As wonderful as books represent, document, and express human thoughts, they are not a substitute for direct, personal contact that comes from seeing, hearing, feeling, and experiencing things for oneself.
Mariza is a world-famous Fado singer, and I was surprised and delighted that she was visiting San Francisco. Having just recently returned from Portugal, where Mariza usually performs in large stadiums, I was happily surprised that I could purchase tickets to hear her live.
I purchased front-row seats (row AA, 103/104) and saw Mariza close. She was much taller than I expected and sang beautifully. I enjoyed the concert and was glad to hear her sing in person.
I liked her band, which included the accordion, guitar, Portuguese guitar, bass, and drums. I especially enjoyed the acoustic guitar (and far less the accordion—I would have preferred a piano instead).
One of my favorite songs Mariza sang is "Quem Me Dera", see below:
Quem Me Dera
Que mais tem de acontecer no mundo Para inverter o teu coração pra mim Que quantidade de lágrimas devo deixar cair Que flor tem que nascer Para ganhar o teu amor
Por esse amor meu Deus Eu faço tudo Declamo os poemas mais lindos do universo A ver se te convenço Que a minha alma nasceu para ti
Será preciso um milagre Para que o meu coração se alegre Juro não vou desistir Faça chuva faça Sol Porque eu preciso de ti para seguir
What else has to happen in the world To turn your heart towards me How many tears must I let fall What flower must bloom To win your love
For this love, my God I do everything I recite the most beautiful poems in the universe To see if I convince you That my soul was born for you
It will take a miracle For my heart to rejoice I swear I won't give up Come rain or shine Because I need you to go on
I wish To embrace you in autumn, summer, and spring Perhaps live beyond a chimera Inherit luck and win your heart
It will take a storm For you to realize my love is true I look for you in city billboards, in the headlights In mere mortals like us My love is pure, as big and resilient as a baobab tree For you, I go where I would never go For you, I am what I would never be
I wish To embrace you in autumn, summer, and spring Perhaps live beyond a chimera Inherit luck and win your heart
I wish To embrace you in autumn, summer, and spring Perhaps live beyond a chimera Inherit luck and win your heart
I wish To embrace you in autumn, summer, and spring Perhaps live beyond a chimera Inherit luck and win your heart
I wish To embrace you in autumn, summer, and spring Perhaps live beyond a chimera Inherit luck and win your heart
I wish To embrace you in autumn, summer, and spring Perhaps live beyond a chimera Inherit luck and win your heart
At around 9:30, I ordered UberX from Torel Palace Hotel to Cais do Sodre Train station, which regularly departs for Cascais. We arrived at about 9:57, missing the 10:00 train for Cascais. However, we boarded the next 10:20 train and arrived 40 minutes later.
According to Wikipedia (see more about Cascais):
Cascais is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal on the Portuguese Riviera. The city has 214,158 inhabitants[1] and an area of 97.40 km2.[2] Cascais is an important tourist destination. Its marina hosts events such as the America's Cup, and the town of Estoril, part of the Cascais municipality, hosts conferences such as the Horasis Global Meeting.
Cascais's history as a popular seaside resort began in the 1870s when King LuÃs I of Portugal and the Portuguese royal family made the seaside town their residence every September. This also attracted members of the Portuguese nobility, who established a summer community there.
The municipality is one of the wealthiest in Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula. It has one of the most expensive real estate markets and one of the highest costs of living in the country, and is consistently ranked highly for its quality of life.
On arrival, we started exploring downtown Cascais. The weather was initially foggy and cloudy. However, the fog cleared by noon, and the sun came out, with clouds disappearing. It also got quite hot outside (especially when walking in the sun).
We saw many interesting shops and restaurants and stopped at Palácio Seixas to take photos. We saw a few people swimming and paddle-boarding on the beach.
We decided to continue exploring and stopped at Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães. At first, we toured the beautiful gardens with a large tower built up. Then, at around 12:30, we purchased tickets to see the inside. We toured the three-story building and saw some notable paintings and furniture.
The Palácio dos Condes de Castro Guimarães, originally known as the Torre de São Sebastião (St Sebastian's Tower), was built in 1900 as an aristocrat’s summer residence in Cascais, Lisbon District, Portugal.
It became a museum in 1931. The building follows an eclectic architectural style, while the museum includes paintings of national and international significance, furniture, porcelain, jewelry, and a neo-Gothic organ.
Our next stop was the Cascais Lighthouse (Farol Museu de Santa Marta), which was closed. We continued our long walk, stopping at the famous Boca do Inferno, described as:
These scenic oceanfront cliffs feature a natural archway & open cave created by pounding waves.
It was past lunchtime, so we stopped by Mar do Inferno for seafood. After sitting down, we ordered a seafood platter for two, which included fresh seafood (sea bass, large shrimp, clams, and broccoli).
The seafood was delicious!
After lunch, we walked back downtown, looking at various shops. In the Cascais Marina, we found a mall with high-end stores. We looked around for some time but did not purchase anything.
We decided to get a light dessert and stopped by a nearby Paul bakery for pastries. I had an espresso with a couple of pastries. The pastries were delicious!
Outside, people were playing volleyball and relaxing on the beach.
We also tied coffee at the highly rated Coffee Cascais Centro. I tried the mocha while Inna explored the shops around Cascais, while I relaxed.
We saw a few people sailing in the bay. The wind was light, and just barely enough to fill out the sails.
We enjoyed our time in Cascais. It reminded us of other seaside towns (like Carmel-by-the-Sea). In the late afternoon, we ordered UberX to return back to Lisbon.
Cascais Trip Report
Highlights
Sitting around Cascais Beach (near Paul bakery), people watching
Inna arranged a private tour of Sintra, and we met our guide - Nino (from Vangotourism) - at 09:20, just outside our Torel Place Hotel. He had arrived in a Mercedes-Benz van, and we were quickly on our way to Sintra. There was heavy traffic on the way, but we arrived around 09:30.
Nino is a local Portuguese guide who lives in Sintra and speaks English, French, Italian, and Spanish (in addition to his native Portuguese). He showed us all of the major sites (and saved us a lot of time), as we bypassed most long lines to attractions.
Upon arriving in Sintra, we first stopped at Casa Priquita, a small, historic bakery founded in 1862 that sells specialty pastries. After a light snack of queijadas and espresso, we walked around downtown. (I still prefer the Pastel de Nata.)
The weather was quite foggy, with light, misty rain throughout the day. Our guide mentioned that this is typical Sintra weather (though when Inna visited last time, she lucked out with sunny weather).
Our first stop was the Sintra National Palace (Palacio National de Sintra). We walked around the palace, taking many photos. It was a beautiful palace with sections built in various centuries.
The Palace of Sintra (Portuguese: Palácio de Sintra), also called Town Palace (Palácio da Vila), is located in the town of Sintra. It is a present-day historic house museum.
It is the best-preserved medieval royal residence in Portugal, being inhabited more or less continuously from at least the early 15th century to the late 19th century. It is a significant tourist attraction and part of the cultural landscape of Sintra, a designated UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.
Our guide had pre-purchased tickets for Quinta da Regaleira at 10:30, and we hurried to arrive on time.
We started our visit with the Initiation Well, a long, winding staircase to the bottom.
At the bottom, we walked through multiple deep caves.
We continued our tour through the Regaleira Palace and saw many beautifully decorated rooms.
Quinta da Regaleira is a Quinta (farm) located near the historic center of Sintra, Portugal.
The property consists of a Romantic palace and chapel and a luxurious park that features lakes, grottoes, wells, benches, fountains, and a vast array of exquisite constructions.
The palace is also known as "The Palace of Monteiro the Millionaire," based on the nickname of its best-known former owner, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro. The palace was designed by the Italian architect Luigi Manini.
We loved walking around Regaleira and wished we had more time to enjoy the palace, park, tunnels, wells, and fountains. It's truly a magical place that's worth visiting.
Around noon, we walked back to Sintra's downtown for lunch. Our guide suggested Cafe Paris, and we sat down outdoors (with a lovely umbrella blocking any light rain), ordering the following items:
Appetizer: Tomato & Buffalo salad
Boris: Crepe with Chicken, Espresso
Inna: Crepe with Ham, Hot Black Tea
Dessert: 2 Pastel da Nuta
The crepes were delicious, and the waiters were very fast. The Pastel da Nuta was first-rate (warm and tasty, freshly out of the oven).
After lunch, we drove to the top of Sintra to see the famous Pena Palace. Due to heavy congestion, it took some time to get there. Our guide found parking, and we walked to the entrance gate. We then boarded a small bus to the very top. We toured the beautiful palace, taking lots of photos.
The Pena Palace (Portuguese: Palácio da Pena) is a Romanticist castle on the Portuguese Riviera, located in São Pedro de Penaferrim, municipality of Sintra.
The castle stands on top of a hill in the Sintra Mountains above Sintra. On a clear day, it can be easily seen from Lisbon and much of its metropolitan area.
It is a national monument and one of the world's major expressions of 19th-century Romanticism. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. The president of the Portuguese Republic and other government officials also use it for state occasions.
After touring the palace, we walked downhill about 900m to the enormous garden to see the five beautiful lakes. There was a beautiful tower in the middle of one lake. We also saw a grey rabbit munching on some leaves nearby. He was used to people and did not hop away when we approached him.
We also briefly stopped by the Moorish Castle but did not stay long due to poor visibility.
I would have liked to climb some castle walls to take photos of the surrounding castles. As the light rain started to turn heavier, we decided to shorten our time at the Moorish Castle and return to the van for our return trip to Lisbon.
On Monday, September 30th, at 18:00, when we finished sightseeing the Budda Eden Garden of Peace, we drove to Lisbon (LIS) airport, where I was scheduled to drop off my rented Nissan Qashqai at Hertz Car Rental.
There was some traffic on the way there, but we arrived at 19:00 and found the Hertz Rental car return near the airport. My fuel tank was about 50% full, and I did not have time to fill it up to 100%. I dropped off the Nissan, and Hertz did a thorough inspection and found no issues.
We returned to the arrival terminal, and Inna ordered an Uber to take us to the Torel Palace Hotel in Lisbon.
As I felt tired and sweaty, I decided to shower while Inna unpacked her suitcase. Afterward, I unpacked my suitcase (our room had plenty of storage for various items).
We decided to eat dinner at the hotel's Black Pavilion restaurant (as we did not need to make any advance dinner reservations). After looking at the dinner menu and asking our waiter for recommendations, we ordered the following items:
Appetizer: Tomato & Burrata, Fresh Bread & Butter
Drinks: Pellegrino, Hot English Breakfast Tea
Boris: Bacalhau "Pil-Pil" Cod and Chickpeas
Inna: Pork Cheeks & Mushrooms
Dessert: Chocolate Cake & Red Fruits
We liked the Tomato & Burrata and the fresh bread. My Bacalhau "Pil-Pil" Cod was not impressive (I am not a cod connoisseur), but Inna loved her Pork Cheeks and Mushrooms. The Chocolate Cake dessert was excellent. Service was fast, polite, and efficient.
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
After waking up at 07:30, I took a shower and dressed. We walked downstairs for breakfast at the Black Pavilion restaurant buffet.
We selected the following items from the buffet:
Scrambled eggs (not very soft; next time, we will order an omelet)
Roasted tomatoes
Multi-grain Bread (needed to be toasted)
Yogurt with Jam (delicious!)
Various Pastries (but not Pastel da Nuta)
Espresso
Overall, the breakfast was delicious, and the service was excellent.
After breakfast, we met Hugo - our Took-took guide - on the street at 09:20 (he was running late).
He took us to the following sites on an electrically powered 3-wheeler:
St. Vencent Monument
Sao Pedra de Alcantara Viewpoint
Graca Viewpoint
Rua Augusta Arch
Jeronimos Monastery (there was a huge line to get in)
Belem Tower
Discoveries Monument
National Maritime Museum
Time-out Market (where we stopped for lunch at Liberta Pasta Bar)
According to Hugo, St. George was secretly practicing Christianity and keeping records of other practicing Christians. When Romans discovered him, they tortured him in the hope of getting the names of other practicing Christians, but he refused and died from the torture. His ashes were lost until a ship was sent to retrieve them. The sailors were able to find St. George's dead body, as it was marked by a pair of birds circling overhead. The birds continued to circle overhead as the body was returned to Portugal.
After our tuk-tuk tour, we were dropped off at the Time-Out Market for lunch. We did not like the crowded and noisy conditions inside and decided to eat outside. We selected Liberta Pasta Bar and ordered a few dishes, including:
Appetizer: Burrata
Drinks: Sparkling Water, Lemonade
Boris: Ragu Bolognese
Inna: Ravioli di Manzo
The Burrata was delicious, but the Ragu Bolognese was mediocre. Service was also slow.
After lunch, we ordered a Bolt to take us to the Belem Tower. I hoped to go inside, but the tickets were all sold out. Next time, buy tickets well in advance.
Instead, we decided to visit the National Coach Museum. On the way there, we stopped by for a rest at an Italian Gelateria, where I ordered the following:
Boris: 3 Scoops: pistachio, chocolate, hazelnut
Inna: Affogato
After our short snack, we decided to visit the Monument to the Discoveries (instead of continuing to the National Coach Museum) as we were exhausted. We rode the elevator to the top of the Monument, which had excellent panoramic views of Lisbon, with the April 15th Bridge (like the Golden Gate), Christ the King Statue, Belem Tower, and the entire waterfront.
On our way down from the top floor, we saw a short exhibit on African immigrants to Portugal. We were tired, so we ordered an Uber to take us back to our Torel Place Hotel to rest.
At our Torel Palace Hotel, we first considered seeing Fado and asked the hostess to try making reservations, but all of the popular Fado restaurants were booked (or the opening times were too late for us).
Instead, we hung out at the bar, and I pre-ordered tickets for other events.
We decided to stay in the hotel for dinner, as we truly liked our Black Pavilion restaurant. We ordered the following items:
Appetizer: Tomato & Burrata, Fresh Bread & Butter
Drinks: Pellegrino, Hot English Breakfast Tea, Martini
Boris: Steak with Mushroom Sauce
Inna: Pork Cheeks & Mushrooms
Dessert: Creme Brulee with Olive Oil
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
After waking up at 07:30, I showered, shaved and dressed. We walked downstairs for breakfast at the Black Pavilion restaurant buffet. We selected the following items:
Yogurt with Jam (delicious!)
Omelet with tomatoes and mushrooms
Various Pastries (but not Pastel da Nuta)
Espresso
Overall, the breakfast was quite good, and the service was excellent.
After breakfast, Inna ordered an UberX to Jeronimos Monastery, for which I had tickets for admission at 09:30. We arrived at around 09:40, and I queued up in a very long line. Despite having tickets, I had to wait almost an hour before being allowed entry.
We were finally admitted into Jeronimos Monastery at around 10:30. I thought I had visited the monastery during my Celebrity Cruises' stop at Lisbon, but I was mistaken. I had previously visited the nearby St. Maria of Belem Church.
The Jeronimos Monastery was quite large, with many elaborate stone carvings. We started on the 2nd floor and then walked down to the first floor. It was quite beautiful and peaceful.
When we finished with the Monastery, I also wanted to visit the nearby Maritime Museum, as I was interested in learning about ancient Portuguese navigators. I purchased the 8.00 euro ticket while Inna waited at the nearby Maritime Cafe (she had no interest in the Maritime Museum).
The Maritime Museum told the story of the ancient beginnings of Portuguese expeditions and voyages of discovery. It displayed models of the Caravels used by Vasco de Gamma and Ferdinand Magellan, as well as many old navigational instruments (astrolabes, compasses, sextants) and ancient maps.
I enjoyed learning about the famous explorers and their daring exploits. Some old barks were also on display.
After I finished with the museum, I met up with Inna at the Maritime Cafe, and we ordered an Uber to take us to the National Tile Museum.
We had an enjoyable 30-minute Uber ride with a young Portuguese driver who drives Uber for a living. He speaks multiple languages (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese) and is also learning Russian. He had previously worked in northern Italy and eastern France (around Lyon) and thought that people in France were friendlier.
Once we were in the National Tile Museum, we purchased tickets and strolled around the two floors of tiles. There were some unique tiles, but I found the museum less exciting than Inna.
After the museum, we stopped by Hell's Chicken for a quick lunch. I had barbecue chicken with salad while Inna drank some sparkling water. It's a whole-in-the-wall place, but the chicken was pretty good.
As it started raining, we ordered an Uber to take us to Lisbon's oldest bookstore (founded in 1732), Livraria Bertrand—Chiado. There, I had an espresso while Inna had tea, and we looked at various books. We decided to purchase Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.
We strolled around the narrow streets, looking at various shops, and listened to a street musician singing popular songs (Adele, Bee Gees) at A Brasileira.
While there, I ordered some local rose wine, and Inna drank some tea.
Here is a video of San Oliver singing Bryan Adams' "Heaven":
We also noticed the following Cruise Ships docked in Lisbon:
Seven Seas Mariner
Azamara Journey
P&O Iona
Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady
When in port, substantial tour groups from the ships visited the famous sites, and entry became difficult.
We could see the organized tours at the National Tile Museum, Jeronimos Monastery, and other venues. By the way, Portuguese college students wear black robes.
We thought about dining out at the highly recommended Pinoquio restaurant (by our Tuk-Tuk driver), but the long line discouraged us.
We returned to our hotel and rested before going downstairs for dinner at Black Pavilion, ordering the following:
Appetizer: Tomato & Burrata, Fresh Bread & Butter
Drinks: Pellegrino, Hot English Breakfast Tea
Inna: Steak with Mushroom Sauce (125 grams)
Boris: Tagliatelle with Tomato Sauce
We enjoyed some of the art in Lisbon.
Thursday, October 3, 2024
After waking up at 07:30, I showered, shaved and dressed. We walked downstairs for breakfast at the Black Pavilion restaurant buffet.
Calouste Gulbenkian, an Armenian businessman, amassed vast wealth in oil and collected many paintings, statues, and other fine art. This museum holds his fine art collection, organized by regions:
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Greece
Ancient Persia and Armenia
Ancient China
French Painters
Antique Furniture
Silverware
Renee Lalique
I especially liked the Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, and French art.
After a few hours admiring the collection, we ate lunch at the museum's cafe. We ordered the following items:
Boris: Salad with chicken (Salada Frango)
Inna: Quiche
Dessert: Almond Tarte
Drinks: Water, Lemonade, Latte, Espresso
The cafe was inexpensive, and the food quality was acceptable for a museum.
After lunch, we stopped briefly at the Gulbenkian Modern Art annex. I didn't like any of the modern art pieces shown there.
I ordered an UberX to take us to Lisbon's Oceanarium, and after a 30-minute ride, we arrived. I purchased two tickets (23.00 euros/person), including the pass for the Teleferico cable car.
The Oceanarium was excellent, and we spent about three hours looking at various fish from different oceans (Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, Arctic). Our favorite, by far, was the Common Seadragon. It was so beautiful and unique. Many sharks, including Black Tip, and countless varieties of fish species were swimming in the main tank. We also saw penguins feeding (some of them were being fed like babies)
When we finished with the Oceanarium, we rode the Teleferico along the coast, with beautiful views of the surroundings (Oriente Train Station).
We returned to A Brasileira cafe to listen to street musicians, drink tea or wine, and rest. I ordered a local Rose, while Inna ordered Hot Tea with a couple of Pastel da Nuta. The street musician playing was not as entertaining as the one from the day before (and I was also annoyed by the couple next to me smoking cigarettes)
After we finished our drinks, we paid and returned to the Torel Palace Hotel. We considered eating dinner elsewhere but could not find a reasonably-priced restaurant that did not require a reservation. Our first idea was to try Pinoquio, but it had a huge line.
We returned to our hotel and sat down at Black Pavilion, ordering the following:
As usual, we loved our dinner at the Black Pavilion.
Saturday, October 5, 2024
I woke up at 07:55 and dressed.After breakfast, we traveled to Cascais, which I wrote about in a separate blog post.
When we returned to Lisbon from Cascais, we rested and ate our last dinner while sitting at the outdoor tables of the Black Pavilion. We ordered the following:
We enjoyed our dinner at the Black Pavilion and hope to return.
Sunday, October 6, 2024
I woke at 06:30, showered, shaved, dressed, and packed. After a quick breakfast, we checked out of the Torel Palace Hotel, and I ordered UberX to take us to the airport (20 minutes away). Unfortunately, my driver dropped me off, and I asked Inna to order (as she has a higher Uber rating). We were picked up at around 8:08 and taken to Lisbon Airport, arriving at 08:25. Inna got way over-charged on her UberX ride (it should have been 14.24 euros - not 74.24 euros) and she had to work to get the charge reversed.
Fortunately, our return flight on Air Portugal TP247 from LIS to SFO was delayed. To get to gate 47A, we needed to go through three separate queues (ticket, security, and passport check). Priority boarding was painless, though we needed to board a bus to get on the plane.
I also watched the following movies: Joker and Goldfinch (though my headphones had the left speaker broken):
Joker: A somewhat depressing take on mental illness (Rating B)
Arthur Fleck, a party clown and a failed stand-up comedian, leads an impoverished life with his ailing mother. However, when society shuns him and brands him as a freak, he decides to embrace the life of crime and chaos in Gotham City.
Goldfinch: An exciting but unrealistic mystery (Rating: B)
A wealthy family takes in a boy in New York after his mother is killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In a rush of panic, he steals 'The Goldfinch,' a painting that eventually draws him into a world of crime.
I also tried watching Elvis (Rate: C), Death on the Nile (Rate: C), and Anyone But You (Rate: C), but I could not complete watching them, as they were not very stimulating.
We landed in San Francisco at 15:00, breezed through immigration and customs, and Alex picked us up at the International Arrivals terminal.
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