LISBON and CASCAIS
 
Monday, July 21st - Lisbon
 
We had been looking forward to meeting Junko,Hiro and their daughter Ryoko in Lisbon. They are on a whirlwind tour and would spend one or two days in each of about 5 cities in Portugal and Spain. It had been close to a year when we said goodbye to them in Istanbul after our epic 3000km Danube bicycle trip. 
 
The Narui's scheduled to be in Lisbon only for 30 hours so we knew our time together must be kept short. We met them at the Hotel Tavoli at Estação do Oriente just as they were checking in. They all looked genki. Royko lives in London and is completing a post graduate program. Junko completed another tour of duty on the Executive Board of Ikebana International since we last saw her. 

We asked the front desk for a directions and to highlight the most popular things to see in Lisbon on a short visit. He pulled out a Lisbon map and circled the Azulejo Museum (my interest) and told us we could take bus 728 from the stop in front of the hotel to get there. Then he circled Alfama (Castle of St Jorge) and Chado, and then Jerónimo's Monastery in Belém. That would be more than enough.

We asked the bus driver to tell us when to get out to go to the Museu do Azulejo and soon we were standing in front of the Azulejo Museum. Azulejo is a form of Portuguese painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tile work. 

Unfortunately, the museum was closed! Of course it was closed, it was Monday, the traditional day off for museums. That meant Jerónimo's Monastery (now a museum) would also be closed. 

We hopped back on bus 728 and went to Belém anyway. At least we could see the magnificent historic buildings from the outside. Again the bus driver was extremely helpful telling us when to get out and which way to walk.

We got out just past Jerónimos Monastery and walked to the waterfront where we saw the 16th century, 30 meter, 4-story, limestone Torre de Belém (Tower of Saint Vincent) , boat harbor, a bridge in the distance, that looks like the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Monument to the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos).

Everything was bathed in the photogenic light of late afternoon. A cooling breeze came off the water.

The Monument to the Discoveries was an unexpected treat. Depicted on monument are 33 figures from the Portuguese Age of Discovery. They include monarchs, explorers, cartographers, artists, scientists and missionaries. Ryoko began reading their names from a Japanese guide book. We knew only a few of the names; 

Of course we knew Ferdinand Magellan (first to circumnavigate the globe) and Vasco da Gama (discoverer of the sea route to India). Also Saint Francis Xavier (missionary) and Henry the Navigator, who we just learned about once we got to Portugal (aka Enrique de Avis, Duke of Viseu). Not Columbus - He was working for the other team.

We walked up a flight of stairs then took the elevator to the top of the monument and looked down from the viewing platform. Below in the plaza was the compass rose and mappa mundi, a gift from the Republic of South Africa and created from various marbles. it depicts a map of the world with dates of all the significant Portuguese discoveries. People in the plaza looked like ants from above.
 
We continued our visit over a fish and Sangria at a typical traditional Portuguese diner near Jerónimos Monastery. Pretty good food and exceptionally friendly service.

As the sun sunk in the ocean, the Narui's got back on bus 728 toward their hotel and Dave and I got on the train to Parede. It had been a great day. 


July 22 - Cascais Realtor
 
Dave and I took the train to Cascais again. It is a lovely place to wander. Breezy pedestrian streets, beach front and atmospheric historic areas and parks. 

Tourist information was not extremely useful although they spoke English. Maps were limited to Cascais maps. Besides the bus schedule to Sintra, we got no additional info or maps.

We were interested in visiting a Realty & Apartment Management office. Martine, a spunky lady from Ireland who has lived here for 30 years, used her computer to show us several one and two room apartments in the center that would rent for about €800 to €1300 per month in off-season, a quarter of the summer rate. It gave us a bit of a feel what to expect if we come back to stay in Cascais sometime down the road. The further from the center and beach areas of Cascais, the rents are lower. We like the 4 small towns around the 4 train stops before Cascais too. Parede, where we are staying, we find less appealing.