Portimao: Is the largest town in the southernmost "gold coast" region of Portugal: the Algarve. The south coast of Portugal has been a favorite vacation spot for English and other northern Europeans since the 60s, so it is now highly (over)developed with high rise condos. But the beaches are wide, with soft sand and warm water. We had no time to explore the more remote areas:
Portomao is also a fishing port famous for sardines, one of the most typical Portuguese foods.
We headed for a beach restaurant (with the curved front below) where they served delicious fresh grilled sardines by the half dozen.
Lisbon:
The Windstar sailed into the Port of Lisbon at sunrise. At the mouth of its large protected harbor is a suspension bridge of very similar design to the Golden Gate bridge. We watched anxiously as the mast of the ship seemed to barely scrape under the bridge.
We had only a day and a half in Lisbon and since the main tourist sites in Lisbon are fairly far apart, we took a morning bus tour to get the overview. I made this custom map as a planning tool.
Highlights of the tour are below:
- Alfama: This is the old arab moorish quarter of central Lisbon with very narrow, steep and winding streets. The arabs were, as our guide explained it, "expelled" in 1147. I asked her if that meant they were told to leave. No, she admitted, it means that they were forced to convert to Christianity or they had to flee for their lives.
- Belem Parish: The Portuguese are fiercely proud of their long faded world empire and voyages of discovery. That translated into a new style of architectural ornament emphasizing nautical motifs (eg: twisted ropes and canon carved in stone). To the west of Lisbon are a number of gothic structures in this "Manueline style" (after King Manuel I who reigned 1495-1521) including the Tower of Belem (a defensive Fort which was originally surrounded by water) and the Jeronimos Monastery (the monks were expelled expelled after 4 centuries for being too rich and powerful). Click here for more info and pictures and here for a more modern tribute to the glorious but faded past.
The bus dropped us off at our hotel in time for lunch: We stayed at the Real Palacio hotel to be close to the Gulbenkian Museum. It was very nice but more modern and larger than I expected. If you stay there, ask for the Older Section with was full when we were there. From there it was a short walk to the Gulbenkian Museum.
- Gulbenkian Museum: I had never heard of this museum until I read the
Calouste
Galbenkin (1869-1965) was an Armenian educated in London who became a
central figure representing middle Eastern countries in dealing with Western
Oil companies. Because he negotiated that he would receive a percentage
of profits, he amassed a huge fortune and an art collection housed in his
mansion in Paris.
At the Nazi occupation of Paris he
moved to a hotel in neutral Lisbon where he lived until he died.
The Museum was built after he died
and is not large by the standard of great international museums. But the quality and
breadth of the collection is higher than any I have visited. Click on the
Heading of this section for more details.
- The Lalique room alone is worth a visit to Lisbon. Gulbenkian befriended Rene Lalique and bought many pieces directly from his workshop. I had thought that Lalique was only a maker of glass. Instead he made his early name in stunning one of a kind pieces of Jewelry, such as this corsage ornament:
-
Robin bought this book:
Rene Lalique at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
There was nothing else worth seeing after that, so we flew home the next day.
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