Europe, Sept, 2010 - Portugal

Europe, Sept, 2010 - Portugal

From Cáceres the night train took us to Lisbon, where we awoke a few miles east of the city along the broad estuary of the Rio Tejo.  Our hotel, the Amazonas (the H on the map), was in the Barrio Alto, a modern area a few miles north east of the historic city center, the Baixi, or lower city.   Fortunately it was half way between a subway stop and a mall, where we found a laundry and got our clothes washed.

The subway took us to the city center, now a pedestrian mall.

This was the Barrio Baixi, rebuilt after the earthquake and tsunami of 1755 which destroyed most of the lower city.  A few blocks away is the Elevador da Gloria, (below) a funicular that links downtown to the Bairro Alto district, on a cliff above.

 From the top we had a great view of the city.  On the hilltop you can see the profile of the Castelo Sãn Jorge.

And the Praça dos Restauradores, commemorating the restoration of Portuguese independence in 1640 after 60 years of Spanish rule.

 From the top, we walked down again to Praça da Figueira, the Square of the Fig Tree.  We saw the statue of King Joao I, but no fig trees.

 

But we found the trolley stop and took a trolley up the hill to the castle. 

 

The trolley let us out at a terrace with a great view of the eastern part of the city. 

  

Higher up, we entered the castle, originally built by the Romans in the 6^th century, and modified by the Visigoths, Moors, and the Christian King Afonso Henriques who captured it in 1147.  

 

 

At the entrance is a statue of King Afonso Henriques, founder of the Portuguese nation (and presumably, Alejandra’s ancestor)

An attractive (and expensive) restaurant now occupies Afonso’s palace.

Crossing the moat to the entrance to the main portion of the castle.

The towers and walls are most of what remains.

But the view is great.  Below is the river front Terreiro do Paço or "the palace's square" where the royal palace stood before the earthquake, and in the distance is the 25^th of April bridge, named after the 1974 coup that let to the end of the Portuguese dictatorship and to democracy.

Lisbon’s other historic district is Belem, port of departure for the Portuguese explorers of the age of discovery, west of the city center in the area of the bridge.  We took a trolley to visit it one evening.  Below is Jeronimos Monastery, built in 1502.  Vasco da Gama's tomb is inside.

The western wing of the monastery is now a maritime museum, unfortunately closed when we visited.

And south of the gardens, along the river front is the Discoveries Monument, built in 1960 to commemorate the 500^th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator.

 Leaving Lisbon, we took the bus south, over the bridge, heading toward Faro.

 

The landscape south of Lisbon is typical Mediterranean, low hills covered with shrubs and small trees, and the occasional olive or citrus grove, or vineyard; much like parts of Southern California or Central Chile. 

Faro, in the far south is a favorite vacation spot for the English, with attractive beaches, abundant golf courses and resorts.  Our hotel turned out not to be in Faro as it seemed to be listed by Expedia, but some 17 km. away.  Careful reading would have prevented the error, but that didn’t help when we got off the bus.  After looking unsuccessfully for a local hotel (all expensive and full) we took a bus and then a taxi to our Hotel, the Ria Plaza Resort, in the middle of nowhere. 

Hotel, pool, restaurant, bar, tennis, golf: pleasant but not especially Portuguese. Understandably popular with British vacationers.  We lunched on club sandwiches and beer and enjoyed the rest from frenzied tourism.

 And the next afternoon returned by taxi to the bus station in Faro, and took our bus west, across the Guadiana River into Spain and on to Seville.

Next:  Andalucía