Portugal continued

Portugal continued......

Our last few days in Portugal were fantastic. We felt comfortable with driving, loved the high standard of food and the friendly people. There's so much beauty in the countryside, architecture, antique furniture and attractive décor. Portugal is a great introduction to Europe.

On the way south from Porto, we photographed a gothic monastery at Batalha. It was built of limestone so its age (600 years approximately) shows compared with buildings in the north built with granite.

In Lisbon we went on a tour of more churches. We slipped into a Catholic church and watched a sermon. The acoustics were impressive. It was built so that many people could hear one person speaking. We are not familiar with all the patrons and rituals and unfortunately there wasn't much else to see. It was January 1st so many places were closed, except one - Pasteis de Belem. Their speciality is baking the Portuguese tart! I have been eating them in Hallam with my teacher colleagues and they are like a custard tart with a creme brulee top and flaky pastry crust. Yum!!

On our last day we drove to Sintra. Katelyn had completed a project and studied its history and architecture for her year 12 speaking exam in Portuguese. It was great for her to see the place and show us its magical beauty. First we went to the gardens of Quinta da Regaleira. The tour guide told us the story of a man who was born in an incredibly rich family who had made money from sugar and coffee plantations in Brazil. He didn't need to work and he set about building a home which incorporated his fantasies and knowledge about Greek mythology, Knights Templar, the Masons and Catholic religion. He built tunnels and a well that had something to do with the spiritual journey of life and being reborn again. He was, I think, a very mixed up and eccentric man. We did like exploring the manor and the gardens as they were so beautiful and creative.

On the hilltop above there was a Moorish castle. We had been to so many castles, so we decided to visit Pena Palace that was built on an even higher hill. What a thrill! The palace at Sintra had a theme for various rooms. One circular room had stag heads, all looking down from the walls. Another room was decorated in an Arabic style. The queen had beautiful rooms with furniture that included a writing desk, telephone and rooms for the ladies in waiting and the personal secretary. Another room was just for getting dressed. The kitchen was huge. This photo only shows one corner.

It took a few hours to explore the royal summer palace. It was like exploring a fairytale castle and I found it difficult to believe that it was real and part of Portuguese history.

We could easily imagine people living there.

Neptune!

We could also imagine ourselves living comfortably in Portugal so it was sad to leave the country.

Living it up in style in Portugal

Our trip to Portugal begins in Evora where we rested for three nights and celebrated Christmas. The hotel was homely and luxurious. We were so welcomed and spoilt by the staff and we didn't want to leave. The old part of town was inside a wall and Roman ruins from the first century stood in the centre.

In the countryside we saw megalithic stone monuments arranged by people who lived 5 thousand years. They built a tunnel and a cave out of huge slabs of rock (some five metres high) to bury their dead and a ring of stones to identify the middle of summer for their calendar. Another huge upright stone stood a few kilometres away. It is thought that maybe smoke from a fire at this stone would show the alignment of the mid summer sun when standing at the ring of stones. I find it incredible that the mathematics was achieved so long ago and these mathematicians could convince others that they were correct, and the effort building the stone circle was worth it. They arranged their lives around the changes of seasons so a calendar was very important.


We drove to Monsaraz to visit a medieval fortified hill town built near the border of Spain. It is one of a chain of defence towns. People still lived here and it is perched high up. It looks very impressive with cobblestone streets, white washed walls and great views. They have a small arena with stone seats in the ruins of a castle for bull fights held three times a year.

Marvao is another castle near the border of Spain. We enjoyed the views and climbing the walls.

 

 

The town of Monsanto has little cottages incorporating the boulders and castle walls in their homes.


We stayed at another beautiful hotel with views of the Douro river in a small town called Pinhao. It is nestled amongst vineyards and steep terraced hills. On the rivers edge we ate the most amazing dinner. The renowned chef was full of surprises for us. Every mouthful was interesting and food was eaten in an order to complement the flavours. Inbetween courses we were asked to try a small sample of something special. One sample was delivered on a teaspoon. When put in the mouth, you got an explosion of chocolate and fruity syrup, then the tingling popping sensation of pop rock.
My dessert consisted of three items and I was asked to eat it from right to left, hot, warm then cold. It was lemon souffle, a glass of warm creamy liquid with port, sliced grapes and toasted almonds then creamy almond icecream. Wow!

At Guimares we arrived at a most magnificent hotel. It had been converted from a former Augustinian convent dating from the 12th century.

After being shown to our room Alan and I just looked at each other and doubled over laughing. It was unbelievable. We had just found our room by walking through a palace and down a corridor 75 metres long. The girls had four poster beds to sleep in.

We explored the town by taking a gondola ride up to a hill top with a church (of course -they're everywhere!) and a grotto in amongst huge boulders. People prayed to various saints.

Next we visited the town castle with a lot of history. The back door is called "Traitor's Door".

When we walked into the front door, there was a surprise. Lots of birds of prey including owls and falcons were on display. One bird had a hood over its eyes and we took turns to hold it.

We climbed to the roof top on the highest tower by going up some crazy stairs and through a small door. The view of the town was great. We were as high as an eight storey building.

  

 

 

This castle was the palace of King Afonso Henriques (1111 - 1185).

My birthday was celebrated at the National park of Geres. The valleys had been shaped by glaciers long ago.



It was lovely to kick the Autumn leaves on the forest floor. We liked the many waterfalls and I found a mysterious abandoned cottage in a clearing, which we called the witches house!

  
Jessie and Katie liked the reindeer signs. Katie and her camera captured some beauiful photos.

 

Can you spot Jessie in the picture below?

That night I celebrated my 50th in an interesting restaurant with a great atmosphere in the old part of Porto. The staff gave me a slice of biscuit cake, roses and lit the candle. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday".



Last night I drove in the heavy rain on dark roads to arrive at Lisboa. We walked in the rain to our New Years Eve party and arrived dripping wet. People were dressed beautifully and we felt a bit bedraggled. We were made to feel welcomed and sat with people from Sweedon and France. The band played and a girl sang. We ate lobster and fillet migon. My favourite!
Before 12 o'clock we went to a disco room and danced. The countdown for midnight was a bit of an anticlimax. No mothers' group!! Greatly missed....
Those Europeans can dance! We had a great night.

Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year from the Hamiltons! Alan, Celia, Jessica and Katelyn.   xxxxxxx