Portugal Redux

Contents

Pousada Castelo Palmela
O Castelo (The Castle)
A Trip to the Seaside
Lisboa
Lisbon Museums
Fado at Santissimo

Following our two week tour of Morocco, we spent 6 days in Portugal. Last year we enjoyed our vacation in northern Portugal so much, we wanted to return and see something of Lisbon and the south of the country. In addition, we both found the time in Morocco rather exhausting, and a few days in a pleasant location seemed like a good way to relax and recover.

One of the places we really enjoyed last year was a pousada, a historical building conveted into a luxury hotel. Our first few days this time were spent in a pousada about 50 kilometers south of Lisben, the Pousada Castelo Palmela.

The pousada is part of the historic Castelo de Palmela. The introductory photo shows the view from our room. The castle and pousada are set on top of a steep hill outside the town of Palmela, and they offer panoramic views in every direction.

One window in our room, looking north, overlooked the town, with distant views towards the River Tagus and Lisbon. As the day progressed the character of the view changed.

Looking south from the castle we had a view of the sea, and the port town of Setúbal, which also looked magical as darkness set in.

Earliest human occupation of the site dates back to prehistory. There is evidence that a settlement was constructed in 310 BC, and was fortified by the Romans in 106. The site was occpied by the Visigoths, and then by the Muslims. The latter greatly expanded the fort during the tenth through 12th centuries.

It was only a few steps from the pousada to the original parts of the castle. Immediately inside the entrance are the ruins of the church of Santa Maria. With the exception of the church, however, the castle is in generally excellent condition.

Adjacent to the church is the tower, or keep. A climb to the top of the keep is a good workout. Climbing it twice is a very good workout. The second climb was undertaken when Gordon decided he need a photo of the hair pin bend he had to negotiate every time we left or returned to the pousada. On leaving the parking lot one descends the narrow road on the left. The road into town is the road on the right. By the end of our stay Gordon had worked out how to take the turn without using reverse gear (which the vehicle in the photo has to do).

While Gordon was improving his cardio-vascular fitness, JoAnn, who was having problems with her leg, decided that a prolonged study of the castle cistern might be more interesting.

At night time the castle is illuminated, giving it a distinctly romantic air.

One day the weather was especially fine. We decided that a trip to the coast would be rewarding and relaxing. Setúbal was only a few kilometers away, and the coast west of Setúbal was said to be very attractive.

The route took us through a number of country roads, where the absence of traffic made driving a joy. Along the way we encountered a number of picturesque locations.

We arrived at the coast road which, in April, was not busy. We passed one or two commercial shipping sites, but for the most part the scenery was very attractive.

Eventually we spotted a beautiful bay that we decided was a perfect place for lunch, if we could find a restaurant.

While JoAnn sat on a convenient rock and admired the bay, Gordon went in search of food. He discovered a small beach with few other people using it. A little further on was the restaurant we were looking for.

Even with her troublesome leg, JoAnn was able to make her way along a difficult trail bordered by fierce-looking prickly pear, down to the beach, and along the boardwalk to the restaurant.

There we enjoyed an excellent lunch, the fish being as fresh as one would expect of a seeaside restaurant. We were in no hurry to finish, but eventually we made our way back to the pousada, and spent a restful afternoon.

We spent three nights in Lisbon at the York House Hotel - two and a half really, since we had to leave before 3 a.m. to catch a plane home. The York House is an inconspicuous hotel on a narrow street in an older section of town - a working section of Lisbon, not an elegant tourist area.

From the street one passes through a gate house and climbs some 50 steps (no elevator) before arriving at a courtyard, and access to the remainder of the hotel. Being a rather old building (17th century), the rooms were rather small, but some ingenious steps had been taken to enlarge the public lounge without creating structural problems.

The hotel was not far from the Lisbon docks, although a large part of the docks have been converted into museums, nightclubs, and play space. An elaborate pedestrian bridge has to be used to access the area, giving visitors a view of three modes of city transporation (trains, trolleys, and automobiles).

Visitors who prefer some way to get around other than their own feet can rent a scooter. There seems to be no requirement that they be able to use the scooter. This gentleman headed off looking very unsteady, his companion keeping a wary eye on him. Nearby several youngsters at one of the play areas exhibited greater levels of expertise on wheels.

Lisbon boasts many fine museums, but we had time to visit only two. The Museum of the Orient is a large museum devoted to many aspects of oriental arts. One of our favorite displays featured the Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. He claims that his designs are inspired by the idea of a forest, using an analogy between the forest and the city of Tokyo.

Another display that caught our attention was devoted to Chinese opera. There was an extensive presentation of the complex elements that make up a tradiitonal opera, including models of the standard characters that appear in the stories. Unfortunately, the displays were almost entriely static, with essentially no audio or video examples.

The other museum we enjoyed a lot was the Gulbenkian Museum. The concrete building itself is not very welcoming, but one never notices this since it is beautifully integrated into extensive gardens.

The gardens themselves are layed out around streams and ponds. Some of the sculptures from the museum are strategically located. It's a great place to relax after spending some time in the museum.

The centerpiece of the museum is the Founder’s Collection, several thousand pieces gathered by the oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian. The collection highlights art work from antiquity: Greco-Roman, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Armenian pieces, as well as Persian art from the Islamic period.

The section devoted to Eastern Islamic art includes decorative bowls, lamps, and glass work. Several beautiful carpets are included. One section includes illuminated manuscripts, printed books, and bindings produced between the 12th century and the first half of the 20th century.

In addition to the ancient art, the museum contains an interesting collection of European paintings. Many of the works were purchased from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, including a collection of work by Dutch Masters such as Jan Weenix.

During our trip last year to northern Portugal, in the university city of Coimbra, we discovered Fado. Fado is a uniquely Portuguese form of folk music, well characterized by the Portuguese term saudade - a melancholy sadness or longing for something or someone one loves. The version of Fado heard in Lisbon is different from that we heard in Coimbra, and we were anxious to compare them.

We had read that a few doors away from our hotel was a restaursnt, Santissimo, that offered Fado music. Unfortunately, when we checked the address we found only a firmly closed door; the first, in fact, of ten equivalent closed, unidentified doors.

We were puzzled, and disappointed. Later that evening, however, we met a woman coming out of one of the doors. She confirmed that it was Santissimo, and they did offer Fado. In fact, a three course dinner, including wine, plus the music, was only €40 per person. At that point the owner emerged, invited us to come in, and offered us a complimetary glass of wine. We were able to verify that the green doors did belong to the restaurant.

Next evening we returned to enjoy the food and the music. After the meal, two guitarists played a number of instrumental pieces. The guitar on the left is a 12 string instrument designed specially for Fado.

Later a vocalist joined the guitarists, and it was at this point that the difference between the Lisbon and Coimbra forms became most apparent. Both express saudade, but the emotion seemed more intense when expressed in the female voice.

It was time to leave. Obviously there were many parts of Lisbon we did not have time to visit. The few places we saw confirmed that Lisbon is one of the world's great cities. Oh saudade!, so much still to know.

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