While we lived in Spain, Portugal was always a trip
that was just a bit too far for a weekend and a bit too close for
a vacation. That is why we deprived ourselves of a visit until it
became clear that we were moving away from Spain to Germany. Most
folks who visited Portugal usually went only to Lisbon and Porto
and came back with reports of bad roads and primative service off
the main routes. After looking at the map we decided to drive the
entire country starting in the north and going all the way down.
In touring the country this way we avoided traversing the
mountains which separate Portugal from Spain and took advantage
of the very good controlled access highway (toll road) which runs
almost the entire length of this long, slender country.
We decided to concentrate our time in Lisbon so past up Porto for
another visit. Lisbon is in better condition than some guide
books would lead you to believe. While it lacks the polish of
Madrid it definitely is not a crumbling old city. Lisbon like
Seville has seen better days especially those when it was the
capital of the country which discovered the first sailing route
around Africa and the orient thanks to Vasco de Gama who wasn't
Portuguese (he was Basque) but then Columbus wasn't Spanish. Just
like today, one often has to leave home to get recognition and
money.
Since we were on a limited time schedule (we wanted to have time
for a couple days in Grenada), we decided a city bus tour.. It
turned out to be a good tour in a comfortable bus. After it was
over we felt that we had a good tour. Our photos portray the high
points including the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos where the
best example of what is known as Manueline achitechture is found,
the Torre de Belém, a tribute to Portugal's maritime
history and the nearby Monument to the Discoveries, a
modern and impressive limestone creation on the bank of the Rio
Tejo celebrating the discoveries of the Portuguese in the New
World and the exploits of Prince Henry the Navigator. Included in
this tour was an interesting stop at a museum dedicated entirely
to horse drawn coaches. Anyone who thinks that a 747 is a bit too
extravigant for the President of the US should take a look at
what European royalty was using to ride around town. Most of the
coaches on display were only used for ceremonial rides during
crownings and weddings. For more interesting information on
Lisbon click the following link:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/lisbon/
Every tour leaves lasting impressions. The visit to Portugal is
memorable for many things but above all these folks know how to
do beef. We're talking BBQ like we have never experienced, even
in Texas where we have had some fantastic fixin's. You just have
go there and taste the spit roasted chunks of succulent, tender
prime beef to relate to what we are saying. Words just don't
cover the bases on this item. If you are a vegetarian you'll want
to skip Portugal as it will be a definite challenge to your diet
as you stroll down the streets and smell the aroma of the
sizzling delicacies wafting from nearly every restaurant.
After leaving Lisbon we travelled south following the main route
back into Spain. We gave some thought to exploring the Parque do
Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina which contains the western
most point of land in Europe at Sagres, but decided that Grenada
deserved more of our time on this trip so decided to leave it for
a future adventure. Our trip through this beautiful country was
entirely too short, but at least we managed to get a bit of the
flavor and whet our appetite for the future.
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