Lisbon, Portugal
Will and I knew little to nothing about Portugal before our plane touched ground in Lisbon. Truth be told, we couldn’t really name a reason why we chose to spend our long weekend in Portugal. It just seemed to be the place on the map we had chosen for our final trip of the semester. Nevertheless, we were far from disappointed. Whatever institution told us to go to Portugal, I am thankful for it. And after some free walking tours, conversations with local cafe owners and advice from fellow travelers, we learned a lot about the history and culture of the now-not-so-foreign country.
To start: Fado is traditional Portuguese music, and the rooster is a symbol of the country. A legend says that a man convicted of a crime told the judges that if he cut the head of a rooster and it still danced, it would serve as evidence that he is innocent. The rooster danced, and so his life was saved. During Portugal’s period of dictatorship, the dictator used the rooster as a symbol of propaganda to support his regime. Yet even after the dictatorship, the Portuguese welcome the feathery creature as a colorful symbol for their nation.
Our Journey: After landing we had some confusion regarding what bus stop we were supposed to get off at and, as a result, had some trouble finding our hostel. We luckily found a nice Portuguese man willing to draw us a map and excitedly repeat the directions…in Portuguese. Nevertheless, our Spanish came in handy, and between the map, hand gestures and recognition of root words we were able to find our way through the narrow walkways that led from a main street to our hostel. We settled in and immediately began our exploration of the city. We walked up hill and arrived at Castelo San Jorge just as the sun was setting. The perfect welcome to Portugal!
Hello Portugal
Day one: We continued to walk around the city that night, but the Lisbon secrets were revealed the next day during our See Lisbon or Die free walking tour. The tour guide explained that Lisbon is full of contrasts and pointed to a crumbling building standing along side a renovated, luxurious building. The reason for the stark differences is partly political and partly economical. Until April 25, 1974 Portugal had a dictator, but after the revolution, as a gift to the residents, the rent rates froze. And they are still frozen, meaning some pay only 30 euros per month to live in the heart of Lisbon. While this is great for the residents, the building owners barely make enough money to support themselves, never mind renovate or repair the apartments. The rent freeze will stay in effect until the last resident passes away…and given the age of the majority of the residents, this law will be irrelevant soon. Still, when the building is empty and the owner is left with this very valuable piece of property, the current economic crisis poses a problem with selling the building, accumulating funds to repair the building and finding new tenants able to pay the current property rate. The city is undisputed evidence of how much history influences the present. Look how much we learned in just one morning!
The tour also took us past a store called A Vida Portuguesa that sells original Portuguese products. During one of the country’s crisis the factories were closing, so this store bought the remaining factory products. Well, the store gained so much success that some of the factories were able to re-open. We happily returned to childhood and played with all the wooden toys on display in the store, leafed through some of the books and browsed through the products from an old papeleria. In the afternoon we revisited some of the places we passed on tour and walked around new parts of Lisbon.
Day two: The next day we explored Bélem, a town on the outskirts of Lisbon, toured the monastery, climbed the tower of Bélem and ate the most delicious pastries. Portugal is famous for its pastries, and the most famous location is Pastéis de Belém. We waited until we found the restaurant to try our first Portuguese pastry, which may have been a mistake in the end because every dessert we ate the remainder of the trip paled in comparison.
Tower of Bélem
The summer residence in Quinta la Regaleria
Day three: We spent our final full day in Portugal in Sintra, a town a short train ride away from Lisbon. We spent the majority of the day wandering around Quinta la Regaleria, the summer residence of the Carvalho Montiero family. Walking around Quinta la Regaleria must be similar to an Alice in Wonderland experience. The labyrinth of pathways leads to numerous towers, all offering a beautiful view of Sintra, and holds endless possibilities. The place is absolutely incredible, filled with a palace, a small chapel, hidden walkways, caves, towers, fountains and waterfalls. We continued to walk up the mountain in pursuit of the Initiatic Well. We eventually made it there and walked the 27 meters to the bottom of the well, which connected to the dark caves we had explored earlier. It is easy to lose yourself in the gardens, but we eventually pulled ourselves away and headed to Palacio de Pena.
Will in the fog at Palacio de Pena
Just our journey to the palace was an adventure in and of itself. Signs pointed us in the direction of a road that led to the palace, but as the road continued to twist up a mountain and we saw mile markers indicating the top of the mountain was 10 km away, we grew skeptical of our plan. We found a woman that told us busses come by, and although we saw the bus stop, we had yet to see a bus since we began our walk. We decided sticking out our thumbs would be the most efficient way to reach the Palace. So a Spanish couple visiting Portugal picked us up, and yes, we hitch hiked to the top of the mountain. Apparently the view of Sintra from the Palace is incredible, but honestly we wouldn’t know. The entire top of the mountain was enveloped in a cloud. At least we could say we were on cloud nine. Although we can testify that the inside of the palace is beautiful, while standing on the terrace we could only see a blanket of white before us. We left the palace with enough time to find our way to the entrance of the gardens and find the bus stop before the last bus left. We arrived back at the bottom of Sintra and walked around a bit more before heading back for our last night in Lisbon.
Day four: Our last day in Lisbon consisted of a visit to Carmo, the remains of a cathedral that was destroyed by the 1755 earthquake. Although the roof is completely gone, the majority of the walls and arches remain. The place is really incredible and holds tombs of monarchs. There is also a museum in the back, but after encountering a mummy of a man and woman, I decided it was time to head to the airport. The four days in Portugal were a perfect addition to my wonderful semester abroad, and I am happy I had to opportunity to learn about a another piece of the world.
Inside Convento do Carmo
Monster Windmills and other Adventures 