Castles and Palaces

This week we were fortunate to entertain friends Julie and Steve who are touring this part of the world and are headed soon for a bike tour in the south of Portugal.
They'd not been to Lisbon before, so we took them to Belem and Jeronimos Monastery. Later we ascended to Castelo Sao Jorge for awesome views of Lisbon as well as the Tagus and the vast expanse of the Atlantic. The castle is a highlight here because of its vantage and its history--nearly a thousand years as a classic crennelated castle, but recent excavations have uncovered artifacts from Celtic, Phoenecian, Roman, and Visigothic occupations taking us even further back to 800 BC!

While our friends took off on a short trip to Barcelona, we visited Queluz Palace, one of the Portuguese royal residences built after the 1755 earthquake, and what a palace it is! Surprisingly not on everyone's top sight list, it's relatively uncrowded but as fascinating as Versailles, and a great introduction to Portuguese history.Read more