2016 Sep & 2017 Nov
In September of 2016 we had a week’s business in Lisbon, so took
an extra week to explore some of Portugal. We had been in the UK prior to this,
and flew into Lisbon via Madrid. We spent a night in the centre of the city,
walking into the old city and enjoying a dinner with fado.
Our first destination out of Lisbon was Belém, which is in essence
a part of greater Lisbon, at the mouth of the Tagus, and the focal point for
Portuguese maritime expansion around the world. We knew Belém, the Brazilian
port at the mouth of the Amazon, and it was interesting to make the connection
with this port at the other side of the Atlantic.
We visited the Museu Coleção
Berardo, with its collection of modern and contemporary art, the Praça do
Imperio, and Torre de Belém, also stopping to taste the famous Pastéis de Belém. From here we headed for Sintra
to visit the Palacio de Pena, staying overnight in the village.
Our next stop was Óbidos, and then Coimbra, where we spent some
time at the university, the the oldest academic institution in the Portuguese-speaking world,
where one can visit the Biblioteca
Joanina, which received its first books in 1750 CE. We were interested to
note the combination of 16th century college buildings, graduating
students in traditional gowns, and the drone-mounted camera in use to
photograph them.
We wound our way through small towns and villages to visit
Guimarães, recommended small town in the north of Portugal, spending the night
there before continuing to Porto, which proved to an attractive city at the
estuary of the river, with cafés and restaurants on the “Ribeiro, a cableway
ascending the stepp bank, and warehouses of the port-exporters on all sides. There
is much to see in Porto: the Igreja Ildefonso, Mercado de Bolhão, Capela das
Almas, Palacio de Bolsa, Fortaleza São João, Serralves Art Museu, and Casa do
Musica among others.
The off inland to Vila Real and then the Serra da Estrela,
enjoying the narrow roads through this small massif, on the way to Belmonte,
where we stayed at the Convento de Belmonte. From here south again to Elvas, Estremoz, and Évora, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site – still largely enclosed by its mediæval city walls.
After this our plan was to return to Lisbon; we were slightly
unhappy that we had not yet found much in the way of traditional fabrics, and
found a reference to a weaving centre at Reguenguos do Monsaraz, not far east of
Évora. This proved to be a disappointment, so we chose to explore the country a
little further east before heading back to Lisbon. We soon saw a hilltop not
far away, which appeared to have a fort on the summit. We had seen no reference
to this in various guides and websites however chose to investigate, and found
that this was the tiny village of Monsaraz, perched overlooking the lake which
lies on the border with Spain, and which proved to be exactly the place we were
looking for, with beautiful hand-woven fabrics on display.
After enjoying this discovery we returned to Lisbon for the week,
enjoying excellent food at (among other places) the renowned Cervejaria Ramiro and
at the Mercado de Ribeira.
Then off to Argentina on the way home(!).
On our way home from our nine-month trip through Africa, at the end
of 2017, we again had business in Lisbon, and so had the opportunity to enjoy
the city again. This time we didn't plan to spend any time outside the city,
however took full advantage of the excellent metro to visit the old centre and
dockside, as well as eating at many good restaurants, including Cervejaria
Ramiro (again). This time we stayed at a hotel near the Benfica Stadium,
gaining an awareness of the importance of this edifice, and the football team
it houses, in the city.
Abrazos
Alan and Marce
Photos may
be used for non-commercial purposes with credit to alanymarce@gmail.com
