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2024 Portugal Croatia
  • Terry Torraca
  • Pam Inman
  • Susan Stewart
  • Terry Torraca
  • Pam Inman
  • Susan Stewart
  • Lola Houston

2024 Portugal Croatia

A 19-day adventure by Terry, Pam, Susan & Lola Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 13, 2024
  • 2024 Portugal Croatia

    ST Vincent statue

    August 14, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    Meet up point for food tour. Great views of the bay and several landmarks. Saint Vincent was once the patron saint of Lisbon and the Kingdom of Portugal, until he was replaced by Saint Anthony in 1981. Vincent was captured by the Romans and taken to Valencia, where he was martyred. He would have suffered from the torture and his body thrown to the ground to be devoured by animals, among them crows. Strangely enough, the birds renounced their characteristic necrophagy and began to defend Vincent's remains from other predators, in what was considered his first miracle. Crows that accompanied the boat that brought the relics of St. Vincent to Lisbon in 1173. Hence the boat flanked by two crows that to this day illustrates Lisbon's flag and the other symbols of the city's City Hall.Read more

  • 2024 Portugal Croatia

    Memorial to eathquake

    August 15, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    The ruins of the Carmo Convent and Church situated in the heart of Portugal’s capital is a testimony to the deadliest earthquake in Lisbon’s history. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with subsequent fires and a tsunami, the earthquake almost completely destroyed Lisbon and adjoining areas. Seismologists estimate the Lisbon earthquake had a magnitude of 7.7 or greater on the moment magnitude scaleRead more

  • 2024 Portugal Croatia

    Lisbon - Nossa Senhor do Monte

    August 15, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    The highest point in Lisbon. Excellent views. Vendors were annoying. Sites seen include the Castelo do Sao Jorge-11th-century, hilltop Moorish castle & royal residence with palace ruins & archaeological museum. The 25 April Bridge named after the date of the Carnation Revolution in 1974 and built by the same contractor that constructed the San Francisco Bay Bridge.Read more

  • 2024 Portugal Croatia

    Belém Tower Torre de Belém

    August 15, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F

    Belém Tower, officially the Tower of Saint Vincent is a 16th-century fortification located in Lisbon that served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. This tower symbolizes Portugal's maritime and colonial power in early modern Europe. It was built during the height of the Portuguese Renaissance, and is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style, but it also incorporates other architectural styles, such as the minarets, which are inspired by Moorish architecture. The structure was built from lioz limestone and is composed of a bastion and a 30-metre (100 ft), four-storey tower.

    Since 1983, the tower has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Jerónimos Monastery. It is often portrayed as a symbol of Europe's Age of Discoveries.    Read more

  • 2024 Portugal Croatia

    Monument - Portuguese Age of Discovery

    August 15, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    Padrão dos Descobrimentos is located along the Tagus river where ships departed to explore and trade with India and the Orient, the monument celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery (or "Age of Exploration") during the 15th and 16th centuries.
    Statues
    In addition to the main statue of Henry the Navigator, holding a model of a carrack, on either side of the ramps of the monument are a total of 33 figures from the history of the Discoveries. Vasco da Gama (discoverer of the sea route to India), Pedro Álvares Cabral (discoverer of Brazil), Ferdinand Magellan (first to circumnavigate the globe),    Read more

  • 2024 Portugal Croatia

    Cascais

    August 16, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    Cascais's history as a popular seaside resort originated in the 1870s, when King Luís I of Portugal and the Portuguese royal family made the seaside town their residence every September, thus also attracting members of the Portuguese nobility, who established a summer community there. Cascais is known for the many members of royalty who have lived there, including King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, when he was the Duke of Windsor, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, and King Umberto II of Italy. Exiled Cuban president Fulgencio Batista was also once a resident of the municipality. The Casino Estoril inspired Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale.[3]

    The municipality is one of the wealthiest in both Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula. It has one of the most expensive real estate markets and one of the highest costs of living in the country, and is consistently ranked highly for its quality of life.    Read more

  • 2024 Portugal Croatia

    Cabo da Roca

    August 16, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    Most western point of Europe. The point includes a lighthouse that started operation in 1772. The cape is within the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, 42 kilometres west of the city of Lisbon and in the southwest of Sintra. A location (38°47′N 9°30′W) is inscribed on a stone plaque, located on a monument at the site.Read more

  • 2024 Portugal Croatia
    Sinjar has a unique combination of architecture

    Sintra town

    August 16, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated municipalities of Portugal. A major tourist destination famed for its picturesqueness, the municipality has several historic palaces, castles, scenic beaches, parks and gardens. The area includes the Sintra-Cascais Nature Park through which the Sintra Mountains run. The historic center of the Vila de Sintra is famous for its 19th-century Romanticist architecture, historic estates and villas, gardens, and royal palaces and castles, which resulted in the classification of the town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sintra's landmarks include the medieval Castle of the Moors, the romanticist Pena National Palace and the Portuguese Renaissance Sintra National Palace.Read more

  • 2024 Portugal Croatia

    Sintra National Palace of Pena

    August 16, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    The National Palace of Pena stands out as the renowned jewel in the crown of the Sintra Hills. The coloured tones of the palace, the pinnacle of Romanticism in Portugal and the eternal legacy of Ferdinand II, the King-Artist. The site reaches back to the 12th century as a chapel. It remained open after the earthquake of 1755 until 1834 when all religious orders in Portugal were abolished. Two years later, in 1836, Queen Maria II married Ferdinand and according to the nuptial contract, Ferdinand was bestowed with the status of King-consort. Ferdinand II was one of the most cultured men of 19th century Portugal known nationally as the King-Artist. Shortly after his arrival in Portugal, he fell for Sintra and acquired, from his own personal fortune, The original project was simply to restore the building as the summer residence for the royal family but his enthusiasm led him to opt for the construction of a palace and extending the pre-existing construction and developing an extensive development of the surrounding park. Following the death of Queen Maria II in 1853, Ferdinand would later marry Elise Hensler, an opera singer and the Countess of Edla. The second phase of occupation of Pena by the Royal Family saw the presence of King Carlos I (1863-1908) and Queen Amelie of Orleans (1865-1951). Queen Amelie was in the Palace of Pena when taken by surprise by news of the Declaration of the Republic on 5th October 1910, and where she escaped to Gibraltar. The Palace of Pena was classified as a National Monument in 1910 and by UNESCO as World Heritage in 1995.Read more

  • 2024 Portugal Croatia

    Monsaraz

    August 17, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 100 °F

    Mystical location where we a toured the village, did wine tasting at Ervideira Winery in an old school house, and had a wonderful lunch at Taverna Os Templários overlooking the valley and lake into Spain. Lake Alqueva is the largest artificial lake in Europe.

    The medieval village of Monsaraz is a true marvel of Portugal, Perched high up on a hilltop it offers amazing views of the surrounding Alentejo countryside and Lake Alqueva. It’s a small village surrounded by historic walls and at one end a 13th century castle. This part of Portugal is often called the land that time forgot. Due to its geographic position, the hilltop of Monsaraz always occupied an important place in the history of the municipality, having been occupied by different peoples since the pre-historical record. Monsaraz was reorganized during the Roman occupation, and was later successively occupied by the Visigoths, Arabs, Mozarabs, Jews, and, after the Reconquista, Christians loyal to Afonso Henriques.    Read more

  • 2024 Portugal Croatia

    Evora

    August 17, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 100 °F

    The Capela dos Ossos, is a chapel decorated from floor to ceiling with human bones in decorative arrangements. These are the remains of several thousand monks, recovered from several crypts and cemeteries in the 16th century.

    At the highest point of the city where Évora’s ancient forum once stood is what could be Portugal’s greatest Roman monument. This Corinthian temple was built in the 1st century and would likely have been devoted to Diana.

    Due to its well-preserved old town center, still partially enclosed by medieval walls, and many monuments dating from various historical periods, including a Roman Temple, Évora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Évora has a history dating back more than five millennia. It was known as Ebora by the Celtici, a tribal confederacy, south of the Lusitanians (and of Tagus river), who made the town their regional capital. The Romans conquered the town in 57 BC and expanded it into a walled town. The Moors occupied the town 715-1165 then recaptured in 1165 by Afonso I to become one of the most dynamic cities in the kingdom of Portugal.    Read more

  • 2024 Portugal Croatia

    Almourol Castle Castelo de Almourol

    August 18, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    One of the most scenic castles in Portugal. Off the beaten path that requires a short boat ride to visit.

    It is a medieval castle atop the islet of Almourol in the middle of the Tagus River. The castle was part of the defensive line controlled by the Knights Templar, and a stronghold used during the Portuguese Reconquista. The castle of Almourol is one of the more emblematic medieval military monuments of the Reconquista, and one of the best representations of the influence of the Knights Templar in Portugal.
    It is believed that the castle was constructed on the site of a primitive Lusitanian castro that was later conquered by the Romans during the 1st century B.C.E.    Read more

  • 2024 Portugal Croatia

    Castelo de Tomar

    August 18, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    The castle in the city of Tomar or "Castelo dos Templarios" is considered one of the most important Portuguese military buildings of the 12th century. Inside, it houses the Convent of Christ, a monument of great historic value and majestuosidad, forming a unique example of its genre. It has been listed as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1983.Read more

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