VISEU
It has been a while since I have updated my blog, but now that I am on Easter vacation and no longer filling out internship applications, I have a moment to write about where I have been and what I’ve been doing for he past couple of weeks. I’m not going to describe everything in one post since there have been various trips. The first is Viseu, Portugal.
As part of my study abroad program here in Portugal there are two organized trips: a day trip that we have not yet had and a weekend trip that took place in Viseu, Portugal. Viseu is about an hour and a half from Coimbra by car. The five of us (me, Amalia, Alex, our director Ana Paula and her boyfriend Francisco) drove to Viseu Friday afternoon to our five star hotel and spa, Hotel Montebelo. Amalia, Alex and I all shared a room, fully equipped with a bath and hot shower, something that lacks from our apartment at times. We ate the complimentary fruit plate before slipping into our robes for our massages. The spa was equipped with a pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and, my personal favorite, hamam or Turkish bath.
That night we went our to eat before heading to the “Ice Bar”, a bar completely made of ice. A “hot” or rather cold (hold your laughs please) tourist attraction, we enjoyed our delicious drinks at this incredible location.
Saturday was filled with visiting museums and cathedrals. Unfortunately it was raining and cold, but nonetheless interesting to see all of the religious art in the area. Our visits included the Ireja da Misericórdia and the museum of Grão Vasco, the biggest Portuguese painter of the 16th century. That night we were on our own for dinner and evening activities which included shopping at the mall. Viseu was interesting, but it is not the size of Lisbon or Porto so we were also able to visit a museum in Carambulo as well, a museum that displayed propaganda and also a temporary exhibition of old cars. Unfortunately I forgot my camera for this part of the trip in my suitcase, but it was a good way to end things, even though we were absolutely exhausted. The last meal included “sandes de leitão”. If you don’t know what that is, you’re better off looking it up online. Very good, but we probably drove around from an hour (the time it takes to travel between Viseu and Coimbra) to find these oh-so-precious sanduíches, according to our director.
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| Sé Cathedral Square |
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| Miséricordia |
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| Saint Isabel, Coimbra's saint |
SINTRA
After our massages in Viseu, we took a train down to Lisbon a weekend after. Mario, my dad’s childhood friend picked us up, made us a wonderful dinner and drove us to a house in Sintra. My dad has another good friend, Helder, with a vacation home in Sintra. Helder offered up his home for the weekend so we three girls, looking for a weekend away, took the generous offer. The house is gorgeous and despite the lack of hot water, was a nice getaway. We slept in comfy beds and watched a movie, In her Shoes. During the day, however, our visit in Sintra was packed.
Since Sintra isn’t exactly pedestrian friendly, Ricardo, Mario’s son, kindly drove us around and served as our guide for the weekend. We enjoyed sites like Palácio da Pena and the Castelo dos Mouros on Saturday and took a trip to Mafra and visited the palace there on Sunday. We were also able to drive to Cabo da Roca, the most western part of Europe, and Cascais. My favorite part of the trip was definitely the Palácio da Pena and the Castelo dos Mouros. The Palácio incorporated so many styles and colors and its location at the top of a mountain made it even more pristine. From the Palacio we could spot the Castelo dos Mouros, a typical looking castle you’d see in a children’s cartoon of a medieval story. Situated on the castle’s peaks were the different Portuguese flags and their evolution, and the style was typically arab.
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| Palácio da Pena |
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| Claustros da Palácio |
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| From below |
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| Castelo dos Mouros |
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| View from Cabo da Roca |
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| Library inside Palácio de Mafra |
The morning we left we had hot water. Such a nice change from our apartment’s shower. Sintra, although touristy, is a beautiful historical city. Although the trip was last minute sometimes those are the best kind of trips. Going in without a ton of knowledge of the location or expectations of the trip can make it one of the best ones. I am learning that I enjoy traveling like that.
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