Portugal Part 4 - Lisboa, Estoril, Cascais

October 2008

Lisbon - Portugal's capital - and these two resort towns, Estoril and Cascais, can be compared in status to Riga and Jūrmala. The distance from Lisbon to Estoril is only about 30 km.

LISBOA, or Lisbon - a cosmopolitan city, completely rebuilt after a powerful earthquake in 1757. The only building that survived untouched from that era is the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, or Jerónimos Monastery.

Here lie buried 2 of Portugal's great men - the sailor and discoverer of new lands Vasco da Gama (1468/9–1524) and the poet Luís Vaz de Camões (1524/5–1580).

One part of the monastery houses a history museum; opposite it is a landscaped garden with fountains. On the bank of the Tagus river stands a monument to Henry the Navigator.

Interestingly, a bridge stretches across the river that in appearance is a copy of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and the Jesus statue visible in the distance more readily evokes South America than Portugal. Well, after all, it was precisely the Portuguese who were the first Europeans to discover that continent.

In Lisbon one can view the largest carriage collection in Europe. Entry to the Museu dos Coches is 8 EUR per visitor. To be honest, the breadth and uniqueness of the collection on display could only be fully appreciated by antique enthusiasts - it didn't particularly captivate us.

Like many large cities, Lisbon too is divided into several quarters. The central one features the broad Praça do Comércio, or Commerce Square, from which the main shopping streets extend.

 The uniquely beautiful Arab quarter, the Alfama district, with its somewhat run-down ancient houses, small cobblestone lanes winding uphill, miniature cafés, taverns, and little shops.

A meal for two will cost at least 30 EUR; there were no complaints about the size of the paella portions (rice with seafood and fish). And that lovely southern tradition of serving wine in substantial carafes, mmm ...

In October the weather wasn't exactly indulgent - cool nights, daytime +18–22°C. However, for a Latvian tourist, refusing to wade into the ocean when it laps right at your feet is simply inconceivable. The ESTORIL coast is sandy, with no sharp pebbles, only warning signs about sea urchins and the abundant seaweed along the shore.

Otherwise an ordinary little resort town, whose lanes were adorned with tile-lettered street names and unidentified shrubs in full bloom with vividly pink flowers.

Just as in fish restaurants, so too in the shops there was no shortage of vast mountains of large salted fish.