SEVILLE TO LISBON
We traveled to Lisbon by car, and for Europe, it was a long distance, about 6 hours total which included one stop in a picturesque hill town. We passed olive trees, groves and groves of cork trees, and also pine nut trees. Some of the cork trees were very old and still producing. Every 9 years, the bark is stripped of a tree and the number of the year, 25 for this year, is put on the tree to be an indication of when it will be ready to be “harvested” again.
About halfway to Lisbon, we stopped at Monsaraz, a village perched high up built on stone with small shops and restaurants. The shopkeepers and restauranteurs don’t live here, making the town a tourist attraction with no full time residents. It was stunning with its white-washed buildings, dark lattice-like stone streets, gates, and views of the fields below.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Lisbon suffered a major earthquake in 1755 which destroyed buildings and caused fires. Many buildings one sees in the older part of town, consequently, were built in the late 18th century or early part of the 19th.
Once we had checked into our hotel, we took a short walk around Chiado, the neighborhood in which we were staying. We noted the archaeological museum, buildings in the French bourgeois style with balconies at the windows, and of course, the mosaic patterns on the stone sidewalks.
After our day of travel, we dined at a fish restaurant nearby up the hill. We enjoyed a salad of chunks of tomato and lovely fresh sea bass and grouper, simply prepared and delicious.
Note: Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)
