10
Sep 13

Lisbon

Tuesday
Lisbon time! A bit scared of the driving and parking in Lisbon’s tiny, narrow, one-way, crowded streets, we did not let the fear get the best of us and bravely headed in for the morning. Iestyn and Nexy did super well and we arrived at our chosen hyper-modern underground parking lot in the middle of all that mattered in Lisbon.

Gina with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

Gina with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

Minature Lisbon from Miraduro da Graça

Minature Lisbon from Miraduro da Graça

We started off at the Miraduro da Graça, a nice viewpoint over the town with a cherry of a church on top. From there we walked over to the gorgeous Igreja São Vincente de Fora, with beautiful azulejo-filled cloister and epic exhibition of 18th-century azulejo illustration of La Fontaine’s Fables. Also, the biggest collection of seashells.

Igreja São Vincente de Fora, Cloister

Igreja São Vincente de Fora, Cloister

Igreja São Vincente de Fora

Igreja São Vincente de Fora

Sea shell collection

Sea shell collection

Quick trip to the flea market behind the church, and outside view of the national pantheon. We were not too keen on the insides of the castle, which was also insanely touristy, so we just made a nice walk around on the top of the hill for views.

Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mary Major

Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mary Major

A visit to the cathedral and a couple more churches, and we were ready for a rest in a nice Austrian café with toasted sandwiches, strudel and beer/coffee. This gave us energy for more sightseeing, and we headed to the spectacular Praça do Commercio, where we were approached by drug dealers every time we passed by the central statue of Dom Jose I (no less than five times).

Nice Austrian café

Nice Austrian café

Praça do Commercio

Praça do Commercio

Dom Jose I statue

Dom Jose I statue

We then tried to figure out how to get to Belem by public transport when Iestyn had a genius idea of just driving there, which proved super useful not only because it was only some 7 km from where we were, but also because we later found out that our campsite was very close to Belem as well.

Chillin'

Chillin’

Lisbon Tram and street

Lisbon Tram and street

In Belem, we visited the most beautiful place of them all, the ultimate Manueline beauty to rule them, the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. Do I even need to mention it’s on the list?

Standing at the entrance to Lisbon harbour, the Monastery of the Hieronymites – construction of which began in 1502 – exemplifies Portuguese art at its best. The nearby Tower of Belém, built to commemorate Vasco da Gama’s expedition, is a reminder of the great maritime discoveries that laid the foundations of the modern world.

Monastery of the Hieronymites entrance

Monastery of the Hieronymites entrance

Pillar Detail

Pillar Detail

A very relaxed Gina

A very relaxed Gina

Cloisters of Jerónimos Monastery

Cloisters of Jerónimos Monastery

As our book says:

The mosteiro is the stuff of pure fantasy – a fusion of Diogo de Boitaca’s creative vision and the spice and pepper dosh of Manuel I, who commissioned it to trumpet Vasco da Gama’s discovery of a sea route to India in 1498. There is nothing like the moment you walk into the honey-stoned Manueline cloisters, dripping with organic detail in their delicately scalloped arches, twisting auger-shell turrets and columns intertwined with leaves, vines and knots.

Indeed, nothing like it. Vasco da Gama’s tomb is in the church as well.

"..honey-stoned Manueline cloisters"

“..honey-stoned Manueline cloisters”

Gina midd dance

Gina midd dance

From the monastery we walked over to the Tower of Belem, already mighty tired for the day.

Tower of Belem

Tower of Belem


06
Sep 13

Vila Nova de Milfontes

Friday
Thanks to our guidebook, we discovered a beautiful, secluded beach about 5 km from the town, which had the most epic waves. I can’t remember having so much fun playing in massive waves in a long time! It was a great day, except Iestyn got completely lobsterised in the process.

Arriving at Vila Nova de Milfontes

Arriving at Praia do Malhão

Vila Nova de Milfontes

Praia do Malhão

Panorama of Vila Nova de Milfontes

Panorama of Praia do Malhão

A happy Gina

A happy Gina

Gina in binkers

Gina in binkers

Dinner in a small café in town.


05
Sep 13

Évora

Thursday
The big “drive to the south” day, broken only by a visit to the medieval gem of Évora town. Do I need to say it’s another UNESCO site?

This museum-city, whose roots go back to Roman times, reached its golden age in the 15th century, when it became the residence of the Portuguese kings. Its unique quality stems from the whitewashed houses decorated with azulejos and wrought-iron balconies dating from the 16th to the 18th century. Its monuments had a profound influence on Portuguese architecture in Brazil.

Cathedral of Évora

Cathedral of Évora

Central nave of Évora Cathedral

Central nave of Évora Cathedral

Yellow Evora Streets

Yellow Evora Streets

We saw most of the sites in Évora, except for the ossuary, which neither of us had any interest in seeing, because ewww.

Rooftop panorama

Rooftop panorama

Evora Cathedral Cloisters

Evora Cathedral Cloisters

Gina and the Cathedral towers

Gina and the Cathedral towers

Cathedral Rooftop

Cathedral Rooftop

Roman Temple of Évora

Roman Temple of Évora

In the afternoon we made it all the way to Vila Nova de Milfontes, a chilled out beach town, where we intend to spend a day of beach relax tomorrow. In the evening we went to a grilled fish restaurant beautifully located on the beach, and had some huge grilled sea breams, which were delicious.

Grilled sea breams at Vila Nova de Milfontes

Grilled sea breams at Vila Nova de Milfontes


04
Sep 13

Tomar – Batalha – Alcobaça

Wednesday
We got up super early because this was to be a culture-packed day, and we wanted to have a lot of time to absorb all the new information. The bar in the camp wasn’t even open yet, so we got on our way without a coffee and headed first to Tomar.

Gina & the Convento de Cristo

Gina & the Convento de Cristo

Gina & Claustro da Lavagem

Gina & Claustro da Lavagem

Tomar’s Convento de Cristo, former Knights Templar HQ, is an absolutely exquisite architectural wonder and we loved it. This is what our book says about it:

Wrapped in equal parts splendour and mystery, the Knights Templar held enormous power in Portugal from the 12th to 16th centuries, and largely bankrolled the Age of Discoveries. Their headquarters are set on wooded slopes above the town and enclosed within 12th-century walls. The Convento de Cristo is a stony expression of magnificence combined with the no-holds-barred theatricality that long lent the order its particular fascination. The monastery was founded in 1160 by Gualdim Pais, Grand Master of the Templars. It has chapels, cloisters and chapter houses in widely diverging styles, added over the centuries by successive kings and Grand Masters.

Gina chilling in the sun

Gina chilling in the sun

Fine Manueline style detail

Fine Manueline style detail

Of course, Tomar’s monastery is on the UNESCO list, and you can read about it here. It was here at Tomar that I found my new all-time favourite architectural style – Manueline – “flamboyant gothic” if you can wrap your head around that. As we are going to see many spectacular examples of the style during our trip, brief intro to the style from wiki is in order:

The Manueline (Portuguese: estilo manuelino, or Portuguese late Gothic), is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century, incorporating maritime elements and representations of the discoveries brought from the voyages of Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral. This innovative style synthesizes aspects of Late Gothic architecture with influences of the Spanish Plateresque style, Italian urban architecture, and Flemish elements. It marks the transition from Late Gothic to Renaissance. The construction of churches and monasteries in Manueline was largely financed by proceeds of the lucrative spice trade with Africa and India.

The style was given its name, many years later, by Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen, Viscount of Porto Seguro, in his 1842 book, Noticia historica e descriptiva do Mosteiro de Belem, com um glossario de varios termos respectivos principalmente a architectura gothica, in his description of the Jerónimos Monastery. Varnhagen named the style after King Manuel I, whose reign (1495–1521) coincided with its development. The style was much influenced by the astonishing successes of the voyages of discovery of Portuguese navigators, from the coastal areas of Africa to the discovery of Brazil and the ocean routes to the Far East, drawing heavily on the style and decorations of East Indian temples.

Although the period of this style did not last long (from 1490 to 1520), it played an important part in the development of Portuguese art. The influence of the style outlived the king. Celebrating the newly maritime power, it manifested itself in architecture (churches, monasteries, palaces, castles) and extended into other arts such as sculpture, painting, works of art made of precious metals, faience and furniture.

The window of the Convent of Christ in Tomar is a well-known example of Manueline style, as our bok says:

It’s the ultimate in Manueline extravagance, a celebration of the Age of Discoveries: a Medusa tangle of snaking ropes, seaweed and cork boats, on top of which floats the Cross of the Order of Crist and the royal arms and armillary spheres of Dom Mauel.

The famous chapterhouse window, made by Diogo de Arruda in 1510-1513.

The famous chapterhouse window, made by Diogo de Arruda in 1510-1513.

And I would add that it also have a bearded man on it, so what’s not to like? Manueline 4evs!

Manueline details

Manueline details

From Tomar we headed to Batalha’s Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitoria, another UNESCO site on the list for today:

The Monastery of the Dominicans of Batalha was built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese over the Castilians at the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. It was to be the Portuguese monarchy’s main building project for the next two centuries. Here a highly original, national Gothic style evolved, profoundly influenced by Manueline art, as demonstrated by its masterpiece, the Royal Cloister.

Gina at Batalha’s Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitoria

Gina at Batalha’s Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitoria

Stained glass window colours

Stained glass window colours

My favourite part were the “unfinished chapels”, another stunning example of Manueline architecture.

Entrance to the "Unfinished chapels"

Entrance to the “Unfinished chapels”

"Unfinished chapels"

“Unfinished chapels”

They form a separate octagonal structure tacked on the choir of the church (via a retrochoir) and only accessible from the outside. It was commissioned in 1437 by King Edward of Portugal (“Dom Duarte”, d.1438) as a second royal mausoleum for himself and his descendants. The original design, begun by Huguet, was altered by successive architects, especially Mateus Fernandes (who is buried inside the church). The octagonal rotunda has seven radiating hexagonal chapels. In the corners of the chapels stand the massive unfinished buttresses, that were intended to support the vault. These pillars, designed by Diogo Boitac, are decorated with Manueline motives carved in stone. The portal rises to a monumental fifteen metres. It was originally built in Gothic style, but was transformed beyond recognition by Mateus Fernandes into a masterpiece of Manueline style (completed in 1509). It is completely decorated into a lacework of sumptuous and stylized Manueline motives: armillary, spheres, winged angels, ropes, circles, tree stumps, clover-shaped arches and florid projections. (fancy words from wiki)

Us outside the Batalha Monastery

Us outside the Batalha Monastery

To finish the day, we drove to Alcobaça, to see the last monastery and UNESCO site for today.

The Monastery of Santa Maria d’Alcobaça, north of Lisbon, was founded in the 12th century by King Alfonso I. Its size, the purity of its architectural style, the beauty of the materials and the care with which it was built make this a masterpiece of Cistercian Gothic art.

Monastery of Santa Maria d’Alcobaça

Monastery of Santa Maria d’Alcobaça

Main Chapel

Main Chapel

It was pretty good no doubt, although by now our standards were pretty high and not just every unesco site was going to make our jaws drop. Afterwards we finally had a very late lunch and also coffee and cakes, and were mighty tired, just looking to crash down somewhere.

Cloister of Silence

Cloister of Silence

Gina and the Alcobaça Monastery.

Gina and the Alcobaça Monastery.

Eating well!

Eating well!

Monastery of Santa Maria d’Alcobaça

Monastery of Santa Maria d’Alcobaça

We camped in a nice little town Foz do Arelho with a beautiful beach, where we watched the last surfers of the day catching their waves.

Sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean

Sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean

Gina at Foz do Arelho

Gina at Foz do Arelho


01
Sep 13

Porto

Sunday
Alarm at 4am, but we have no probs getting up. Everything’s ready, so we just got dressed and picked up our bags went out to flag a taxi. With no traffic at this hour we got to the airport still before 5am. I was a bit worried that my carry-on bag would be too big, and we know how RyanAir likes to harass people and make them pay extra – it’s like their favourite thing to do ever – but it was all ok, as a matter of fact a bit disturbingly smooth. After a quick b-fast in Starbucks we found ourselves in a completely fully booked plane direction Porto.

Brilliant weather for flying!

Brilliant weather for flying!

A bit of a snooze and we got out in hot and humid Porto airport – still before 9am! (This is also the point where we found out that Portugal is actually on UK time, not European – everyday we learn something new!)
We got our rental car with no probs (Renault Clio with AC) and headed in the direction of the town centre – at least that’s what we thought. However, we got trapped in the maze of the highways and motorways, all of which failed to signpost the Porto centre. Eventually Nexy saved the day and got us the GPS signal and safely to town. Our hotel was smack in the middle of the centre in a tiny narrow one-way street encircled by a web of other on-way streets but finally we managed to park and check into our tiny but cosy room. Without further ado we dressed in our summer-Sunday-best clothes, and went to explore the town.

Porto!

Porto!

Our guide provided us with a handy walking tour suggestion, from which we occasionally diverted, and covered all the major pretty spots of Porto. Of course the main attraction are the beautiful streets of Porto themselves, with charming houses, little balconies, tiled facades, laundry lines, and terraces.

Panorama of Porto.

Panorama of Porto.

Torre dos Clérigos

Torre dos Clérigos

Yep, this is how I rolled.

Yep, this is how I rolled.

Douro river.

Douro river.

Gina & the Douro river.

Gina & the Douro river.

Porto’s historical centre is on UNESCO’s World Heritage list, first of many sites we are planning to see during this trip. This is what they have to say about it:

The city of Oporto, built along the hillsides overlooking the mouth of the Douro river, is an outstanding urban landscape with a 2,000-year history. Its continuous growth, linked to the sea (the Romans gave it the name Portus, or port), can be seen in the many and varied monuments, from the cathedral with its Romanesque choir, to the neoclassical Stock Exchange and the typically Portuguese Manueline-style Church of Santa Clara.

(rest on their web) After the walk we took showers and got a short much needed nap, before heading out for a nice dinner of seabass and cod, super fresh, and cheese cake (shared), super heavenly.

Fresh fish!

Fresh fish!