Well, Madrid is behind us, and now Portugal is too, but not without leaving their marks.
We rented a car in Madrid, and just getting to the rental office was a big enough adventure. Misdirection to blame. The car we rented is a nice, new VW Polo, quite similar to the Golf of N. America. It handles nicely in even the most hectic of traffic. I can not say the same for Stu. The trip out of Madrid was riddled with traffic circles four lanes wide, and buses threatening to run us off the road. We managed to get out unscathed and make our way onto the highway. The drive was quite nice, with a few very interesting sights. It's quite a thing to drive from one country's capital to that of another in just 6 hours. This drive showed us the equivalent variety of landscapes one could expect to see while driving across all of Canada. Quite impressive.
Lisbon was surprisingly clean and wet. We arrived during the middle of a heavy, heavy rain. However, the remainder of our time spent there was sunny and warm. Our hostel was an adorable set up, just steps from the main plaza. The hostel supplied us breakfast, which was cooked by a sweet old Portuguese lady. Her crepes were fantastic. The most notable characteristics of Lisbon were the sidewalks (tile mosaics) and the buildings sided with tiles. Often, the tiles would illustrate an event or scene, and many times they were simply beautiful patterns. Aside from that, Lisbon offered up a plethora of fantastic sights. Our favorites included the neighborhood of Belém, where we saw the tower of Belém, the monument of Lisboa, and the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. We also really enjoyed the castle of Saó Jorge, and the Sé Cathedral, and the various plazas. The people were also a highlight. They were friendly, welcoming, and very helpful.
After our time in Lisbon, we were off to Sevilla, but not without a stop at the quiet, little, mountain town of Sintra and a beautiful drive along the coast. The town of Sintra is situated nicely below a collection of mansions, castles, palaces, and monasteries/convents. Really there were only multiples of the palaces, but that's still pretty good for such a little town (Pop. approx 33 000). The two sites we put on our must-do list were Quinta da Regaleira and the Palace of Pena. Quinta was a mansion, formerly royal palace, bought by an eccentric millionaire in the 19th century. With his millions and eccentricity, he turned the gardens/backyard into an adventuring fantasy land. The result was something better than most theme-parks. We were able to go through caves, underground tunnels, climb towers, see mystical grottoes and fountains and much more. The entire property was impressive. He even commissioned a tiny chapel with cathedral-like detail for his own personal use next to the mansion. It was an all-around fantastic stop on our tour.
The Palace of Pena was on the top of the mountain above Quinta da Regaleira and while we were there, it was also located in a cloud filled with a thick mist. This was rather unfortunate as it was difficult to see the entire castle from the outside. However, we were still able to notice it's true fairy-tale like qualities, arab influences, and ridiculous color scheme. Sections of the castle were colored by red, yellow, and blue at random (where the blue was all tile work). The inside was interesting, as it was all decorated in elaborate 19th century fashion by the last royals to live there. For a better look at the palace when it's not in a cloud, look at thiswebsite.
After leaving Sintra, we headed down the coast of Portugal as a scenic route to Sevilla. We made our way down the coast on some beautiful, twisting, country roads. We drove by a few very small villages and a few frighteningly large trucks before coming up to Olemira. Olemira is a quaint little white-washed town. It gives a real authentic feeling of southern Portugal. The roads are all cobbled and the buildings, all white. Terra-cotta roofs covered every structure. It all came together to show us how quiet and simple life could be in the back roads of coastal Portugal. After Olemira, we raced towards the southern peninsula, rushing to beat the sunset, and boy are we glad we did. We reached Cabo Saó Vicente just minutes before the sun disappeared and we were treated to a wonderful sight. This place could have easily been mistaken for the end of the Earth. With nothing but shear cliffs and endless ocean in sight, facing due west, the sun glowing red over it all, time stopped for a few moments. If we could choose which sunset to see everyday, it would be the one at Cabo Saó Vicente. At least, until we find a better one. We spent a few minutes after the sunset to eat our pre-purchased picnic. I had a ham and cheese pastry and Stu had some sort of . . . "Meat-Cake" . . . Yum, I guess. Well, he seemed to enjoy it. For dessert, we enjoyed a Portuguese specialty made only for the Christmas season. I could have eaten hundreds of them. If we ever return to Portugal, these desserts will heavily weigh on which time of year we go.
Hasta la proximá vez,
Stu and Kathlene
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