
Portugal Tour - Medieval to Modern
September 18-26, 2005
Arrival into Lisbon via Tap Portugal was
very comfortable and the hotel was just a short 6 kms from the airport. It
was quite warm and with the problems I had heard about no rain and very dry
I was a bit concerned about the gardens we would be visiting. To see the
green in the city eased my mind and I knew we would not be disappointed.
Lisboa, the capital of Portugal since 1255, was conquered from the Moors by
Portugal’s first king in 1147. It lies on the right bank of the Tagus river
and in a region that offers a rich diversity of landscape.
Lisboa: Lisbon, the dazzling city that stretches along the banks of the
Tagus, is an enchanting capital. There is the fortress around which the city
originally built and which is now encircled by charming neighbourhoods with
medieval streets. Everywhere are fine monuments that bring to mind the great
Age of Discoveries, and picturesque houses whose facades are decorated with
ornate ceramic tiles. As the dusk turns to night, the yellow electric
tramcars continue to wind their way up and down the hills of the old
capital, while the sound of traditional Fado folk songs enlivens many a
candle-lit dinner table in restaurants or homes. The capital also provides
ample opportunity for seeing popular celebrations, for shopping, and for
enjoying the nightlife along the river banks. With the port and marinas
situated nearby, water sports are a natural attraction too.
Spreading out along the right bank of the Tagus, its downtown, the Baixa, is
located in the 18th century area around Rossio. East of the arcaded Praça do
Comércio, are the medieval quarters of Alfama and Mouraria, crowned by the
magnificent St. George’s Castle. To the west lie Bairro Alto and Madragoa,
with their typical streets, and on the western extreme lies Belém, with
Belém tower, Jerónimos monastery (masterpieces of Manueline architecture and
classified in UNESCO’s International Heritage list) and the Cultural Centre
of Belém.
We gathered for our welcome dinner at the Hotel Fenix the night of September
18th and afterwards settled in because tomorrow was the beginning of our
tour.
September 19th was a full day of sightseeing - Lisbon is known as the city
of 7 hills, but we were prepared and enjoyed walking among the oldest part
of Lisbon, known as the Alfama district. So many tiles and beautiful old
buildings and tiled sidewalks - it was wonderful to walk around this area in
the warm sunshine. You can see a church with a Knights of the Templar flag -
they took over all of the Malta churches at one time. Some of the houses
were completely tiled on their fronts. The elevator you see was done by
Eiffel. Our first visit was to Quinta da Bacalhoa, a classic renaissance
garden with a Portuguese flavour. The son of Afonso de Albuquerque, who had
been a great mariner and viceroy of India, also liked traveling. He
journeyed to Italy, became a connoisseur of Italian art and admired their
gardens. This inspired him to make a villa on a peninsula south of Lisbon.
It has logias and patios for outdoor living. A great tank garden is flanked
by a hall with three pavilions and decorated with glazed tiles (azulejo) and
terracotta busts. This was a beautiful place where we walked along the
vineyards and even got to taste some of the wine - it was a 2001 Cabernet
Sauvignon. After lunch we visited Quinta das Torres. The estate has been
owned by the family D'Eça since 1520. It was given to D. Maria da Silva and
D. Pedro D'Eça as a wedding present in 1520 by D. Brites de Lara, marquise
of Vila Real and Lady of the celebrated Quinta da Bacalhôa. As there were no
direct heirs, the property passed to another family branch, the Corte-Real
family, then to the Saldanha family, and then to the Melo family, Lords of
Murca. The Quinta das Torres has been in the same family for six generations
after being bought by Dr. Manuel Bento de Sousa in 1877.
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