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Back to Lisbon, 2022

October - November 2022
A 23-day adventure by Laurie Read more
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  • Laurie ReynoldsBack to Lisbon, 2022
    1
    Day 1

    Starting our castle town circle

    October 27, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We had a long day of travel yesterday, but I got a few hours sleep on the plane and by 10:30 in the morning we were in our rental car and had dropped off a suitcase at the Marriott for my teaching days. We’ve now got a little more than a week to travel. The first few days will be some castle towns, then the Douro Valley, and then three or four nights in Porto. Then head to Lisbon, and I will have to work. This is my 18th year teaching this two week class, and I have been hoping to make it to 20. But we’ll see, the important thing is to enjoy it while we can!

    I was shocked and a little disappointed to get A car with automatic transmission. Our first stop was Estremoz, a big town or small city in the Alentejo region. It’s perched up on a hill and has a really nice castle as well as a well preserved old quarter. Lots of cobblestones make for slow walking. After lunch we headed to Vila Viçosa, which is where we are staying tonight. In a 16th century convent turned hotel.

    After I plugged the hotel address into my phone, Google maps took us to a dead end in a huge marble quarry. This area has a lot of marble, and you can see it in every town in their benches, in their churches, and even in their castles. It was actually interesting to see the quarry and not too far out of the way.

    While Joe napped I took a long walk around town, explored the castle and almost took a tour of the Duke of Braganza palace. But I remembered from about 15 years ago when we were here that the tour, which is obligatory, lasts an hour and goes through an endless number of rooms. I didn’t think my Portuguese or my interest level was up to it after a few hours sleep, so I just enjoyed the view from the outside.

    The weather is great, low 70s Fahrenheit, with a mix of sun and clouds. The weather app shows rain every day for the next 10 days, but so far so good.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack to Lisbon, 2022
    Day 2

    For my historian friends

    October 28, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    When we got to the castle in Castelo de Vide, the very nice man at the entrance told us that there was a new museum inside, dedicated to one of Castelo de Vide’s most illustrious sons — Fernando Salgueiro Maia. On April 25, 1974, a 29-year old Captain in the Portuguese army, he brought his batallion(?) from Santarém into Lisbon in a parade of tanks to form part of the Carnation Revolution. He was positioned in Lisbon in the area of Convento do Carmo, where there is also a military barracks. Turns out the president of the government (Caetano someone) had fled there for protection.

    Salgueiro Maia went inside, demanded the resignation of the government, and it finally came. He spoke to the crowd outside with a bull horn to announce that the government had agreed to step down. The museum shows the evolution of his thought and ultimate decision to join with the other “capitaes”. He had fought in both Moçambique and Guinea, and footage showed some of the carnage he witnessed. Convinced that these colonial wars were going nowhere and were atrociously immoral, he decided, as he said that “Há alturas em que é preciso desobedecer.” (there are moments when it is necessary to disobey).

    As you might imagine, he was praised and feted in the aftermath of the revolution. But the story ends sadly. He was offered many positions in the new government, but unlike the other military heroes, he refused to join the government, being firmly of the opinion that military leaders have no business being government leaders. For that he was shunned, ostracized, and his loyalty questioned. It wasn’t until after his death (at a very young age in the 90s, from cancer) that the government gave his widow Portugal’s highest medals of honor.

    He was born in Castelo de Vide in a modest home (father worked for the RR, mother a maid), and is buried, as he wished, in Castelo de Vide. He has three children — two adopted with his wife, who live in Luxembourg and Lisbon, and an out of wedlock son from his early days, who apparently lives in the US.

    I think Castelo de Vide is rightly and enormously proud of this man.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack to Lisbon, 2022
    Day 2

    Roman Ruins and Castelo de Vide

    October 28, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We left Vila Viçosa after a big breakfast and had about a 75 minute drive through the Alentejo to get to the Roman Ruins of Ammaia. I LOVE the Alentejo — small rolling hills with cork, olive, and scrub oak trees all around. The week of rain they’ve had brought another advantage - all the grass was very green, it was so nice.

    We got to ruins of Ammaia, at one time a city of 2,000, located right on the Roman Road to Mérida. Excavations are ongoing, only started in 1994, but they have excavated the main gateway (with the main entrance arch being spirited away in the late 1700s), the forum and its Jupiter temple, and the baths. Truth be told, we have seen a lot of more complete ruins, but it is, IMHO, always a treat to walk through and contemplate how long ago it was and how they lived. The museum has a lot of little pieces of things, lots of jewelry, and some headless statues of men with robes, of which you’ve probably seen millions. My favorite were the stones that explained to Jupiter someone’s gratitude for fulfilling a wish/desire/prayer. Lovesio was apparently born a slave and freed, and left his carved stone of thanks near what was the altar. I thought Joe should leave some carvings on behalf of the other Loves in our family. Joe did great, and only gave my arm two or three black and blue marks.

    We spent almost all afternoon in Castelo de Vide. It was market day, so parking was tough, but we managed. After lunch of a good salad and sandwich, we walked up to the castle, which opened about 3 minutes after our arrival. Dumb luck. I don’t know what it is with me and castles, but I can’t resist climbing up every step to every tower or lookout point. Joe patiently sat in the keep’s courtyard and waved every time my head popped out.

    Castelo de Vide had a very large Jewish population and their Judería is really very pretty and well preserved. Tough up and down walking for Joe, on cobblestone streets, but in addition to my arm, there was a railing down the center so he was supported on both sides. There is what is thought to have been a synagogue, but I think the experts are not all convinced.

    By 5:00 Joe was taking a nap in our very nice “estalagem” and I embarked on a 90 minute trip through the castle. Marvao Castle has always been one of my very favorites and today was great. So much to climb, so many different vantage points, so many series of embedded walls and protected lookouts. The views are just amazing, and I was there till a few minutes before sunset.

    Our estalagem also owns one of the best restaurants in town, Varanda do Alentejo, and it’s right across the street, so we will eat there. Now that I’ve checked out the castle thoroughly, I can bring Joe back tomorrow to the places that are most accessible for him, and he will not have to sit and watch me climb!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack to Lisbon, 2022
    Day 3

    Romans, Castles, and Rain

    October 29, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    Since Marvao Castle is one of my favorites, I got Joe up there early in the morning for a visit with minimal climbing. Then after breakfast, we drove to Spain, to see Trajan’s bridge (106 AD) over the Tajo/Tejo/Tagus River. I don’t know why I had never heard of it, and it was only thanks to my Camino pal Alan that I knew it was not to be missed. It is spectacular! From there, on to the little historical village of Idanha-a-Velha, where we were able to see some Roman walls and templar towers, and then the rain started.

    Our main destination for the day, the stone village of Monsanto, has become extremely popular in the 8 year interval since we last visited. Parking was difficult (there was one handicapped space open right at the entrance, mocking me for having left Joe’s pass at home). We had about 15 minutes walking on the cobblestone streets through narrow streets and navigating huge boulders. Then the rain started. So I dropped Joe off in a little pastelaria, where he had several empanadas and a few sweets while I climbed up to the castle. Even in the rain, I will climb up to a castle. Thankfully, the rain stopped for a good 20 minutes while I was up there and I was able to climb and enjoy the views. Then a bit more rain while I had a snack in Joe’s place. We did get a good 45 minutes with no rain and enjoyed getting lost in the little narrow streets, it is really a beautiful place.

    We are spending the night in the town of Belmonte. The pousada was full, unfortunately, so we are in town in a modern place that’s fine. I’ve climbed to the castle and explored the judería while Joe naps. That’s a good division of labor for us!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack to Lisbon, 2022
    Day 4

    Repeat of yesterday, minus the rain!

    October 30, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Well not an exact repeat, because even though we visited Roman ruins and some stone villages with castles, just like yesterday, we added a squat gothic cathedral and a 5,000 year old necropolis to the itinerary.

    First stop, Centum Cellas, a 1st C Roman tower with ruins surrounding it. The plaque describes it as a mystery structure—prison, fortress, religious site, villa? My camino friend Alan, whose footsteps we are following (though he is walking and we are driving) rightly pointed out that the Romans were too smart to build a prison or a fortress with so many windows.

    Sortelha is less touristy than the “aldeia histórica” we visited yesterday (Monsanto), but it was much more accessible for Joe. More compact, beautifully preserved. Sortelha dates back to the 12C and used to be part of the kingdom of León, so it must have changed hands several times in the back and forth wars that ultimately resulted in two separate countries. Just beautiful.

    From there, on to Sabugal, another castle town. I hadn’t originally thought we’d visit so many, but given the rain of yesterday, and the fact that I remembered this castle as having its entrance directly to a street in town, I thought it’d be a good one to end the castle circuit with. Joe didn’t climb up to the walls, but sat in the Plaza de Armas and waved when I hollered from above.

    At this point, I though Joe should choose between another medieval town or a gothic cathedral, and he chose the latter. So we drove to Guarda, and surprisingly drove straight up to the cathedral entrance and slipped in an open parking place. After lunch in a decent place near the cathedral, we visited the cathedral (Joe said his prayers while I climbed to the roof) and then hit the road for our Casa Rural in the Douro.

    On the way, we saw a sign pointing off road to a megalithic necropolis. Usually these signs give no indication of how far off road they are, but this one said 5 km. As we went through town, I stopped to ask a resident if the route was well marked, if it was really 5 km away, and if the road was paved (all of these questions were learned the hard way). She assured me it was, and off we went. There is something pretty awesome about standing out in the middle of nowhere and walking through a stone structure built 5,000 years ago to bury the dead of the people who built it.

    Then back on the road. Coming from the south, we had to descend to the Douro, cross it, and ascend to our place on the other side. It is lovely, the Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros. Dinner at 7:30 - no night driving on these roads for me!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack to Lisbon, 2022
    1
    Day 5

    Nothing but Douro

    October 31, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    The rain returned, so we decided that today was the day to take the chug chug train up the Douro to the end of the line, Pocinho. It goes through a part of the river where the train is the only access, and it is quite beautiful. We had a late breakfast and made our way to the train station for an 11:30 train. We were not the only tourists who were doing this, and it involved an hour ride, a half hour wait, and an hour return. Every inch of it along the river. Turns out we had very little rain and lots of nice views, even in the late fall. Some of the grape leaves are still green, others are red, others are yello, others are brown, and still others have fallen off. It makes for a pretty palate.

    Getting back into Pinhao around 2 pm meant we had a late lunch. We ate just a few little empanadas of chicken and tuna, knowing that we were in for another big meal tonight back at the hotel.

    By the time we were done with lunch, the rain had stopped totally and the sky was dotted with big clouds, little clouds, grey clouds, dark clouds, white clouds. We decided to take about an hour drive up into the vineyards and had some pretty amazing views along with a few walks through open vineyards (we figured the owners wouldn’t mind if we walked through the vineyards instead of along the very narrow highway).

    So that was the sum total of our day — no Roman anything, no medieval cities, no megalithic necropolis! Relaxing and plenty of fresh air with beautiful views. The Douro Valley is really one of my favorite places.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack to Lisbon, 2022
    Day 6

    Douro again!

    November 1, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    The plan originally was to head to Porto today, but someone at breakfast raved about a place they had stayed, in a working vineyard no less. That was enough for me to change plans. I just love this part of Portugal. So we lolly-gagged around the valley, up and down from the river level to high lookout points, and had a picnic lunch at one of them. On the way, I saw several arrows, reminding me that I had walked through these parts a little more than a month ago.

    By about 3:30, we were checked in to the Casal dos Capelinhos. Joe was starting his nap, and I was walking up and down, back and forth (some rows are parallel to the river, some are perpendicular) from one row of grapes to another. The sun dropped slowly behind the hill in front of us, and it was so peaceful. The time flew by.

    We will eat here tonight, and tomorrow we will definitely go to Porto!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack to Lisbon, 2022
    Day 7

    Into Porto

    November 2, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    I took an early walk through the vineyard and after a scrumptious breakfast (my favorite was a homemade chia mango yoghurt) we headed to Porto. It was an easy drive, at least till we got into the city. Since I’ll be driving the car back to Lisbon on Saturday,, I drove it to a parking garage close to our hotel, which is on a pedestrian street.

    How Porto has changed since we were last here, which was probably almost 15 years ago. Oh so very trendy. Lots of beautiful hotels in old mansions. Ours is in a 16C palace, and has a fitness center with elliptical, so what more could we ask for?

    While Joe napped, I went to the fitness center and then took a walk over the top level of the bridge to Gaia’s Jardim do Morro . Gorgeous views back over the Douro to Porto’s riverside.

    Joe was up and ready to head out with almost two hours of daylight left. We walked down to the river and across to Gaia on the lower level of the bridge this time. Such incredibly beautiful scenes.

    Our hotel is near a million restaurants so dinner will be easy. The last picture is of the biggest penny candy shop I’ve ever seen. They weigh your bag. At 4€ per 100 grams, it’s not cheap.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack to Lisbon, 2022
    Day 8

    Day in Porto

    November 3, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    The huge hotel breakfast gave us lots of energy, so from 11-4, Joe snd I walked and visited and walked some more. About 7-8 miles for him today! The trick is frequent stops snd frequent snacks. I stopped counting how many pasteis de nata he has had since we arrived in Portugal.

    We had not intended to stop in the bookstore that is supposedly J. K. Rowling’s inspiration for some of Hogwarts. But she herself has said she was never there! The line was huge and we were walking by. As we stopped to peek at the window, a nice attendant came up and said we could jump the line, no doubt because of our infirm condition. So we paid our €12 and went in. It was mobbed, but it really is a beautiful bookstore.

    From there we got caught up in a huge construction project going on in the middle of the city. Porto is adding a new metro line, a project that will take at least a decade, and it has really made a mess of certain parts of the city. But after we navigated it, we made our way back over to Gaia,, this time on the top level of the bridge. From there, we went to the cathedral and to the Gothic São Francisco church, whose insides have been turned into a Baroque riot.

    I was on my own for a few hours, and just enjoyed going up and down the hills, finding little lookouts, and then walking across the bridge one more time, this time to see the riverside lit up at night. We probably won’t go far for dinner, and hopefully it’ll be an early night to bed.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsBack to Lisbon, 2022
    Day 9

    To Pinhais & Cia.

    November 4, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    The New York Times had an article this summer describing the tour of the Pinhais canning factory, which has retained an entirely manual processing method. The original founding Pinhal family, was ready to close the conservaría (which has been the fate of nearly all of the many canning factories in this area), but a rich Austrian who very much loves these particular sardines bought the factory in 2020. His condition was that the original methods be preserved. And he opened the factory to tours. It was incredibly interesting.

    We started in the original business office, with ornate staircases, beautiful tiles, all the old office equipment. There are a couple of movies (a little hokey) some reels showing old fishing scenes. Then we move to the actual factory, where the work is being done (a M-F visit is highly recommended though they give tours on weekends)

     The line work is all done by women (some in the third or fourth generation). First step, chop off the head and pull out the guts in one swipe of the knife. Another woman cuts off the tail. There’s another line of women that put the special seasoning in each can —clove, Bayleaf, chili pepper, carrot, pickle, and black pepper. Then finally the perfectly cut sardines are placed in the cans. The cans themselves are closed mechanically. But the labels are put on by hand, at a pace of one every six seconds.

    The women seemed to take enormous pride in their work. Many came to greet us on the floor and seemed genuinely happy. The NYT article reported that the women make 800€ a month, which is just minimum wage. I’m not equating job satisfaction with a high salary, but it did surprise me.

    We took a bus out and back, from the Douro to the sea and up the coast a bit. After an hour walk along the water, we headed back. I then took one last walk across the bridge to enjoy the view in late afternoon sun and to watch all the people speaking so many different languages and all enjoying the same beautiful sights.    Read more

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