Lisbon Archives - Wandering North

Asia Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan: The Final Day

As it turns out, my crumby day yesterday did not last even one full day.

After my post, I returned to my hotel, the Gulnara Guesthouse. It is on the edge of the old town near the bustling Chorsu market. I cannot comment on the rooms, because, as I mentioned, my reservation was screwed up and the only room they had for me wasn’t really a room, just a cot and electric fan, but I must say that I am quite happy with the accommodations. The owners are friendly and the rooms are all located around a pleasant courtyard with a huge apple tree and laundry strung up everywhere.

It is definitely a backpackers’ place, with everyone there being young and traveling with large backpacks or by bicycle. Almost everyone there seems to be French, although the Japanese girl i met in Samarkand (and saw again in Bukhara) is staying there as well.

Anyway, after my post, I went to my room and spent about 4 hours napping and listening to repeats of Bill Maher and Ricky Gervais podcasts on my ipod, which cheered me up immensely. After that, I went for an evening walk and had tea and a cigar on a busy corner, where I was joined by some Uzbek construction worker with some basic English skills. He said he had only seen cigars “in films”. He asked to buy one from me but I had only one left, so i didn’t sell.

All in all, it was a pleasant end to what started out as a crumby day.

This morning, after breakfast, I walked up to the Khast Imom, which is the holiest part of Tashkent. It is a collections of newish mosques and mausoleums and a small museum that houses a massive and old copy of the Koran. Surrounding the buildings were some very well manicured park areas, which were also home to many large stork-like birds (like storks, but bigger and with more intimidating beaks).

I then walked past many large and largely unattractive apartment blocks to Navoi Park, which is a big park containing some odd Soviet structures and a man made lake with beach areas, little paddle boats and small fair area with rides. I wandered there for a while and had some ice-cream-like frozen substance. I have on this trip mastered the pronunciation of the Russian word for ice cream, which had previously eluded me.

Now I am just sort of pleasantly killing time. My flight is at 9:00pm, but i plan to get there nice and early, as I could not check in on-line. I plan to stroll through the market again, see if i can spend my remaining Sum and then I will probably just hang around in the courtyard of my hotel and smoke my final cigar.

I may post again either from Tashkent or Seoul, internet access permitting.
d

Europe Portugal Spain

Boa Noite

We are back in Lisbon.

Valença, Portugal on right; Spain on left & Minho River in between
Valença was delightful. Our hotel was located within the walls of the 12thC (or thereabout) fortress on a hilltop overlooking the Minho River and surrounding valley, which was…well, breathtaking comes to mind. Green, rolling hills, mountains, vineyards and the fortress itself, complete with cannons (pointed towards Spain).

Within the fortress walls were many shops which, curiously, all seemed to sell linens. There were also a couple of cafes and Portuguese restaurants. (If i never see another olive again, it may be too soon.) And of course there were a few small churches. On our first day there we explored this area. On the second day we went to Spain.

Spain lies just across the river and is accessible by means of a bridge built in 1886 and designed by Gustave Eiffel himself. It took us just less than 15 minutes to make the journey. The town on the other side is Tui. Don´t ask me how to pronounce it. At first glance it is a depressing roadside town, best glimpsed from a passing car, but if one heads towards the river there is a beautiful little town, 5 or 6 hundred years old and centred around a large cathedral. We walked through the steeply winding streets and had a coffee. (You can smoke inside there, something that is not possible in Portugal.) After about 5 hours of blind exploration, we returned home, had dinner and watched the sky darken from our hotel room.

Today we took the train back to Lisbon; a pleasant journey that took about 6 hours. We spent out last evening having dinner and taking one final walk around the castle.

We have an early and long trip home tomorrow via Frankfurt and Calgary (two cities not often mentioned together).
We will be in Vancouver Sunday evening.
d & b

Europe Portugal

Under the Sintra Sun

Sintra is amazing! As we expected, it has the quaint cobblestone streets & charming alley ways leading to artisan shops and eateries, what we did not expect was just how magical it would be.

We arrived by train and walked to “Cinco”, the B&B where we are staying. Through an unassuming green door we entered a beautiful garden where our host lives in her house, behind which is our cottage. We have full amenities, including a living room that opens up onto our own private garden courtyard with a table & chairs overlooking a picturesque valley. We were both delighted, but Betty Lou in particular is in heaven.

Upon getting settled, we decided to walk to the Palacio da Pena, Sintra´s star attraction. It is a beautiful palace, exuberant and romantic in its color & design, perched on a lushly forested mountain top. We decided to walk, but after an hour in the heat we flagged down a bus (we discovered later that we had accidentally opted for the long road). I must mention how beautiful the forest is and that it smelled like flowers and herbs and was filled with exotic birdsong.

The palace really was spectacular – it almost seemed like it ought to have been at Disneyworld and the views from it into the town and surrounding valley were beautiful.

From the palace we walked to another peak on the mountain where there sits an 11th Century Moorish castle. The castle is so cool. (“This is so cool!” being the phrase i exclaimed repeatedly while there.) The castle walls are precariously built atop the mountain and walking the ramparts takes you up and down along cliffs. It was like being in a medieval book or movie.

At the end of all this hiking, we were drenched with sweat and satisfaction. We had a wonderful lunch in the village, followed by a nap and decadent desserts before returning to our courtyard to watch the sun set.

Today we went to the Quinta de Regaleira, a palace dating back centuries, but redesigned in the 1800s by an eccentric Brazillian coffee baron, known as Monteiro dos Milhoes (“Moneybags Montiero”). He hired a designer of Italian opera sets to create a lavish and magical garden setting for the palace, as well as the interior which was full of symbolic elements of alchemy, religion, and free masonry. The palace is interesting, but the real treasure is the grounds surrounding it. They are filled with turrets and walls, pools, grottos, flora, and fountains and, best of all in my opinion, super cool underground tunnels leading to different parts of the park! Some of these tunnels were lit and others were pitch black, making us wish we had brought lights. It was just amazing. I felt like Alice in Wonderland.

We just had a delicious lunch and the rest of the day is free. Tomorrow morning we catch the train back to Lisbon and then take a bus to Fatima.
We are both extremely happy.

Europe Portugal

Of All the Gin Joints…

We started our morning with yet another fabulous breakfast at our hotel followed by a morning stroll and…liquor! That’s right it was not yet 11am when Betty Lou and i had our first drink! We walked back down to the Rossio Square to see what it was like on a non-Sunday (lively and bustling) and we happened by this little hole in the wall bar. I use the word ‘bar’ loosely however, as all it is is an opening the size of a small walk-in closet with a bar, a bartender and several bottles of red liquid. The place is called Ginjinha and it has been there for about 150 years serving only one drink to locals buy single shots of this boozy concoction and drink it standing outside. We had to indulge. I heard it called gin, but it is sort of a cherry brandy; not offensive, but far too sweet for my liking. Betty Lou thought it pleasant and clinked glasses with the local men. I know it was early for drinking, but it had to be 5:00 somewhere, right?

After that, much of the rest of the day was spent exploring. We went to the ruins of a medieval church and had lunch on a cafe patio on the square, but mostly we just walked.

I really can’t explain how fascinating the streets are. These super narrow alleys, lined with buildings that were once brightly painted, but are now mostly faded and peeling, while others are tiled in exuberant colors and patterns. Many of the street are quite shabby looking and seem almost desolate, but then you turn a corner and there is a charming and unexpected hole in the wall restaurant or vegetable market. And have we mentioned the laundry? Strings of drying clothes hang from every window like streamers for a parade. Simply delightful.

Anyway, we are basically done with Lisbon and are ready to head to Sintra, which we will do in the morning.
Tchau.

Europe Portugal

Vasco de Gama

Today we ventured out of our neighborhood, down several steep flights of stairs to the Baixa & Avenida districts. These areas are much more conventionally European looking, compared to the pseudo medieval Alfama. We meandered around grand squares featuring fountains and tall statues of men on horseback serving as impressive perches for flocks of pigeons.
The squares were lined by cafes and shops, however, as it is Sunday, all of the shops were closed (except curiously for the stores selling underpants).

We took a bright yellow funicular up to the Barrio Alto district where we went to the Sao Roque church as a service was getting underway. We went back down by taking the 100 year old Elevator de Santa Justica, a frilly, metal sort-of free standing elevator.
We had coffee on Rua Augusta, which is a wide, pedestrian street with outdoor cafes running down the centre. (Sort of like South Beach´s Lincoln Road.) After that we perused some artwork being sort on the street and Betty Lou picked up a splendid watercolor painting.

We took a tram to another area – Belem – which was extremely lively with restaurants, a great antique flea market and lots of pedestrians and tourists roaming around in the nearly 30 degree sunshine. The reason for going to this area was to visit the Mosterio dos Jeronimos, a stunning monatstery\cloisters and church where Vasco de Gama is entombed. (Betty Lou and i must admit that Vasco de Gama is pretty much the only famous Portugese person we could name prior to coming here.) The courtyard in the cloisters was lovely and we laid on the grass in the sunshine until the heat became too much for us.

The ride back was less pleasant as it was a tram crammed with hot, sweaty bodies, but it got us back to Rua Augusta where we had a great meal. Now we are both exhausted. It will be an early night.
Time is running short on the internet, so i will just say Good Night.

Europe Portugal

Portugal: Arrival

Bom Dia from Lisboa!

We arrived yesterday in the late afternoon. We are staying at a lovely (fancy) hotel in the Alfama district, which is a tangle of hilly, cobblestones streets winding up steep hills to a Castle and to our hotel which is just outside the castle walls. We have spectacular views.
Last night we went for a walk and had dinner at a little outdoor eatery where we listened to Fado.

We shared wine – Vinho Verde – with a table of drunken Japanese girls from Spain. It was a perfect evening.

Now a new day and adventures to come.

Tag: Lisbon