A First Glace of Lisbon

The drive from Tavira to Lisbon took about 3.5 hours. If you weren’t driving a POS 2.5 cylinder Ford Focus rental car, I’m sure it would take you less. The scenery on the way from the south of Portugal to Lisbon was a particularly interesting one. Cork oak trees lined the highway on both sides. Apparently, Portugal produces 50% of the world’s harvest of cork. The trees, which are stripped of their bark (which produces the cork) can be harvested every 10-12 years and has a life expectancy of 150-250 years. Please don’t try to cut down a cork tree when you’re in Portugal – it’s illegal. You don’t want to spend you vacation in jail, do you?

Lisbon was not at all what I had expected. I think I was expecting more of a cosmopolitan city, such as Madrid or Barcelona. In comparison, Lisbon is a tad … well, shabby. I know, I know… it’s politically incorrect. But, I think if you were there you might agree that the city was more shabby than shabby chic. Many of the buildings were tiled and many of the tiles cracked and dirtied from years of wear. Also, graffiti seemed to be everywhere, making me feel uneasy about the area in general.

If you want a cultural experience you can stay in charming little hotel that the locals just love. I like a Marriott, Hilton, Four Seasons… something to that effect. If you, too, enjoy these high quality/luxury chains, do yourself a favor and do not stay in a charming little hotel. You will be beyond disappointed and a raving b!tch from lack of sleep. A traveling companion (who will remain nameless) likes these sort of out of the way, “charming” places. There were several to choose from… but they weren’t cheap. We settled on 180 Euro a night boutique that was labeled as a “good value” by a very reputable travel web site. (Note: I’ve figured out that a “good value” means that the sheets are clean and you don’t have to share a bathroom with the people down the hall.) Now for $250 bucks a night I would expect to stay in a nice hotel. It might not be the Ritz, but it should be nice.

After an hour of driving up and down the streets trying to find the hotel, we saw a tile sign above the doorway. It looked awful. When I say awful, I mean that I was ready to get back in the car and head to the nearest luxury hotel. One of my other travel buddies first mentioned “Is this neighborhood safe at night?” and then later said “well, they have your credit card info. We should go check the rooms.”

We walked up to the front of the hotel. Old, dilapidated tiles reading the name of the hotel were mounted to the top of the stucco door frame. A locked iron gate stood about 8 feet tall and a speaker box was on the side of the wall. We rang the bell and waited. The woman on the other end of the phone ushered us upstairs. We climbed one, then two flights of stairs. At the top was a large cobblestone courtyard. A large palm tree was the focal point for this garden, while other large trees and vines surrounded the courtyard, providing much needed shade from the hot day.

We asked to see the rooms before getting the key. The woman at the front desk looked shocked. The door man showed up to our rooms. They were clean, simple, not luxurious. I would say that was a 99 buck a night room by European standards, not a $250 a night room. We figured we would make do and stay at the hotel. Later that night I noticed a little dry rot in the floor of the bathroom. Scott had a good point. He said, “For $250 I would expect them to get rid of the dry rot.”

What to do
So, the first day in Lisbon started out shaky. For day #2 we decided to visit St George’s castle. Lisbon is quite hilly so, I was thrilled to take a cab there. Once inside we immediately noticed the enormity of the castle grounds. Now, I’ve been to castles. I’ve been to castles in Austria, the UK, Spain, Germany and other various places in Europe. St. George’s castle put them all to shame. The castle is huge. You could imagine how in its time the castle would be a city in itself.

The view of the Tagus river from the castle is amazing so, be sure to spend some time on the “patio” and take some pictures. When you venture in the castle, you will see that the walls are pretty well in tact. Many tourists walked up the narrow stair cases up to the top of several levels, overlooking the center of the (now open air) castle to one side and the city to the other.

Visiting the castle was a spectacular way to spend the day. I highly recommend it.

Tavira and Southern Portugal

The Algarve is the region in the south of Portugal, facing Africa. It was not at all what I expected. We traveled by car from Marbella, in the south of Spain, to Tavira. The hot humid air of Spain was soon replaced by a sweltering dry heat. Also, along the car ride, I noticed that the soil in Portugal is of a red variety; sometimes it's coral, sometimes dark red.

We stayed in a Pousada. Pousadas are spread over Portugal. They are former convents, monasteries or castles that have been converted to hotels. After talking with the attendant at the front desk, I learned that the government does provide some sort of funding for restoration of these buildings but, they are managed by hotel management companies.

We stayed at the Pousada de Tavira – Convento de Graca. I must admit to you that I was a bit impressed by the restoration of the Pousada. It had been restored just a few years prior and looked incredible. The rooms were simple, yet classy, and had a soft (but just firm enough) bed with down pillows and comforter.

The first night after the long drive from Marbella to Tavira, we decided to have dinner at the hotel. The menu of the evening was Moroccan cuisine. We were pleasantly surprised by the food. Bream was the served in several ways throughout the 5 courses, consisting of fish with dates, dried nuts and fruits. (I later learned that Bream is a local Portuguese white fish. It actually tasted a lot like sea bass, though I understand they are different species of fish.) The dinner was excellent and the staff was quite nice.

We spent the following day exploring Tavira, a sea side town where you will find snorkeling, fishing and boating excursions available. I’m not much of a sun bunny, or a water person. Rather, the four of us preferred to wander the streets of Tavira, snapping photos and helping out the economy with purchases from yet another Zara.

On the way back to the Pousada, we took a detour and visited one of the golf resorts. The South of Portugal is littered with golf resorts where the weary Northern European traveler can sun themselves and golf. The massive golf resorts and hot weather provide a change from the other variable weather you might find in Europe (especially Northern Europe). The golf resorts are huge; many of them encompass miles of courses, condos, restaurants and hotels.

Once you get out of the resort, it’s noticeable. Portugal is a poorer country than Spain. I was honestly expecting that the countries would be similar. I think that would be saying California borders Arizona so, they are similar.