Sunday 3 June 2001

The motorway leads in the direction of Lisbon. We cross  the 18km long Vasco da Gama-bridge, the longest bridge on the European continent.  So far so good. We now have to get past Lisbon on to Sintra. We take a wrong turn and get lost in a suburb (Benfica). After a some puzzling we get on the right track again and mix with the heavy traffic towards the beaches. We take quarter in the Nova Sintra pension. We have lunch  in the restaurant opposite, after which we start doing the sights. Fortunately the weather has become a bit cooler. The afternoon temperature gets "only" to a mere  24° C,  so that we have a lot more energy for some serious sightseeing. Sintra is a nice town. It consists of three villaged merged to one town. Sintra Villa is the most beautifully set of the three. It is very green, situated in a valley. Sintra is surrounded by villa's and small family palaces, beloning to rich Lisbon families, who had their summer residences here. Also the royal family had some of its dwellings around here.  One those is the  Pena-paleis. Set in the hills south of Sintra it can be seen from afar. From the entrance of the garden a minibus takes up to the palace. It was built around 1840 by a German architect and was commisioned by the German husband of Queen Maria II. It is a fairy tale castle, built in a combination of all styles from many parts of the world imaginable. Kitch was not shunned nor were costs. is een fantasiepaleis, waar alle stijlen uit allerlei perioden en werelddelen door elkaar lopen.  The building makes you think of the fake castles built by  Ludwig II of Bavaria. The interior can be seen just as it was when the royal family left it behind when they left into exile in Britain in 1910: concrete wall made looking like wood, statues of moorish servants holding electric chandeliers, huge quantaties of Meissen china with german rural scenes - it is all there. In some sort of way this Disney like palace has a irresistable attraction to gay men, who come in great numbers this Sunday afternoon. It is nothing short of a Gay pride event!!

Close to the Pena-palace are the remains of a Moorish castle, stretching between two peaks, with a mosque in the middle. The walls have been saved from destruction, just like the fortifications on the hilltops. It is quite a climb, but the rewards of a fine view (from the Atlantic Coast until Lisbon) is worth the effort.

At night we have dinner at Tulhas a simple restaurant with decent food. Busy as Sintra was on Sunday afternoon, so quiet it is on Sunday evening. 

Monday 4 June 2001

We are woken up by the contractors renovating the hotel. There is a lot of drilling and hammering. After breakfast we visit the Royal Palace. Not the Pena-palace, but the palace built by João I and later improved by Manuel I. This king knew how to spend the money earned from the explorations by Vasco da Gama. The most striking  feature of the building are the two enormous chimneys above the palace kitchen. The would not out of place on a brickyard.  By now they have become the trade mark of the city. The palace is beautifully decorated in Manueline style, the late baroque, popular during the reign of king Manuel I. The interior has also many moorish style elements, introduced by a consecutive kings. In a galery with a view to the palace chapel, the mad king Alfonso VI was once held captive for six years by his brother Pedro II.  The best room is the Sala das Armas, dominated by the 72 family coats of arms of the portugues nobility.  Other highlights are the Swan room and the Magpie room.

After the visit to the palace we go on to Monserate. This is a semi wild garden, laid out by two very rich Brits who held the this property once. The last of the two, Sir Francis Cook had a house  built here, inspired by the Brighton Pavillion. Unfortunately it is covered in scaffolding as we visit it. We drive on to  Colares, centre of the wine industry here, where we have a simple lunch. After that we continue to  Azenho do Mar. A picture book village set on a cliff above the ocean.  We drive South along the coast to  Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of continental Europe. It is a natural attraction point for busloads of daytrippers. A commerative monument marks the location with co-ordinates and all. We see a large number of new Mini Coopers, being showed by particpants to   "Mission Mini" a promotion-rallye for the European introduction ot this new model. We follow the coast line to Cascais, a seaside resort on the  Costa de Estoril. We walk around a bit and enjoy the view on from a terrace on the harbour front. Back in Sintr we have dinner in a simple restaurant called  Adega das Caves.

Tuesday 5 June 2001

We drive through the morning rush hour to Quéluz and move into the pousada. The pousada is housed in the annex of (yet another) royal palace. The exterior is painted in a fine pink. The interior is mainly red. It is all done very nicely.The building also holds the royal theatre, now serving as a meeting room.

The palace itself is across the road from the pousada. Unfortunately we cannot visit it today, as Tuesday is their weekly closing day. We decide to drive to Mafra. Home to another royal palace. It is gigantic complex of buildings around a cathedral and makes us think of the Escorial near Madrid. This is supposedly even larger. Constructions started in 1717. It started as a Franciscan monastery, but when the gold and diamonds from Brazil started pouring in, king João V knew no limits. The results of 13 years work is impressive. The empire almost went bust because of it. Unfortunately this palace too closes on Tuesdays. We drive back to Queluz, park the car and take the train to Lisbon. We are there in 20 minutes. We walk around the city without any particular aim. Late afternoon we settle down on the side walk café of A Brasileira, an Art Nouveau grand-café. The outdoor seats are there for seeing and  being seen  The service is sloppy and slow.

Around five we take the train back to Queluz. At night we dine in the Pousada's restaurant. It is in the former kithchen of the Royal Palace, a wonderful setting. The tables are placed around a gigantic fireplace and chimney. The room is very high with good acoustics. This is just as well as dinner is accompanied by live music played by a harp player. . The food (wild boar) and the service are excellent.

Wednesday 6 June 2001

We first visit the palace. The rooms are nice, but not very well maintained. A big restoration job is in progress and one room is closed. The Ambassador's room is most impressive. The gardens are extensive and beautiful.

After the visit to the palace we are on our way to  Lisbon. The traffic is quite heavy, but we get to our hotel,  Anjo Azul, located in one of the many narrow streets of the Bairo Alto (upper city) without too much trouble.  Parking is less easy, but finally we do find a space. We head down town. After a fast food lunch we take the supertram to  Belem a suburb of Lisbon on the banks of the River Tejo. Belem has some monumental maritime sights. We start at the San Jeronimo monastery..  This monastery was founded to commemorate the discovery of the new sea route to India by Vasco da Gama. It is a fine example of Manuelline architecture. The entrance and the cloister are impressive.

Opposite the monastery is the monument to the discoveries from 1960. It is a concrete mass in the shape of a ships bow. Around the bow are the figures representing heroes like the explorers, with Henry the Navigator in front. It marks the 500th anniversary of Henry's death and honours the explorers in him. The monument can be climbed (that is to say, that there is an elevator) and the view of the city and the river is quite nice. A bit further down the river is the  Torre de Belem. This tower stood guard over the Tejo's estuary and is also a fine example of Manuelline architecture, with Moorish influences. Originally the tower was situated in the middle of the river. But the Tejo has changed its course over the centuries and now it is seperated from the shore by a tiny canal. The view from the  tower is not bad,  the interior is uninteresting .

At night we eat at  Cantinho das Gaveas. Small, but decent and not too expensive restaurant in the Bairo Alto. After that we have a break in our room before setting out to explore Lisbon's gay nightlife. Nightlife does not get going before quite late in the evening and that's why we are in Portas Lagras at 11.30pm. It is good, busy, atmospheric bar with a mixed (gay/straight) crowd. The doors are wide open and the punters occupy half the street. We move on to Setimo Seu, a trendy bar with a large fish tank. It is visited mainly by gay men. And finally we have peek at Baliza: small, relaxed, but alas completely full.