Lisbon, Portugal

I have decided that Lisbon, Portugal is the hidden gem of Western Europe. So far, it is my favorite destination. It is the westernmost city in Europe, situated at the mouth of the Rio Tejo, which then flows into the Atlantic Ocean. I loved being so close to the water. Lisbon is a unique city, encompassing the old and the new within its distinct neighborhoods. Proud bronze statues stand tall in beautiful tiled streets, Roman columns and Moorish arches line the cobblestone sidewalks, and the breathtaking 12^th century Castelo de São George overlooks from atop the hill. Lisbon is also thriving in the new age, enjoying a booming nightlife in Bairro Alto, colorful fado performers, and bustling plazas.

Lisbon is divided into neighbors and each is very distinct. We stayed in Baixa (pronounced “by-sha” in Portuguese), which is Lisbon’s historic center and a hub for tourists. The main square is called Praça Dom Pedro IV and is lined with shops and restaurants. Rua Augusta (where our hostel was) runs straight through the square and ends at the picturesque Praça do Comercio right on the Rio Tejo. I could see the river right from our window! The Bairro Alto is the neighborhood for Lisbon’s nightlife. Bairro Alto is full of discotecas and a perfect place to hear fado, which is traditional Portuguese mournful singing. The Alfalma is Lisbon’s medieval district, with layers of houses, shops and restaurants and the majestic Castelo de São George.

Lisbon is extremely hilly and all the streets and sidewalks are cobblestones. We mostly got around by walking, but sometimes took the trams. Lisbon’s trams are charming and efficient! They have been in operation since 1901, and even though they’ve been rewired, they still jolt and bump like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride in Disney World.

We arrived in Lisbon on Thursday evening and it was still light outside—thanks to the hour time difference. Our hostel was easily accessible by bus from the airport and we checked in easily. We stayed in a hostel called the Traveller’s House, which is ranked one of the best hostels in the world! It was very clean, modern, and accommodating. Liz and I later met up with Mai and Amanda to get a traditional Portuguese dinner and walk out towards the water.

The next day, we woke up bright and early and conquered the Alfama. First, we visited a beautiful Cathedral and the National Pantheon, where various Portuguese personalities are buried. There was also a great view of Lisbon from the top. But, my favorite part of the Alfalma was the grand Castelo de São George. More similar to a fort than a castle, Castelo de São George was built some time in the Middle Ages. Throughout the centuries, its ownership has changed from Moors, Portuguese royalty and the explorers. It was partially destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and was not renovated until the 1940s. It offers an amazing view of Lisbon and the Rio Tejo.

After a lovely lunch in Baixa, we took Lisbon’s metro to the Oceanarium. Their metro system is very small, but is very modern. It only has four lines and runs through mainly newer parts of the city. At Oceanarium, we rode cable cars across the water and visited the Aquarium. We also headed over to take a look at the longest bridge in Europe called Puente Vasco da Gama, which is 17.2 km long. There’s also the Ponte 25 de Abril that was built by the same company (the American Bridge Company) who constructed the Golden Gate in San Francisco. That night, we sampled some nightlife in Bairro Alto and had lots of fun.

The next morning, after enjoying some complementary eggs from our hostel, a large part of our group set out to Sintra, a town in Portugal about 45 minutes away by train. It seemed to be a nice day when we arrived and we were excited to make our way through the town. Sintra is part of a large mountain range and all of the attractions are high on the mountain. So, we decided to make our way to the Pena Palace and began following signs. We began trekking up the steep path and continued on for what seemed like forever. We were passed by several buses and then realized that we could have taken a bus up the 4-mile road to the palace. It was hot, sticky, and rainy. We were with all of the boys, who of course thought it was great fun to trek through the Portuguese jungle. I remember looking up at the Palace on the mountaintop and wondering if we’d ever make it. Finally, after two long, arduous hours, we made it to the top to see the Pena Palace. We were all sweaty, breathless and exhausted.

However, the trek was completely worth it because the 13^th century palace was incredible. According to tradition, this palace was erected after an apparition of the Virgin Mary in the Middle Ages. Over the centuries, the bright colors faded and the palace was grey for a long while. At the end of the 20^th century, the palace was painted to match its original bright yellows and periwinkles. I was surprised to see the palace display so much chromatic variety. We were so high up on the mountain that we were literally in the clouds! I remember walking up the stairs of a tower to take a picture of the view and only being able to see fog all around me.

In our last day in Portugal, we took a tram ride to Belem, which is famous as the place where many of the great Portuguese explorers set off on their voyages. There, we visited the Jeronimos Monastery and made a stop in Pastel de Belem. Pastel de Belem is famous for pasteis de Belem, which are egg tarts made with flaky pastry. We sampled the famous Portuguese dessert and they were delicious! It was the perfect ending to a great weekend in Lisbon. 

A tram

Me and Liz with a fountain

Streets of the Alfalma district

V

View from the Pantheon

At the castle

View from the Castle

The minstrel's cat

Around the castle

Outside the Oceanarium

Sintra

Trekking through Sintra

Pena Palace

Main square in Baixa

Toledo and Segovia

This past weekend, we had two day trips to Toledo and Segovia. These two cities are not far from Madrid. Toledo is located south, in the province of Castilla-La Mancha; Segovia is north, located in the province of Castile and Leon.

On Saturday, we met at 7:50 a.m. to board the bus to Toledo. We had many sights on our itinerary, necessitating an early start. We wove through the Guadarrama Mountains and about an hour later, we drove up to the mountaintop, with a beautiful 150-degree vista of the city. The Tagus River surrounds Toledo on three sides, and a large footbridge bridge leads visitors into the former capital of Spain. Toledo is a beautiful, multi-cultural city, home to mosques, basilicas, and synagogues. Unmistakable marks of these three religions can be seen in all of Toledo’s architecture, for example, Moorish arches, stained glass, domes, and more. We visited a few museums, two of the only remaining synagogues in Toledo, and one mosque. We also visited El Greco’s original painting, “The Burial of the Count of Orgaz,” which he is buried beneath. El Greco relocated from Madrid to Toledo late in his life and painted many of his more mature works. "Crete gave him life and the painter's craft, Toledo a better homeland, where through Death he began to achieve eternal life.” This famous quote about El Greco truly epitomizes how Toledo truly became his home. There, he lived comfortably; he painted, studied and raised his son.

After touring for the majority of the morning, we broke for lunch and sampled some of Toledo’s best gastronomy, marzipan. Later, we visited the Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo, the third largest Gothic cathedral in the world. This cathedral is also considered to be the peak of Gothic style in Spain. The construction on the church begun in 1226, during the reign of King Ferdinand III. It was finally finished in 1493, when the vaults of the central nave were complete. This was also during the height of the Catholic Monarchs. The church was massive, complete with about twenty side chapels and a treasure room. We spent the majority of our day simply walking around the charming city. Toledo is very hilly, which made walking up the cobblestone streets even more daunting! But, we were lucky to have a beautiful, sunny day, which made our visit very enjoyable.

On Sunday, we visited La Granja de San Ildefonso and Segovia. We had amazing views of the Guadrrama Mountains, yet they weren’t as snowy as they had been two weeks ago. When we arrived in the town of San Ildefonso, which is located in the hills near Segovia it was very chilly.

We walked around the little town and stopped at a café before touring the gardens of the palace. La Granja is a beautiful, classic Baroque style palace, which was formerly the summerhouse of the Spanish kings, since the reign of Philip V. Surrounding the gardens are vast grounds used for hunting, which was a favorite activity of the Spanish kings. The gardens are circa 18^th century, based off those at the Palace of Versailles in France. The most famous part of these magnificent gardens are its majestic fountains, which only run twice a year, on the feasts of San Luis and San Fernando. All of the statues in the fountains represent the gods and goddesses in Roman mythology. My favorite fountain featured the goddess Latona. Maria Jose told us the story of when she was wandering the earth after giving birth to her two sons, Apollo and Artemis, she tried to drink water from a pond. The peasants in a little town refused to allow her to drink their water. Letona turned them into frogs for their inhospitality, forever doomed to swim in the murky waters of ponds and rivers. The fountain at La Granja features Latona in the middle and she is surrounded by figures that are part frog and part human.

We then drove about fifteen minutes north to the charming city of Segovia. The ancient Roman aqueduct is like the gateway into Segovia, which means “victorious city.” The Roman aqueduct, which was declared a world heritage site in 1985, is one of the best-preserved monuments on the Iberian Peninsula. It is massive and breath-taking; I could have stared at it all day! Segovians tell the myth that a young maiden was tired of walking up the mountains everyday to get water, so she asked the devil for help. In exchange for her soul, he said that he would build the aqueduct overnight. However, when the sun rose, there was one stone left to put in place and the devil lost his deal and Segovia had an aqueduct! After strolling around the charming and picturesque city, we visited the Alcazar. The Alcazar is distinctly in the shape of the bow of a ship, which is typical of Spanish castles. The Alcazar was originally an Arab fortress around 1120, but once the Christians recaptured Segovia, The Alcazar was converted. So, the Alcazar has been a fort and a royal palace. It also has somewhat of a natural fortress behind it, which are the Guadarrama mountains in the background. Lastly, we visited the Segovia Cathedral, which is located in the Segovia’s Plaza Mayor. It was the last Gothic cathedral that was built in Spain.

 View of Toledo

 In front of the vista with Candice

 Inside a cathedral

 View from bridge of Toledo

 La Granja Gardens

 In front of a fountain of La Granja

 The frogs!

 The Aqueduct

All the girls in my group in Segovia!

 View from the Alcazar

Valley of the Fallen and El Escorial

This past Sunday, we had our first group trip with Maria Jose. We went to visit the nearby Valley of the Fallen and El Escorial. We left sunny and mild Alcala de Henares to about an hour north of Madrid, in the heart of the “Sierra de Guadarrama,” or the Guadarrama Mountains.  This is the largest mountain range of the Iberian Peninsula, the highest peak standing at 7,9600 feet above sea level. Our bus ride was full of twists and turns, crossing under tunnels and winding around the mountains. As our journey took us north, we noticed snow covered landscapes and weather a lot colder than in Alcala.

Our first stop was the Valley of the Fallen, a monumental memorial in the Cuelgamos Valley. This monument was conceived by the dictator Francisco Franco “to honor and bury” those who fell during the civil war, but it was actually a monument to honor and bury Franco. The Valley of the Fallen is a grand and overwhelming monument, which incorporates the unique form of Spanish architecture called Neo-Herrerian, reminiscent of the architect Juan de Herrera, who designed El Escorial. The entire monument consists of an enormous Catholic basilica, a Benedictine Abbey, the Valley, and a towering 500 foot cross standing on the mountain, directly over the main dome of the basilica. The infamous cross is visible from over 20 miles away from the Valley of the Fallen. Franco is buried inside the basilica, right on the altar, opposite of his fallen fellow nationalist, Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera.

Maria Jose shared some of the history of the Valley of the Fallen with us. The design and building of the basilica, Abbey, and cross bean in 1940, soon after the Spanish Civil War had ended. It took 18 long years to complete, mostly through the labor of Republican prisoners. The monument has been controversial since it was built, but it was recently closed in 2009 for “renovations.” Many believe that the Socialist government preferred it closed down.  Maria Jose told us that visits are not really allowed, and most people are former Nationalists coming to mass. After doing some research, I found out that many Spaniards see this monument as something similar to a Nazi concentration camp, and do not want it to be a nostalgic place of pilgrimage for Francoists.

After seeing the Valley of the Fallen, we drove about 15 minutes to the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. El Escorial was built in the 16^th century as a summer palace away from Madrid for King Philip II. The palace is vast and beautiful, also serving as a burial site for most of the Spanish kings of the last five centuries, Bourbons as well as Habsburgs. El Escorial consists of the main palace separated by two successive courtyards and the basilica of San Lorenzo de Real.  We had a great tour guide, Fernando, who spoke English and told us lots of fun and interesting facts about El Escorial, such as salacious things about King Philip II and his many girlfriends and that he was about 4’11 in height.  

To me, two of the most interesting rooms were the Pantheon of Kings and the Library. The Pantheon of Kings contains twenty-six marble sepulchers with the remains of Kings and Queens. Maria Jose told us that there are two “pudrideros” or rotting rooms at El Escorial that can be visited by the monks of the monastery. The remains of deceased kings are kept here for fifty years, the time necessary for the bodies to fully decompose. The library is a grand room with marble floors, beautifully carved wooden shelves and frescos on the vaulted ceiling. It houses a collection of more than 40,000 volumes.

I really enjoyed seeing The Valley of the Fallen and El Escorial. It was a very interesting, yet fun, group trip. I’m very much looking forward to our next group trips to Toledo and Segovia!

Franco's cross

                 

The majestic Pantheon of Kings

        Full view of El Escorial--isn't it massive?!

The back courtyard of El Escorial

The Grand Library