Another day, another discovery

Friday, March 10
Just when you think you have seen all there is to see in Lisbon, you wander up a hill and, voila, here is another place you have not visited. This time it was two places - the National Pantheon of Lisbon and the Santa Apolonia Train Station.

But I digress. After our trip from Madrid we had a leisurely morning. The day was sunny and warm, so we set off to wander bit. At lunch at Paco Real - a very busy cafe frequented predominantly by locals where the food is good and the prices are low - we met a couple from Germany who had lived all over the world, including White Plains, New York and Beijing, China. But they had never traveled much in Europe and this was their first visit to Lisbon. During our conversation we told them about our favorite Lisbon restaurant, As Velhas, recommended they call for reservations and use our name.

After lunch we walked down to the river at the Praca do Commercio where we sat on the wall and listened to a wonderful combo featuring a guitarist who had played with Cesarea Evora and the singer who is so much like her. We have been entertained by this group before and even bought their CD.

While sitting there we spotted a cruise ship and set off to see what it was. Lisbon is building a new cruise ship dock - still unfinished but now able to at least allow ships to dock there amid the construction. The ship was the Norwegian Ventura.

From there we headed up the hill into the Alfama district. On the way up, just past the Fado Museum, we spotted a "memorial" photo of a now deceased resident on the wall of one of the buildings. This is common in the older sections of the city as a way for families to remember loved ones who had lived in a particular building for many years. They are more common on the other side of the hill in the Mouraria district across from our apartment.

Building memorial to a common man.

Up further we came to a lovely overlook from which we watched the cruise ship sail away.

Short rest stop on the way up the hill

Watching the cruise ship sail away

After a further climb we started back down the other side and encountered the National Pantheon of Lisbon where many notables are entombed, including Amalia - Portugal's most famous Fado singer.. We had viewed the top of this building many times from the apartment of our cousins, further up the hill, but had never been near the entire structure. Now, here we were - by accident!

And behind the building is an entire wall of modern tiles depicting scenes of Lisbon life. Beautiful!

Selfie at the National Pantheon of Lisbon

Tiled wall behind the National Pantheon

Over the hill and back down towards the river we came upon the Santa Apolonia train station. This is one of three train stations in Lisbon - the Rossio with trains to Sintra, Oriente, the newest, and Santa Apolonia where you can catch trains to such destinations as Porto, Madrid, and Fatima. There is also a metro stop and a bus station there. Built in 1865, this is the oldest railroad terminal in Lisbon. While we have mastered the Metro, bus, boat and trams, we have yet to try the trains. Maybe next year.

Next to the Santa Apolonia is the Museum of the Military with a spectacular sculpture over the main entrance. Again, a new discovery!

Military Museum entrance behind me

That evening we went to As Velhas and our usual table and guess who was there - the couple from Germany we had met at lunch. Also there was a tour group from the US. Judging from there accents they were from somewhere in the south. This table for six not only ordered separately, but insisted on separate checks. One man complained that his octopus was over-cooked, yet ate it anyway in addition to the replacement plate, thus getting two meals for the price of one. He also cut the "suckers" off of the tentacles. People like that make us embarrassed to be from America.

It was a long, and unexpectedly eventful, day.

Habla usted Espanol?

On March 6 we were reminded once again how we are ripped off in the USA when it comes to healthcare. I had the beginnings of a small issue and, since we were leaving for Madrid the next day, decided to have it looked into by a doctor. We went to the health clinic in our building. Even though I am not a Portuguese citizen and have no insurance that is valid here, I was seen by a doctor (who spoke excellent English) for the grand sum of $37. Then I had the prescription for an antibiotic filled for the grand sum of $7. BTW, this clinic is operated by the government and is free for citizens.

March 7 we took off for Madrid. The drive takes about 5 hours on excellent highways all the way. We stopped for a light lunch at a small cafe that - in season - offers camping. The server spoke enough English to overcome our weak, to non-existent, Spanish. The drive to Madrid crosses an area of olive groves, cherry orchards - in full bloom - and solar "farms". Spain and Portugal together produce the largest percentage of renewable energy in the world. The day was sunny and warm, yet across the plain we saw the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra de Gredos. Quite beautiful!

We arrived in Madrid at rush hour - glad we were going into the city instead of out. Our hotel, the Doubletree by Hilton Prado is on a side street near the Fuente de Neptune and easy walking distance to everything. Because we were tired we decided to eat at the hotel restaurant - a Japanese restaurant called Kirei. What a pleasant surprise! We got the tasting menu and enjoyed one of the finest meals we have ever had anywhere - even at Michelin star-rated restaurants! After dinner we took a walk around the area before retiring for the night.

On Wednesday, March 8, we took the City Sightseeing tour - only 10 Euros each - senior citizen rate! This being the International Women's Day, I was pleased to see a huge banner hanging on the Congreso de Diputados (House of Representatives) in recognition of the day. We were also reminded of the current direction our country is taking re refugees when we saw the Madrid city hall with a huge "Refugees Welcome" banner prominently displayed.

Refugees welcome in Madrid

Recognizing women in Spain

After a delightful lunch and people watching on Plaza Mayor, we visited the famous Prado Museum. Wow! In the course of our whirlwind tour of this massive museum I discovered a wonderful artist with whom I was not familiar, Claudio de Lorena. My favorite of his works is The Embarkation of Saint Paula.

We also enjoyed the special exhibit of works by Master Mateo. He was granted a lifetime pension by King Ferdinand II in 1168, so it is assumed he was director of work on the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. This museum requires several days to do it justice, so we'll just have to return.

Beautiful architecture is everywhere in Madrid.
We especially liked this little church at the entrance to the Prado.

From the Prado we hopped onto the other route of the City Sightseeing bus for a look at the more modern areas of Madrid. And that's where our real adventure began. We had noticed large groups of people marching along the various streets and sidewalks with prominently displayed signs, purple flags and balloons. As we neared the end of our tour at the Fuente de Neptune, we were unable to reach the destination because the entire area was blocked to traffic and thousands were gathered, or marching toward, the demonstration for justice for women. After an extended ride through a sea of traffic, the closest our bus could get us to the hotel - which was near the fountain - was Plaza de Colon from which we walked about 20 minutes down the Paseo de Recoletos, to the Fuente de Cibeles - where we found ourselves in the middle of the demonstration! It was wonderful! 

Two views of the marchers heading for the Fuente de Cibeles

Part of the crowd at Fuente de Cibeles

From there we continued down Paseo de Prado to our hotel. 

We really liked Madrid! In fact, we like it even better than Barcelona, and plan to return again next year. 

March 9: Today we went to Toledo - one of the oldest and most important cities in Spain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

"Successively a Roman municipium, the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom, a fortress of the Emirate of Cordoba, an outpost of the Christian kingdoms fighting the Moors and, in the 16th century, the temporary seat of supreme power under Charles V, Toledo is the repository of more than 2,000 years of history."

It is also near the beginning of the Tagus River, which runs from there all the way to Lisbon and is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. After the requisite bus tour and a nice lunch, we started to wander through the winding streets of this ancient city. And that is where our real adventure began as we were unable to find the garage where we had parked our car. After at least an hour or more of walking and asking for directions, we finally found the garage and left for "home" in Lisbon, arriving about 10:00 p.m. We'd have been home earlier except that construction and closed streets played havoc with our GPS and we found ourselves in places from which we knew how to walk home, but not drive. This seems to have been our day for being lost. 

View of Toledo from across the River Tagus

Roman bridge crossing the Tagus from Toledo

 

Another Funicular

Just when we though we had ridden all of Lisbon's funiculars, we found another! Yesterday after a delicious lunch at ToB (To Burger or not To Burger) in the Chiado, we wandered further up hill - away from the Saturday crowds - and then started down toward the river where we discovered the Acensor do Bica. This one is smaller than the Gloria and Lavra, holding about 10 people. You don't pay on the car like with the others. Instead you pay at the bottom of the hill, before exiting to the street or before boarding for the trip up.

Speaking of paying for rides on public transportation, you can keep adding money to your ticket. That way rides on the Metro, trams, funiculars and ferries are quite a bit cheaper than paying separately each time you board. So for the funicular, a single ticket is 3.90 Euros. With the ticket it's only 1.4 Euros. There is also an unlimited ticket you can get for 14 Euros (senior citizen rate), that you have to renew each month. Since we are never sure how much we will ride, the regular ticket works for us.

Next week we are driving to Madrid for a couple of nights.

Road trip!

On Monday, February 27, we set out to explore eastern and northern Portugal. Our first stop was in Evora - long a favorite city of ours with its dominant castle wall and Roman ruins. We had lunch in what is possibly the worst pastalaria we have ever encountered - just proves that not ALL Portuguese eateries are good. ;-).

Our next stop was Guardia, near the border with Spain about three hours north of Evora. Our hotel, the Vanguardia, is located on a mountaintop. We got a suite - the last available room - for the princely sum of $125 Euros. For that we had two large rooms with a huge bath! It was rainy and very windy so we dined in. Guardia is in Portugal's ski region. Although snow can be elusive, they have Teflon slopes. Ah, the ingenuity!

The next day (February 28) it was still rainy so we didn't walk into town. Instead we continued our drive north to Branganca. This is located in the extreme north east of the country, less than 5 miles from Portugal's northern border with Spain.

We followed the signs to a Pousada - former castles and/or palaces that are now hotels. Unfortunately the restaurant there did not serve lunch, but the very helpful young woman at the desk gave us a suggestion and an address. Before leaving we enjoyed the view.

View from pousada in Braganca

Unfortunately we were unable to find the recommended restaurant - even with the excellent GPS in our car. Today was the day before lent (carnival) and everything seemed to be closed. It's a strange feeling when during the lunch hour in a Portuguese city no restaurants are open. We parked the car to wander around this lovely little city and encountered an elderly gentleman who we asked about a possible place to eat. He said, "Just a minute" (in Portuguese, of course), then walked back up the hill he had just descended, checked something out, then came back to tell us about a good restaurant at the top of the hill that was open. Talk about going out of one's way to help strangers!

It seems that although it's not a official holiday, the schools and many businesses were closed. We did see evidence of carnival celebrations from the weekend, so figured everyone had simply given themselves the day off to rest. The proprietor of the restaurant seemed to confirm that theory.

After a nice lunch we wandered back down the hill, found a delightful little store selling regional products where we bought wine and cookies before stepping into the church next door. Although not on the same grand scale as most cathedrals in Portugal - or even in Europe - it was nevertheless an impressive space.

Impressive interior of the Cathedral in Braganca

We were really impressed with the beauty of Briganca, but it was time to move on down the road to Viseu - an historic city that dates back to the Visigoths! The route took us through the amazingly beautiful Alto Douro wine region. I do not have the words to describe the beauty of this region! En route we looked up hotels in Viseu and found a Palaceo with great reviews, so I called and booked a room - 69 Euros including breakfast. It's an old palace and located in the historic center of this historic city. We fell in love! Like Briganca, most businesses were closed but we found a nice restaurant less than a block away from the hotel and had a lovely dinner. The next morning we explored Viseu by foot and John thinks he'd like to live here. It is filled with churches, one of which we visited, and ancient buildings. This being Ash Wednesday, we took no pictures inside the church. Even the more modern part of the city is charming with a wonderful square.

Part of the city center in Viseu

On our way back to Lisbon we stopped in at Aviero - the Venice of Portugal. Canals run through the city and gondola-shaped boats are ready to carry tourists through them. These boats were originally built to harvest seaweed from the extensive salt marshes that surround the city. Today this is a major destination for beach goers. We had lunch at a nice little restaurant above the fish market appropriately named Mercado Peixe Restaurant. Needless to say, the fish was fresh!

Tourists or not, the buildings in Aviero are spectacular - covered with Azulejo tiles and in excellent condition. At the park next to a canal we met a man with a small goat on a leash.

Man with a goat!

On a canal in Aviero

Note the lovely building in Aviero.

We got back home about 7:00 and walked to our favorite Italian restaurant, DaVinci where we had a light dinner. All in all a nice exploration of parts of Portugal we had not previously visited.

Speaking of Italians, on Sunday we met two visitors from Italy at a pizzeria! We teased them a bit about being from Italy and visiting a pizza place in Lisbon. They said it was to try a different take on pizza - the "white" pizza with a fried egg on top.

Yesterday, March 2, we took the metro to Parque das Nacoes (the Park of Nations) and walked around checking the neighborhood as a possible place to settle more permanently. We stopped in at a real estate office and are now on the list as being potential clients. She has already sent two possible listings. This is a new section of Lisbon developed for the World's Fair hosted here in 1998. In addition to the exposition space - currently hosting an exhibit on King Tut - there is a large mall, an arena for large shows, and the famous Lisbon Oceanarium. We walked along the river, noted the large variety of restaurants and took a gondola ride along the coast above the river. We like the neighborhood and think we would enjoy living here even though it is not what one thinks of when we think of Lisbon. But the Metro ride into the city center is easy, so we would not be that far removed. Who knows!