Sintra, Portugal

Who doesn’t want to go out to see castles and palaces! We were warned that Sintra sits in a fog prone area, but didn’t have much of a choice in which day we could go. Unfortunately for us, as we rode the train 40mins out of Lisbon, it became more and more rainy and gray. Our trip to Sintra, threw us right back into London style weather. Good thing we brought our umbrellas! (or at least I did) None of us were particularly decisive, and finally after hemming and hawing over how to actually get to the Moorish castle and the Palace of Pena, we ended up on the city’s hop-on hop-off type public transport. It is a VERY good thing that we didn’t try to walk up, as it is a very steep incline, with narrow roads, no shoulders, and it was POURING RAIN. Rock face on one side, cliff on the other. At least the greenery was fantastic! It felt as if we had been transported into a magical forest, in another time. At the Moorish castle, we bought a combined ticket (saves you about 3-5 euro) and then started hiking up to the ruins of the castle. Despite the rain, it was really cool. If the day had been clear, the views would have been spectacular! They are not as concerned with people injuring themselves, as there are no added railings or safety precautions!

Next stop was the Palace of Pena. By this point, we were quite hungry (I brought snacks, so I was ok), but the cafés did not have much of a selection. I got a hot chocolate, to try and warm me up a bit, but even that was lukewarm. As we walked up to the Palace, you could start to see the shape coming out of the fog. It is beautiful, with lots of colour, oranges, reds, pinks. The archways are really nice, and the inside is also stunning. Very royal. Along the lines of Versailles. I really like some of the china that was left.

Back in Sintra, we opted for ease of meal, and ate at Pizza hut. I got to use my basic Portuguese skills, in verifying our order with our waitress, as she wasn’t entirely sure who was getting what. Be warned, if you are vegetarian, be prepared to pay more for your food, as most specials include meat or fish. I also tried their lemonade type soft drink, Sumol.

Back in Lisbon, we found a restaurant that would cater to the vegetarians in our group. I thoroughly enjoyed my fish. (It was a bit salty towards the end though). We had free glasses of Port. Tonia and I finished the others, as they didn’t like it. The port I had in Porto (from Calem) was better, this was super sweet! I think that was all for the evening. We may have wandered around a bit, but didn’t really get up to much.

Lisbon, Portugal

This morning, we got a reasonable start to the day, 10:30 am! I think some of the girls were concerned when I said “a reasonably early start tomorrow”. They do not know me well yet, and have not learned that I am NOT a morning person (it actually worked out really well that Katherine and I were in the loft, as we went to bed later than the others).

Also, let me add that the cereal here is wonderful! And, I found maracuja yogurt (passionfruit)! Reminds me of Sucre, Bolivia, and the juices at the market. Anyways, after our breakfast, (we ended up with some shower issues, and I had to figure out how to get the hot water heater going again…), we headed off to Belém, to the west (?) of the city. It is far enough away, that we took the tram (we had bought the metro cards, and just topped up as needed). On the tram, there were quite a few old people! (and some young, likely street kids, that stunk (Mom, remember that lady on the tram in Lille) it was a make you want to puke smell). Anyways, looking Portugese enough, I had people speaking to me. I couldn’t quite understand the one, but I think he was telling me that there were seats further up the tram. Generally speaking, the people here are very kind, and we ended up with an old man, telling us all about how to get from the tram to the Tower, then to the Monument of Discoveries and back to the Monastery, including where we had to go over the train tracks, and where there was an subway under the tracks. His directions turned out to be 100% accurate, and in English (impressive, given he was probably in his 70s at least). When we got off the tram, he even made sure that we were going the right way. I’m sure the fact that he got to help “pretty young ladies” (his words) from Canada made his day.

The tower is not what I was expecting, given that it is touted to have great views. I was expecting it to be on a hill, not right at the river’s edge! It didn’t disappoint, however, as you got the views across the river and the hills behind. Built originally by King Manuel I, it is in the Manueline style and quite ornate. The tide was low when we were there, but the tower would be surrounded by a moat (complete with a drawbridge) at higher tide. The original function of the tower was to be part of a military watch system, to help protect the area, but it was used more recently as a telegraph station and now a museum. I love the architecture! Although, tall people, be warned, this is not built for you!

From there, we walked to the Monument of Discoveries, which celebrates Portugal’s colonial conquests. They actually conquered a lot more places than I had realized, having learned more about the British, French and Spanish colonization. Having just been to West India, I knew that the Portuguese were ruthless explorers, who took whatever they wanted. Still, it was really neat to see the map, showing just how far their power stretched at one point.

By this point, everyone was starving, so we found a baguette place (I think it was called Pao Pao, Queso Queso) (bread bread, cheese cheese). I had a steak baguette, which was really tasty. We all enjoyed our baguettes in the Park, opposite the Monastery. It is so nice to have sunshine, warmth and to be surrounded by greenery in February!

I don’t really have much to say about the monastery. We saw where Vasco de Gama is now buried (I think that is what it said). So I have now seen both where he was originally buried in Cochin and where he is now. The inside of the monastery is much like other monasteries, with different areas, such as the choir area, dining areas etc. Some of it now has a timeline of Portugal’s history, overlaid with world history and I believe the Church’s history too. The tile work and architecture, has a grand feel, with the yellows and blues and looks magnificent in the sun.

As we were in Belém, we also had to get the famous Nata pastries from the renowned Pasteis de Belém. They live up to their name! If you go to Lisbon, you must go here!! Served warm, with cinnamon and icing sugar, it was the BEST nata we had, hands down.

At this point, we split, I went on my own, and the rest of the group went shopping. I appreciated the time to wander by myself, and headed towards the Museum of Ethnography, with collections of artifacts, primarily from Africa. The dolls, costumes, musical instruments and ways of completing a census (notches in a stick, separated by larger notches to indicate different households) was really interesting. The museum was not very large, but was interesting enough (don’t go out of your way, but if you have time, it is neat). Then, I wandered the streets, passing an inconspicuous school, a military base, a stable/riding arena in a house like building (I only knew it was horses because of the smell, and the door was open). Eventually, I made my way to the Coach museum. This was really interesting! Seeing all the different coaches that rich people rode in, including what Queen Elizabeth II rode when she came to Lisbon, and marveling at the different levels of ornateness that existed back then. Aside from having no rights as a woman, it would be fun to travel back in time to wear the fancy dresses, and ride in a horse-drawn carriage! Oh to be royalty!

In the evening, we headed over to the Chiado/Baixa area, where there are lots of restaurants and bars/cafés. We were aiming for the Tasco do Chico, where there was going to be amateur Fado night. Fado is the traditional music of southern Portugal, a very melancholic sound, with a singer and guitar players. It is mostly done now for tourists, but after experiencing an amazing Pena in Salta, Argentina, I really wanted to find the more local feel. The bar is tiny! We stopped at a pharmacy so that I could ask directions, and found our way into a back alley looking street. The street (and it’s neighbours) were full of restaurants. I thought the Fado show was starting at 7:30, but it turns out it was not starting until 9-9:30. We went to try and find food, and had a bit of a disagreement, as I really wanted Portuguese food, from one of the many little family run places, but, it is almost impossible to find vegetarian food. I was willing to eat on my own, as I wasn’t wanting Italian in Portugal, but some of the more ‘level-headed’ in this scenario got us to agree to a compromise. I would eat Italian, and then tomorrow, we would have fish and meat etc. The pasta was extremely tasty, at least! We stopped in a wine bar, up the Rua do Diario de Noticias. We tried the Vinho verde (green wine). I really enjoyed it, it has a refreshing, but not too sweet taste. Kind of like apples.

Anyways, when we got back to Tasco do Chico, it was packed. I ordered a glass of white wine, and then asked a group if I could sit on the end of their bench. The others huddled near the doorway. I enjoyed the music, it was very intimate. The others were not really into it. They kept getting pushed around by the door, and the large numbers of smokers were irritating them. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but after one set, I went with the others, back to the apartment. Folk music does not seem to be their thing. I just really enjoyed the atmosphere, being crammed in, listening to locals play and sing. So cool!