January 24-27: Sara & Evan are back in Europe again: time to resume our “Gap Year” Travels.
We resume our travels starting with a four-night stopover in Lisbon, Portugal. We’re taking advantage of a TAP-Air Portugal offer. We bought round-trip tickets from Newark NJ to Barcelona, at a good price, and we were able to enjoy a 1-5 night stopover in Lisbon. So we contacted our friends Emily and Van, who now live in Braga, Portugal, to join us in Lisbon. They were glad to join us and arranged for a two bedroom Air B&B right in the heart of Lisbon. We stayed four nights and had a great visit with Emily and Van, who knew a good deal more about Lisbon than we did.
One of our first visits was to the Caremo Archeology Museum, the site of a monastery destroyed in the earthquake of 1755. It’s right in the city of Lisbon, but the monastery ruins are preserved leaving, an open space used for gatherings, rallies and concerts. It also houses many artifacts reflecting the history of Lisbon.
We walked the Alfama, one of the oldest sections of town with maze-like streets climbing a steep hillside. Cars can’t drive on these streets: they’re too narrow, and winding with steep cobbled stairways. We enjoyed wine on the terrace overlooking the river and the old town, but when it started to rain, we made our way down to a fine restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was well hidden in the maze, but Emily and Van had been there before and it was fabulous.
We spent our second day on a trip to Sintra, a summer home for royalty and the rich and the National Palace. Today it continues as a playground for the very rich, with beaches, many beautiful estates and summer homes. Emily and Van’s friend Pedro (from Braga) had recommended his friend, Tanya, as our guide. She picked us up at 9:00 in a small Fiat, apologizing for such cramped quarters because her somewhat larger car was still in the shop. Yes, we were very cozy on this trip. Once there, we stepped back in time as we rode an old streetcar down toward the sea to Apple Beach. Then Tanya took us to the westernmost point in continental Europe. Back in Sintra we toured the National Palace, walked the touristy streets of Sintra, and then explored the grounds of Quinta da Regaleira Gardens, a rich estate with a fascinating history.
The owner of Quinta da Regaleira, a wealthy Portuguese businessman Antonio Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, was a well-known Freemason. The structures erected in Quinta da Regaleira feature many symbols, which are linked to masonry, alchemy, the Rosicrucian and Hermetic legacy, the Knights Templar and Tarot mysticism. The estate’s park contains a large garden and an extensive system of tunnels, including the “Initiation Well,“ which was a highlight of our visit. “The Initiation Well“ isn’t really a well – it was built for initiation ceremonies. It has a striking spiral staircase supported by carved columns, that lead down to the bottom of the well through nine landings. It is believed that the spacing of these landings, as well as the number of steps in between, are linked to Tarot mysticism and Masonic principles. After descending the well, we walked through several dark tunnels that opened to an area where we were challenged to “walk on water” on stones in a small body of water. Sara would love to spend more time here exploring the beautiful grounds and gardens.
On our last full day in Lisbon, we rode the tram to the Belem area where we tasted the Pasties de Nata at the café Santa Maria de Belem where this delicious sweet custard tart originated. This very tasty treat is now considered a specialty throughout Portugal. Next we saw the San Jeronimos Monestary where we visited the church and the beautiful and ornate Cloisters, and then visited the Modern Art Museum: Museu Colecao Berardo.
Walking further along the shore, we saw the Monument of Discovery, celebrating the great Portuguese explorers, with Magellan leading the way to Discovery. A bit further along we viewed the Tower of Belem, once a prison but now a tourist site, sitting out over the water. After all this site-seeing, we headed back to our part of town, to revisit a restaurant that we had enjoyed the night before.
On our last half day in Lisbon, we enjoyed a breakfast with Emily & Van and walked down to the Praça do Comércio along the riverfront, where we found a small museum of sorts, “The Story of Lisbon,” (just up from what was advertised as “the Sexiest WC in Lisbon”). “The Story” turned out to be fun, a multimedia introduction to Lisbon’s rich history from Pre-History and Roman times to the present — with a great and understandable emphasis on the Great Earthquake of 1755. Our journey coincided with a few school groups also learning the “Story,” so it was a bit crowded and somewhat noisy. Nevertheless, “The Story” was both enjoyable and informative. After that, we said goodbye to Emily and Van and took a taxi to the airport to catch our flight out to our next destination: Barcelona.
