Lagos and Luz- 6th till 11th January 2012

After leaving Lisbon we headed south to the Algarve.  The drive there was definitely one of the most boring we have done in the past year; hours of straight, empty motorway and very little in the way of scenery.  The only point of note was that we seemed to be at a reasonably high altitude as we kept driving through clouds!

Our first stop in the Algarve was at a campsite just outside of Lagos (said La-gosh).  After being the only people there in most of our recent campgrounds it was incredibly refreshing to stay somewhere with other people...even if it was a bit "camp brit"!  Some of the people we talked to spent every winter there- a campsite is much cheaper than heating costs at home apparently.

One of the monster "campervans" in the campground.  For scale that's a "normal" one like our sitting next to it.  I have no idea how they manoeuvre these things around some of the road or even into the campgrounds themselves.

Morg about to kill an orange.

We had a fabulously relaxing time and our campsite was a great spot to do it in- it had a pool, spa, restaurant and bar.  The weather was amazing- very warm and blue- and we even managed one, very quick swim. The pool was 12 degrees. Ouch.

The nearest village of Luz was a short cycle away.  It's very Mediterranean in its appearance with gorgeous white houses with yellow or blue trim.  We wandered the beach and had a great lunch overlooking the sea.

The water is absolutely freezing. JJ says there is some evil cold ocean current which means it is always like that.

Luz in the background.

The seafood cataplana - which is the large copper dish + lid it is cooked in.  It was ginormous and delicious.

That's a interesting, oddly tall, perfectly straight palm tree......wait....it's a cell phone tower!

We spent a day in Lagos.  The old town is quite pretty and there were lots of nice little bars and restaurants.  It was pretty quiet but you could imagine that it must be bustling in summer.

Morg in front of the Slave Market. He is obviously a slave to the rhythm.

Looking out to see through the gates to the old town.

Santo Antonio Church

Can't remember what this thing was - maybe a very pretty public bathroom. Probably not.

Morgan's first attempt at a paper hat to keep the sun out of my eyes. I look like some sort of weird nun.

Lisbon - 4 January, 2012

Lisbon - you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany. We must go there.

I got offered drugs four times in 10 minutes crossing the main square in Lisbon.

Apart from that fact - (or maybe as well?) Lisbon is a lovely city for a visit. We were only in Lisbon for one day - but we managed to pack quite a lot in. We caught the train in from Cascais and walked along the waterfront (where we had lunch) to the main square at the bottom of town.
Most of Lisbon was destroyed in an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 1755 - and the city centre was rebuilt following 'modern' urban design principles with a grid of streets and several squares. The main square facing onto the water is particularly impressive.

Note sleeping guy. As always.

The Elevador de Santa Justa. Over 100 years old and only a teeny bit rusty.

 

Views from the top - the cathedral is in the distance on the left.

The square where I got offered drugs by shifty dudes in suits. Dear drug dealers, if someone says 'no' to your offer of illicit substances, saying 'but they are really good' will not change their mind.

Looking up the hill towards the castle.

One of the statues where drug dealers lurk. Those pigeons keep an eye out for the cops.

We came across this on our way up to the castle - a great big suspended ball of steel wool.

I can see Jesus. No - I can, he is that statue on the far shore.

Outside the caste walls on the top of the hill.

The castle.

Look - the turret looks like a face with its hands up next to its head.

We also liked the Elevador de Santa Justa - which is a lift that connects the main area of town with a square on the northern part of the city. It was built in 1901, used to be steam powered (but has since been converted to run on electricity - boooooooo!) and the views are amazing.

The Castello on the top of the hill was also a lot of fun. It has the old remnants of the Moorish castle, but over the years it has became a quarter, or village, all of it's own. It was full of shops and restaurants, and is apparently where the best African restaurants are.

The view down from the ramparts.

So, a flying visit - but an eventful one!

Sintra, 20 December - 6 January 2012

Sintra old town - if you look closely you can see me waving. 

Jeremy and Rachel took us to visit the historic hillside town of Sintra, which is quite close to where they live. It is well known for being the summer retreat of the Royalty since the 14th Century - it is set into a steep, wooded hillside and the views are amazing.

However, the hills behind the town host a medley of historical architecture to astound and delight! A seriously diverse and eclectic mix of marvels (starting to sound like an ad for the circus). We visited a couple of these with Jeremy and Rachel, and were so impressed we went back for more after they had departed for NZ.

Sintra has the Palacio Nacional de Sintra, which was the summer retreat of the royalty up until the 1880's. It also hosts a couple of gardens, lots of tourists, and is the starting point for people to see the other attractions of the region. It is very busy, quite mad, and we were extremely lucky to get a park in town - without getting smeared across the walls by the tourist buses. We were extremely glad Jeremy drove us, and later generously let us use his car. There would be no way of getting the motor home up there, and the queues for the buses were huge.

We had a wander around, looked at the view, and had some lunch.

Those two big conical towers are chimneys.

Slightly terrifying slippery streets.

I love my daddy, he is the best da..............PIGEON!!!!!!!!!!

This is the main reason to go to Portugal - Pasteis da Nata - a traditional egg custard delight thing. Yes, the top is supposed to look like that.

The annual meeting of the baseball hat appreciation society - Portuguese branch.

I still have all my own teeth.

Prior to that we visited the Peninha, which is one of the peaks on the drive to Sintra. It has a small chapel and monastery on top,  which are not much to see - but the views are amazing.

We also saw the Convento dos Capuchins - which is also known as the Cork Convent. It is a series of tiny rooms built into the rocks, and the insides of the walls, roofs and shutters were covered with cork for insulation. Some of the doors to the 'rooms' are under a metre tall, so make the occupant bow in humility before entering.

The monastery on top of Penhina.

Jones plural.

On the steps up to the monastery, posing for the Morgan is Awesome band album cover.

The 'Cork Convent' - nestled into the rocks to be one with nature, or because Catholics like being a bit miserable. Too comfy for one of the monks - he went to live in a cave.

The chapel, this was one of the higher doorways.

The strip lighting made for some awesome photos.

The roofs, doors, and shutters were all line with cork to provide some insulation.

On our return visit without the Joneseseseses we visited the Castelo dos Mouros - the Moorish Castle. These castle was built in the 8th century, and was taken by the Portuguese in 1147. It is amazing, the ramparts have been draped over the hillside and follow the contours exactly. As you can see form the photos, the views are stupendous - we were very lucky to have clear days for our visits, it can get very cloudy.

Jane peering over the battlements towards Sintra, and the coast.

Jane, mistress of all she surveys (she is looking at me). Note the relaxed approach to health and safety with the staircase on the front of the tower. Also, the shin high wall on the battlements, with a good 5 or 6 metre drop.

Somewhere, a girl with a blue coat is showing her mum a photo with me in it.

The view was amazing.

Finally, we visited the Palacio de Pena. This was originally a 16th Century monastery that was incorporated into a 19th century palace. It looks very much as if it was designed by some very gifted children, or someone who had learnt how to design castles by reading story books. We loved it.

Built by Mad King Mad the Mad, and designed by an army of excited children. It is fantastic.

So, Sintra was incredible. To put it in context, we spent 2 days here and could have easily gone back for a third (we hadn't seen everything) - we spent one day in Lisbon and felt happy with that.