I did not know much about Portugal but I was eager to find out.
The man leading the group was a very good watercolor artist, a great teacher, and a seasoned traveler - a wonderful combination. I was excited about the trip.
My friend Bev and I joined a group of painters in Dallas, and made our way to Portugal, via England. The journey was long, but very pleasant.
Our stop-over in England was very short. We spent a night in a small town near the airport. We were told that if we wished we could ride the train into London for the evening. But all of us were tired. So after a short visit to the nearby little church and the churchyard, we all turned-in early.
I had one of the best curry chickens for dinner at the hotel restaurant that evening.
The next day, we flew to Portugal.
Portugal was extremely clean and orderly. The highways were well built and well maintained.
I saw a lot of cork trees, stripped off their barks. Portugal produces a lot of cork.
The scenery was very nice.
We were in the middle part of Portugal.
Rob, or leader, led us to a beautiful hotel - a former Palace, now turned into a government-owned hotel.
Lovely ancient buildings with modern amenities. What a surprise!
The staff was very helpful.
The food was excellent.
For the first few days, we traveled to surrounding small towns. We painted, we visited museums, and we visited interesting sites. One of the places that stood out in my mind was the Church of Bones. Yes, Bones!
The church interior was made of bones of former monks, nuns, and patrons. Rows of skulls and other bones were used to build the walls. A bit eerie!
We also visited a countryside with Circle of Stones (boulders, really), much like the ones you see in England and Ireland. But there were no stories about them. I guess the site was for ritualistic functions.
I loved the city of Sintra, a former summer palace for the royalty. Sintra sits on a hill, along the coast. It is situated not far north of Lisbon. Sintra reminded me very much of Hong Kong - similar winding roads, similar rock walls. After all, the Portuguese were in Hong Kong in the early days, they must have helped building the streets and walls.
Bev and I rode a horse-drawn-carriage up to the top of the hill where the former summer palace was. The view was spectacular. Bougainvilleas were every where.
We made a short visit to Lisbon. Lisbon is big and populous.
The view from the top of the hill was breath-takingly beautiful. We visited the modern museum and saw some very cutting edge artworks. The seaside monuments were awesome.
Then it was time for us to leave. We headed south to the Algarve.
No comments:
Post a Comment