).
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| Sintra Castle |
After this short trip we
arrived Sintra - walked all over small town ready for a week of adventures. We
found ourselves both with colds. I think this was a first for us - both having
colds and being a bit under the weather at the same time. The weather in Sintra
was damp and cool which didn't help. We got good rest at night and managed to
see some amazing sites in this very small, very touristy town. Many do day
trips from Lisbon but we were happy for our 5 days - we did not rush with
anything. So as not to forget, here is what we saw: The National
Palace of Sintra, Moorish Castle, Parque de Pena including a walk
to Cruz Alta. This is a great park with many walking trails - we walked
all afternoon. We serendipitously found a trail to walk down cut through the
forest that took us back into to town.
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| At the Moorish Castle |
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| View to the Moorish castle above Sintra |
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| View of Castle from above |
Our Airbnb was a funky
spot with loads of surfing artifacts. Again we were next to a yoga studio (even
went to a class) with a little coffee shop with vegan hot chocolate and snacks
- how does this happen to us in so many places. I feel like I am a magnet to
these little special spots and am always grateful to find them.
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| Cruz Alta - highest point |
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| Palace de Pena |
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| In the Parque de Pena |
We took a bus to Cascais
via Cabo da Roca - most westerly point of Europe mainland with a windy, rough
ocean with hikes (that we did not do) all along the coast. In Cascais we
walked to Estoril along a boardwalk with time at the beach for a picnic lunch
and to soak up a little sun to dry out our noses.
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| Cabo de Roca |
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| Picnic in Cascais |
Another day took us to
Quita da Regalaria - another palace. We can appreciate these "over the
top" palaces but enjoy much more their gardens - this one had some
"otherworldly" experiences - cave walkways connecting different parts
of the grounds - a steep well that represents heaven and earth, and various
references to the knights templar.
In Sintra we mostly cooked at home....leeks with mushroom and white bean
risotto. Someone left a small bag of risotto in this Airbnb so I used it as an
opportunity to make it creating my own concoction of vegetables each day.
I have come to realize that each place, though somewhat touristy, has great
value to visit and we never know what to expect - around each corner or bend is
another visual experience. I have enjoyed taking photos and glad to have bought
a new camera while on the trip after breaking my old one. I highly recommend
Sintra for a few days to travelers in Portugal.
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| Quita da Reglaria |
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| Art on a wall in Lisboa |
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| amazing texture in Lisboa |
And now, some thoughts
from Ricardo.
We have been here for over a week and have been to Lisbon, the capital and largest city and Sintra which is the place of kings going back to a Moorish fort. These palaces are well preserved and ready to be moved into, except that those days are long gone. We have seen a home designed after the Knights Templar and have read about their presence and wonder if they still exist. We have taken some long hikes and are still very thankful that our bodies can still manage but I do feel more tired then usual.
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| Plaza de Comercio, Lisbon |
Here in Portugal thank you is OBRIGADO for men to say and OBRIGADA for women to say. It is not a verb and it translates to "obliged". Unlike Spain where the lisp sound or the TH sound is used which I can now understand, here in Portugal they SH every chance they get and if I'm lucky may understand one word. Often the words are the same in Spanish or very close and readable. I just can't understand their accent but when I speak my Spanish I think that they can understand me, maybe? Often I start in Spanish and repeat myself in English which seems to work.
The people here are super friendly and the food has been super good with many vegetarian options. We have taken to eating the large meal at home since Susan's cooking is the best but every once in a while we will eat out and have never been disappointed. There is always a vegetarian choice and an Indian restaurant close by. Portugal doesn't seem as wealthy as Spain and some costs are a bit less expensive mostly with food bought at stores. Transportation is easy to access and we're using trains, buses and the occasional tuk tuk which is a three wheel motorcycle a fun way to travel in Lisbon. Caution - the cab drivers may be a little shady, need to stay firm and read the meters and make sure the driver knows that you will only pay the meter rate.
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| Tram #28 (ran outside our house) |
The weather has been comfortable for walking, cool and brisk, but for standing a tea shop still makes a better option. There are tea shops at almost every corner and they all serve the national pastry, 'pastel de nata' which is very addictive and very yummy. It is a pastry with a cream filling. I don't recommend trying one if you do you may want one every day and maybe more then once a day.
Packing for a trip like this is a task. Every pound has to be moved from place to place. In order to help us we left a suitcase full of stuff in Madrid that we will pick up before our return to Mexico. Even with this I still feel that we are just a bit over packed but unable to give up anything else. We do comment every time we leave a place that we have too much. We are getting accustomed more every day to this type of travel - mostly 4-5 nights in one place. What is missed is our friends and having a regular schedule of the things we like most.
We shall leave tomorrow for Evora - stay tuned as we still have a bit over 3 weeks in this amazing country.
