Guarda, Portugal: Along the Monastery Trail

From Lisbon it took us twelve days to reach the Portugal-Spain border.  We went a bit north, followed the coast for a day, and then made a right turn, and since the country is not all that wide, were out of Portugal way too soon.  In this time were several layover days to string together, like pearls on a necklace, visits to palaces and monasteries and Roman ruins and picturesque cities.  Such grandeur and history and beauty, it almost made my head explode.

Warning...there are lots of pictures in this post.  So maybe settle back with a cup of tea.  And don't let your head explode.

Not far north of Lisbon is the town of Sintra, strung out on a steep ridge.  The royals hung out here at the National Palace since the 12th century. 

An addition to my continuing collection of interesting window photos.

The interior of the Palace had lots of period furniture.

At the very top of the hill is the Moorish Castle, a strategic location occupied since the 8th century.

We spent just one windy day along the Portuguese coast.  It was enough -- there was lots of cars on the road and we were a bit frazzled by the time we turned inland.

As we traveled over the inland ridges, old windmills were scattered about, in varying states of repair.  This one was surrounded by a little park and nicely refurbished.  The fence around the space was made of old millstones.

We saw lots of miniature windmills, too.

We ended up in the town of Alcobaca to visit the monastery.  We intended to camp in the municipal campground, but it was closed due to recent austerity measures.  So we found a very inexpensive but wonderful hostel, with a lovely view from the window of our room.

The tombs of King Pedro I and his mistress, Inês de Castro are located in the church.  The story of their relationship is the stuff of legend.  These guys holding up the tomb of King Pedro seem to be resigned to their duty.

Loving those cloisters.

The party always ends up in the kitchen.

Once we left Alcobaca we rode through an area with numerous factories producing roof and building tiles.  An azulejo mural on the side of the road celebrates the tradition.

Our second monastery in Batalha, in all its Gothic glory.

Another nice window for the collection, don't you think?

A detail of the most impressive feature of the monastery, the octagonal Unfinshed Chapel.

En route to our third monastery in as many days, another aqueduct!  This one supplied water to the monks living in Tomar.

Approaching the Convent of Christ in Tomar.

More cloister love, this with Moorish arches.

Followed by some azulejo love.

Most impressive was the round church, the center being octagonal in shape.

I can imagine mnks padding up and down this staircase.

The Manueline style is everywhere, including this whimsical cinch on a column.

Hey! Look at me! I'm a gargoyle!

Of all the monasteries we visited, the one in Tomar gave the best impression of what it felt to be a monk there.  Here John is practicing eating in silence.

The evening view from a stealth camp overlooking the village of Penela.

We spent a morning wandering the dug up ruins of Conimbriga,which is said to be the site of the largest Roman settlement in Portugal. It was located on a busy Roman road and was a center of trade. 

There were several large villas.  What blew us away were the mosaics, nearly completely in tact and in the open air.

The foundations that have been excavated make it easy to imagine the layout of the villas. It is estimated only 10 percent of the city has been excavated.

The Romans sure were clean.  This complex of subterranean water works was one of three bath structures at the site.

We spent a day exploring the university town of Coimbra.

For a small fee you can climb up a tiny spiral staircase for expansive views of the city.

And the second  tier of the covered market provided good views of the day's catch, too.  We went out for lunch and had one of the best fish meals of my life, undoubtedly sourced from one of market's vendors.

We were blessed with stellar weather as we left Coimbra, following Mondego River.

We crossed through an extensive forest area, with warning signs different only in language from the ones at home.

The landscape became gentler as we headed east, but every once in a while there would be a ridge of granite that we would have to climb, offering views of the plains beyond.

Our last few kilometers cycling in Portugal followed an old road that passed beneath the major highway to Spain.  Much quieter and with its rewards.

Read More

Lisbon, Portugal: Hunting for Azulejos

We approached Lisbon from the south, leaving the hills of cork forests for one last day of cycling a stretch of flat and not-so-inspiring agricultural landscape to the town of Montijo. We were accompanied by a steady stream of traffic and trucks of pig manure...you can't see it but you know it's there.  From Montijo it was a short and cheap ferry ride (3.25 euros apiece, and the bikes for free!) and, boom, we were in the busy transportation hub on the shore in the heart of Lisbon.  It was like an ant city, people and cars in constant motion, tourists with cameras everywhere.  Such a contrast to the rural country that we passed through in the last few days.

Cork trees are a variety of oak, and are harvested every nine years. The trees are widely spaced and it is as peaceful as a park, with not much going on other than bark growing.

The trees are marked with the last digit of the year it was harvested.  Can you see the digit indicating that this tree was stripped just last year?

Our first view of Lisbon from the Montijo, across the very wide River Tagus where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

Making our way along the riverfront on the Lisbon side.

From a distance Lisbon looks flat, but it really is a jumbled network of winding streets that go up and down steep hills.  There are similarities to San Francisco:  a big earthquake in 1755 that almost totally destroyed the town, a commanding suspension bridge, and old electric cars to take you up and down those hills.

John peeking out the door of a small flat in the heart of the city through AirBnb, our first experience with the service. It was at the top of an incredibly steep hill that was a grade too intimidating to ride up or down.

Our first day we visited the Museu Nacional do Azulejo, which to revealed to us how tile differentiates Portuguese culture.  Centuries of evolution of the art were on display, all housed in a converted convent which was a museum in itself.  It was a great introduction that shaped our subsequent exploration of the city.

Insanely beautiful azulejo, which is more than just painted tile.  It is cultural identity.

Blue and white azulejo developed in the 18th century with pastoral themes painted by professional artists.

In the gallery of the cloister of the old convent a space is dedicated to cataloging and restoring old tiles.  There are boxes and crates stacked high with tiles and shards waiting to be put back together, a rather overwhelming task.

The most impressive piece was this 36 meter-long mural depicting Lisbon before the 1755 earthquake. 

Looking west over the rooftops of Lisbon from high in the Alfama district.

Hardly space for a pedestrian when a streetcar passes.

We rode the streetcar to Belém to visit the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, a former monastery and now tourist mecca.  But deservedly so.

The cloister is all sugar-spun ornamentation.

And if you look closely you can see carving marks and little men's faces among the flowers.

The architectural style of the cloister is Manueline, a Gothic style from the early 16th century unique to Portugal.

Lisbon is a mature tourist destination.  It is a cruise ship port, and we saw at least five floating hotels docked on one section of shore.  There is a broad walking street leading from the docks into the city that is cafes and shopping all adapted to the roaming tourist.  There are sightseeing buses, little motorized carts to take you up hills, restaurateurs handing out menus and nearly pulling you into their establishment .  We found the main center a bit overwhelming and lacking authenticity.  But Lisbon is a big city with a bus and subway system, and we took advantage of that to break out of the touristy core.

Since the beginning of the construction of the subway system in the 1950's, artists have been commissioned to create azulejo art in each station.  So on our second and last afternoon we rode the rails and got off at numerous stations in a scavenger hunt of sorts, looking for azulejos, both old and new.

Subway azulejos!

We saw an aqueduct marked on the tourist map, but we did not have the energy to go down to see the foundation.

But we did come across a segment right in the middle of the city next to a lovely little park.

And the bonus was azulejo embedded in the foundation.

If you understand the meaning of the monkey and these women in this subway station, please explain it to me.

We ducked into a hotel lobby and found this wonderful mix of furniture and azulejo and leaded window.

Our favorite installation was this station...

...with its modern disjointed interpretations of old azulejo themes.

Read More