Portugal - Lisbon and Albufeira

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Panorama captions: Tile mural in the Refrectory at Jeronimouss Monastery, Evening view of Praia da Oura from our hotel room, Albufeira Beach with the elevator to town on Ron's right, Albufeira Beach, Sand Sculptures



I love listening to Portuguese. It's such a lovely sounding language and always brings back fond memories of our year in Brazil. Strolling through Lisbon's city streets with their distintive side walk designs is another flashback to Rio. With the short time we had, we weren't able to see all that we had planned while in Lisbon. The area where we stayed was near the site of the 1998 World's Fair. It's a lovely, modern, and clean area on the banks of the Tejo River. However, this made getting into the city center a long metro commute with multiple changes.

We did a day trip to Sintra, the former summer palace of the kings of Portugal. Sometimes it is best not to return to a place you loved. This was one of those times. It was nice, but not the sweet little village that we remembered.

Our day in Belem, west of Lisbon, was spent touring the Jeronimos Monastery. This is a beautiful example of Manueline architecture. We walked along the riverside to see the statue dedicated to the Portuguese discoverers. Unfortunately, it was covered in scaffolding. However, we were able to see Vaso da Gama's head.

A two and a half bus ride delivered us to Albufeira, in the Algarve region of Portugal. This is where we truly needed to be. The cities wear us out and it was so nice to see the rugged cliffs and golden sand beachs of Albufeira. We had a holiday from our traveling while there, spending time at the beach, visiting places we enjoy, and loving the view of the Mediterranean from our terrace.

We were fortunate, once again, to be there during their Sand Sculpture Exhibition. The theme this year was "Music". There were amazing sculptures of famous musicians from around the world and covering a range of time periods. 40,000 tons of sand were used in the construction of the sculptures. It was an incredible display.

My newest Albufeira discovery was mojoito popsicles with rum included. Now, that was an excellent treat on a hot summer day.

Next stop, Sevilla - flamenco, sangria, gazpacho, tapas, and basketball!

Ramblin' Ron and Pam

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Photos

Vasco da Gama Tower
Lisbon's tallest building, on the site of the 1998 World's Fair

World's Fair buildings
Basketball arena to the left

Site of the 1998 World's Fair
We were in Lisbon for the fair in 1998

Vasco da Gama's tomb
Located in the monastery's cathedral

The Tower of Belem
During the Age of Discovery, all ships entered Portugal at Belem. This tower protected the entry point on the Tejo River.

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Wow
Amazing architecture.