Roman temple

Pregnant Mary

Last supper with pig and carving knife

Retired Ladies of Evora

Chapel of bones

This is tourism up close and personal. Today after a classic European breakfast we did a slow paced walking tour of Evora. Situated on a hill it occupies an important strategic site that commands the high ground. It has been occupied over the millennia by every dominant culture, each leaving their mark.

We began by touring the remains of a Roman temple and wall around the city.  From there, we visited the largest medieval Christian cathedral in Portugal. Dating from the 1200s, there are unusual treasures. Of particular note is the statute of a very pregnant Virgin Mary. One of my favorites is the painting of the last supper which includes the serving of a roast suckling pig.

We continues through the town of 10,000 and caught glimpses of 21st century life surrounded by ancient buildings. These scenes include the gathering of the retired ladies of Evora, and around a shaded bench in the town square, scores of cigarette butts among the cobble stones. A reminder of our smoking past

We ended our morning with an amazing visit to the meditation room in the cloisters of the Franciscan church. It is known as the chapel of bones and designed to remind all who meditate there that all our bones are the same, rich or poor, devout or unfaithful, it is our soul that distinguishes us from everyone else. It was a bit too macabre for most of us.

We finished our tours of Lisbon last night with a dinner and Fado show. Fado are sad songs and music. Think flamenco with out all the shoe pounding and colorful dresses.

We started today with a long bus ride south out of Lisbon into the arid and very hot region of Alentejo. The temperature was over 100 and we learned that there are often summers that are much hotter. Along the way we stopped for a visit and lunch in Monseraz with its moorish castle and superb view of the Portuguese/Spanish border and the man made lakes used for irrigation and recreation. We stopped for a group photo in from of the church.

From Monseraz we continued inland to visit a winery (yes it seems that there is wine in Portugal also). The winery in Esporao was established in 1267 on land that was used by the Romans even earlier. We drove through the 450 hectares of vineyards and toured the processing, learning about the aging process and the American and French oak barrels. After tasting a couple of the products, we got back on the bus for our trip to the Pousadas in Evora. A converted convent with its fabulous location if luxuriously austere rooms.

Today’s first official day of the Odyssey tour took us to many of the most iconic sites of Lisbon. Our tour guide, Ines, was a treasure as she was knowledgeable and the pride in her country was palpable. We began as one would expect with a visit to the cathedral or Se.

As in most Christian sites, the Cathedral of San Antonio is placed upon the site of a moorish mosque. No surprise as the land of Lisbon has been occupied by many civilizations of the millennium as well as suffering a major earthquake in 1755. The resulting cultural and architectural lasagna has created many layers.

We then moved by bus to the tower of Belen. An architectural treasure that was used originally to guard the port city. It is now a major tourist attraction. It is not far from the Explorers monument dedicated to Henry the Navigator. There is an amazing schematic inlaid in stone that depicts the dates and places that the Portuguese explorers founded and settled.

In the afternoon we traveled by bus to the royal residence of Queluz where we learned about the Portuguese royal family succession and saw the beautiful gardens.

Pictured here are Mary and Ton Lujan part of our group of 15 that includes a brain surgeon, a lawyer, a police officer, and a Major General.

If I have not mentioned the weather much it’s is because it does not seem to change. Sunny days, dry air and light breezes. Wonderful!

Today is the day I need to transfer from one hotel to another to start the official tour of Paradors and Pousadas. So I slept in, spent a couple hours in the fitness center, packed and am now having lunch at the new hotel waiting to meet and greet friends and those who will soon become friends.

The reason I say that is while having my lunch I met a Scottish couple, John Grant and Wendy Ritchie!

I recently completed a “self help book”. The title was Stop Doing that Shit. There are a lot of great quotes in it. Many I cannot say in front of my granddaughter. One is “How good can you stand it?” This morning I moved out of a luxurious Doubletree by Hilton because I was on my own for 4 days and it was 1/2 the price of the Corinthian I am now in. It is beyond comprehension how luxurious this hotel is and how attentive the staff is. It makes me wonder how good CAN I stand it.

Stay tuned. I am on a discovery tour to find out.

In the afternoon, we visited the Historic Center of Sintra and the National Palace with its two towers that look like giant tanjeens over a warming pot of lentils. We toured the residence of the last royals in Portugal. The last members of the royal family having left in 1910 when the dictatorship took over. Like many old castles, it is a warren of tiny rooms with low ceilings and 130 stairs all designed for residents not waiting for a knee replacement.

The supporting town is a delightful mountain treasure of restaurants and curiosity shops. Portugal is famous for its cork trees and in these shops one can find just about anything made of cork.

After departing Sintra, we made two stops on our way back to Lisbon. The first was at Da Roca. It is a lighthouse that is said to be the westernmost piece of land in Europe. I had to smile to myself as the Spanish have always claimed that distinction as Finesterre and having been encouraging pilgrims who walk to Santiago to continue in to the earth’s end.

We also stopped at the beach and resort town of Cascáis with its gorgeous beaches and beach town life. I was happy to have seen the sites but was also pleased to get back to my hotel just after dark.

This blog site informed me upon my last blog that I have now written 100 blogs. This would be number 101

As every country has their beautiful places, so goes Portugal. Yesterday I spent a long day touring Sintra and Cascais and some of their treasures. Sintra was unknown to me but has been a coveted piece of real estate for millennia. In the high hills overlooking the Atlantic, it has the advantages of the Lisbon climate with the shade of huge trees and the cooling ocean breezes.

Sintra has been continuously occupied by every civilization known to the Iberian peninsula. The earliest remains found are Celtic but Phoenicians, Romans, Moors, and Spanish conquerors have occupied the territory long before the Portuguese and each of them seems to have left their mark.

We started our day with a visit to the Palácio da Pena. It is the most well preserved and most recently occupied of the properties in the region. Originally a monastery, it was taken over by a German king Frederick who married the Portuguese Queen. It is reminiscent of the castle in Germany of the mad king Ludwig. From it’s ramparts one can look down at the remains of the moorish castle and the city below as well as the ocean in the distance. I will add more about the trip to Sintra later.

I began today with something I love about Europe. I went to the open air market first thing this morning. To see this is to be reminded of what most of us have lost about the honesty of food in America. When you get up early enough in a European city to witness the organized chaos of the delivery, preparation, selection, and display of fresh foods by hard working laborers it is to deeply appreciate what they do and what many of us take for granted. Produce that was in the sun yesterday. Fish that was swimming in the Atlantic in the dark of morning, and hooves that felt a heartbeat last night all now displayed for selection by first, chefs then those who will prepare food for the finest homes in Lisbon, and then later, as much later as this afternoon, the less fresh remnants that will feed the lower middle class and the poor, selected in the afternoon session. . These are honest working people intimately involved in the production of meals. They do it every day without fanfare and for little pay. It is work we should all remember as we give thanks and bless thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty.

After my market visit, today I joined a tour group to visit the palaces of Sintra as well as the beach resort areas of Cascáis. It was a long day with amazing sites that will require another day to blog. Please be patient.

Hug someone dear

After my first Camino in 2015 I was asked by a neighbor “What motivates you to want to walk 500 miles?” In addition to the obvious answers of the physical challenges and the historical perspective, I answered that I was curious to see if I could be alone. As one of seven children who married right out of West Point, I had had essentially had a roommate or two all my life. I was curious about how I would do with me alone.

Last year on the Camino Portuguese I had to come to grips with what alone really means. Since my return I have been on a search for self. After nearly 50 years of defining myself as a part of a whole, that reality was gone. Dealing with loss is thus so multifaceted. Yes it is about her and all the messy societal clean up closing accounts, renaming things, and the adds and things that never go away. The closet, the products for face and hair and nails, and the shoes. OMG the shoes! But then after all that, there is the dilema of who the hell am I. What are my likes and dislikes, what do I want to do with the runway I have left before I take off?

This trip is about that. If this makes any reader uncomfortable I apologize but writing it helps. I have discovered that I can be alone, that in some strange way I almost enjoy it. This six weeks will be the ultimate test. I am alone in Lisbon for 4 days, with dearest of friends and a tour group for two weeks, then alone in Madrid for four days, with Camino friends from last year’s trip for four days, alone again for 3 days and then on a cruise ship alone for 13 days. Film at 11.00!

I expect that this will be the test. By my return on 10 October I will either be well adjusted or a basket case. Stay tuned.

Tonight’s evening snack of sharp Portuguese goat cheeses and a bold wine may help. Thanks for listening.

This is a wonderfully walkable town set on seven hills on the shore of the Tagus river. It is an obviously proud capital with its history prominently displayed in the many parks and promenades beautifully tiled and lined with trees and benches. On my 12,000 step walk before 1200 I passed many iconic displays of the remnant architectural influences of the cultures that have occupied these hills over the millennia that this important port city has been in existence. As I passed from park to park one notices this many cafes that occupy the canyons if the city high rises each competing for customers in the shade of the mix of the modern and the ancient buildings.

I am pleased with my decision to come early to Lisbon to explore in my own. There are many similarities with other European capitals but it seems friendly and more youthful. It is helpful that English is a predominantly second language here due to many years if British tourism that has lead to English being taught at schools from an early age. My Spanish however is of little use here due to the pride of the Portuguese people. I find it helpful in reading menus however but I find it best to keep it to myself.

Tomorrow I plan to tour the palaces and parks of Sintra and the beach town of Cascáis by bus. The weather is not a factor as there are cloudless skies and temperatures in the low 80s. It is no surprise to me that Madonna, Scarlet Johansson, John Malkovich and many other celebrities have chooses to live here.