Sintra and Lisbon

I arrived home about 11 pm but am wide awake, so here is my final blog post - photos from Sintra and Lisbon. May as well do something while I wait for the electric blanket to warm up - the switch to cold weather will take a bit of adjustment.

Sintra with  Moorish castle in background (most of us walked up to it)

inside the Sintra National Palace

the Pena Palace - even higher up the hill than the Moorish castle

 view of Sintra and beyond from the Moorish castle

Pena Palace (taken from the Moorish castle)

The following photos are from our last 2 days in Lisbon

the national Coach museum - over 70 coaches from about a 200 year period

this pasteleria (cake shop) in the Belem area is where Portuguese tarts originated.

Apparently only 3 people know the recipe, and the exact proportions of the ingredients

is a closely guarded secret.  The tarts are delicious.

one of the many rooms in the cake shop - it was really busy

with a line outside of people queuing for take-away tarts 

the Jeronimos monastery at Belem

Vasco da Gama's tomb is here

ditto

Monument to the Discoveries - Henry the Navigator leads the way

chapel in the Azelujo tile museum 

 Azelujo tile museum

interesting graffiti near the Fado museum

ditto

in the Alfama area where we stayed - a restaurant with fado

That's all folks - another holiday come and gone.  Hope you enjoyed the blog.

Obidos, Nazare and first day in Lisbon

 

overlooking Nazare, about an hour north of Lisbon

 

castle at Obidos

with Jonathan at Obidos

 

Lisbon - and the following photos too

 

oldest beer house in Lisbon with Azelujo wall tiles

We have no Internet at our apartment so I am posting this at the Tourist Info center with only 2 minutes to closing.  Today we went to Sintra about 20 km west - managed to eventually get there in spite of partial train strike.  Nick Sheard is with us now, and we have just this minute sent Jonathan on his way back to Barcelona.  We had a great 5 days with him.  Next post may have to wait until Melbourne on Monday.

Heading slowly to Lisbon

 

with Jonathan at Coimbra University

 

Coimbra - uni is at the high point

One of the streets is called "rib breaking street" - it's steep

 

Tomar - in the Convento Cristo - next 3 photos too

 

the Manueline window at the convent

 

aqueduct in Tomar - we could actually walk across the top

 

monastery of Santa Maria at Batalha

 

monastery of Santa Maria at Batalha

 

monastery at Alcocaba

 

monastery at Alcocaba

 ditto

Jonathan arrived from Barcelona on Saturday and is with us for about 5 days.  From Porto we headed south to Coimbra, home to one of the oldest universities in Europe, and the most prestigious one in Portugal.  While in Coimbra the local soccer team won some important event for the first time in 45 years.  It was bedlam in the streets - non-stop shouting, tooting, flag waving etc.  It was still going at midnight when Judy, Jonathan and I were on the way home from a Fado show.

Today our 2 cars parted ways as the Sheards and Sue want to arrive in Lisbon a day earlier.  Our car went to Tomar, Fatima (briefly), Batalha and Alcocaba before ending in Nazare for the night to sample some good seafood.  The day was taken up visiting multiple magnifient convents and monasteries - see photos.

Fish has arrived on the table now so must sign off!

Douro Valley and Porto

 

village of Lamego near the Douro River

there are 600 steps up to the Church of Remedies 

in the background - a main Portuguese pilgrimage site

 

at the top of the steps looking down

 

bridge and freeway over the Douro at Peso da Regua

 

Douro River and valley about100 km  E of Porto

 

view of bridge from our Porto apartment

designed by a student of Gustave Eiffel

 

dinner at a restaurant with live Fado

(Portugeuse blues)

 

one of the Fado singers

 

view of Porto from the Clerigos tower

 

ditto but looking towards the cathedral

After a slow drive along part of the windy (as in twisty) Douro River, we are now in Porto, a very pleasant city, and home to many port wine cellars.  It's also from where the "Port" part of the name Portugal derives.

Yesterday we walked the 6 km to the Atlantic Ocean and the upmarket Porto suburb of Foz, before checking out the main city centre later.  

Today Jonathan arrives (yippee!) in a few hours - we'ved saved the Ribeira area to look over with him.

Here are a couple of photos of cork trees that I forgot to post when were in the cork-growing Alentejo region:

 

the number "1" indicates that the cork was last harvested in 2011,

and will be ready for reharvesting 9 years later.

A castle-free day - in the mountains

 Yesterday we left the Alentejo  region and headed into the Beiras and in particular Parque de Estrela Natural park which has Portugal's highest mountain at 1993m.  On the way we stopped at a couple of small but interesting villages:

 

Roman ruins at Idanya-a-velha.  Town population:58

maybe only 57 now as an ambulance carted one away while we were there

Lots of stork nests - even glimpsed a baby stork

 

Monsanto - voted the most Portugese town in Portugal

Houses are built into the rock as you can see

Location is high on a hill with the mandatory castle above

 

at Monsanto castle

 

the women did an 11 km walk today with 600m of ascent

A friendly goat-herd obliged for this photo

 

lots of yellow about - not sure what species

 

on the way back - Manteigas village in the background

meanwhile John and Graeme drove to the 

highpoint for good views