A lot of things have happened since we last caught up. We’re on our third day here in Lisbon. We’ve booked a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment at Art Stay Lisbon for $160 a night. The theme of the hotel is kitsch, I guess. Here is the breakfast room:
Opinions about the decor aside, Art Stay has won me over with their breakfast vegan granola. I know this is a terrible picture and that it will in no way encourage you to eat this granola if you find yourself in Lisbon. But look past the appearance (much in the same way you do with a mussel, a clam, any fish, beef, sushi, celery and some cheeses etc.) Whole walnuts, toasted peanuts, chia seeds, whole dried cherries…it is the best granola I have ever eaten.
I had identified a couple of UNESCO world heritage monasteries within about an hour of Lisbon that I wanted to see and so Nuno, co-owner of Lisbon Riders, picked us up for a second day tour. Day touring from Lisbon is extremely economical. We went to Batalha Monastery first. Construction was started in 1386 and it’s a cool blend of Gothic and Manueline architecture:
Here’s Nuno, explaining something to Ron and then a pic from afar, so you can see the entire monastery:
After Batalha monastery, we went over to Alcobaca Monastery. Nuno said that he doesn’t usually take his groups to both monasteries and so I could feel Ron’s long-simmering doubt/disdain for my travel choices floating around in our little van. But the town of Alcobaca was charming and the drive gave us time to get to know Nuno a bit. He started his tour business 10 years ago after a career in transportation consulting. He had the (common) guide fixation on trying to share historical information with me but, as you know, I am undaunted from my acquisition of sociological data. The threshold for a DUI in Portugal in .05. Tuition for college is about $700 a year. The fine for a no seatbelt ticket is about $200. Driving age: 18, with about 30 hours of classroom education plus 30 hours of on the road training required. Car insurance? $400 a year. It was funny, this conversation, because after awhile Nuno said “You’re a lawyer” and I hadn’t even told him;)
But back to Alcobaca. Here’s the town hall, which I loved:
And here’s the river in the middle of town:
And then here’s the monastery, which I feel duty-bound to share with you all since I dragged Ron over. But I was already completely smitten with Batalha and its Gothic grandeur. So I wasn’t wowed by Alcobaca until I wandered into the kitchen. The monastery itself is from the 12th century but the kitchen was rebuilt in the 18th century and I loved it. They positioned the kitchen so that it flowed over a water source and there’s a huge pool of water/sink in there.
Here’s the fireplace in the kitchen, with me in there to show you the scale, not because I thought it was super fun:
And here’s the sink/water flow:
From our monasteries, Nuno took us over to the coast to see the town of Nazarre, home of massive waves and surfing:
And then over to the walled village of Obidos:
And then, finally, Nuno dropped us back off in Lisbon, where a trip highlight awaited us: our friends from home, Richard and Lisa! Halfway through a year-long trip around Africa and Europe, they found a way to connect with us in Lisbon!
What a relief for me! I’ve never toured with anyone else in possession of the finely-tuned focus for details that I am graced with. When I point out the Birkenstock store, Lisa is interested! Sock store? Ditto. In the middle of a museum dedicated to investigating the history of dictatorship and oppression in Portugal – when I lose focus and want her to come look at a toilet/urinal ingenious combo? She’s right there!
In addition to being willing to appreciate the superior “flow direction” strategy inherent in that urinal, traveling with anyone other than Ron allows me to sit back and let someone else read the GPS. Lisa steadfastly navigated us around Lisbon for a day and we got to see the Carmo Convent from 1389, which is interesting because it was damaged in the 1755 earthquake, lost its roof, but still sits on a prominent Lisbon square, otherwise intact:
We also toured the Convent archaeological museum, saw some old things, and watched this historical video at the end, where I really feel Ron learned a lot:
Okay, that’s it! Next we’re off to another day tour with Lisbon Riders – to Sintra – weekend playground for Lisbon royalty of the past – full of castles and monasteries!
Travels with Valerie 