Sunday - November 16, 2008

Lisbon, Portugal

Because we had just been in Portugal in May, and had seen a lot of Lisbon at that time, we decided to book an afternoon tour of the Royal Palace of Queluz and then a drive along the the coast to the small town of Cascais. 

We started off with a walk along the harbor where we could see hundreds of fish swimming close to the shore. If we had a piece of string and a hook, we could have caught dinner for the whole ship! We sat and enjoyed the sun on our faces before heading back to the ship to join our tour.

I think the tour we chose was the right thing to do, because the Palace interior and its grounds were lovely as were the views all along the coast.

The Palace was built in 1747 by Dom Pedro III and is very Rococo in style. Think of furniture with lots of curlicues and gold paint and enormous crystal chandeliers. This palace has often been described as the Portuguese Versailles because it is of the same time period and I thought the guide said that it was even designed by the same architect, but don't quote me on that. We saw the throne room, the mirror-lined ballroom ala Versailles, and the royal boudoirs. The gardens were very elegant and formal, complete with statues of nymphs and many fountains.

We then drove a short distance out of Lisbon to the fishing village of Cascais, which took us past Guincho beach on the Atlantic Ocean. The town is now a popular resort, with many shops and restaurants. But you can still see all the fishing boats in the harbor and the lobster traps lining the docks. 

Our drive back into the city took us past the famous Belem Tower, the Jeronimos Monastery, and the Monument to the Discoveries, three of the most important sights in Lisbon. We also drove past the spectacular suspension bridge across the Tagus River, which is very similar to the San Francisco bridge. And just across the river by the end of the Bridge is a Christ statue that is much like the one in Rio de Janeiro! Am I giving you the impression that the Portuguese have never had an original idea of their own? 

It was a very interesting day, and it was great to be able to enjoy the first really sunny, warm weather we had seen since we left Ann Arbor.