Just a quickie!

I was so bored I had to start doing something, so I decided to visit 3 places in 5 hours. It was a bit tough but I managed to do it anyway 😉 Oh, and my parents came with me, for the very first time.

We got to São Jorge’s field at around 11.00am just to see the place where the Aljubarrota battle took place, and allow me to say, what a disappointment! I wasn’t expecting to see dead bodies and 50.000 men fighting, but come on! Not even a tourist information plaque? As far as I know they kept building houses in that battlefield and built a museum, dedicated to the portuguese victory, right in the middle of it! It’s absolutely ridiculous! And by the way, it’s closed! (Oh yes, it’s closed for 3 years now, thats what someone told me). Portugal…always leaving historical places like this behind. (See the picture of the battlefield below…it’s realllllllly difficult to picture a battle there!)

A bit of history? In the 13th of August of 1385, 40.000 Castilians invaded Portugal. Not that of a happy ending for the Spanish…we smashed them! 🙂 This was what was later considered the most important battle in the history of Portugal.

The light effects inside the Batalha’s Monastery (built to celebrate the Portuguese victory) makes it beautiful and almost unreal. As to the architecture, beautiful as every single historic monument in Portugal.

We then went to Alcobaça’s Monastery, the first Gothic monument in Portugal. This was pretty special because I absolutely adore D. Inês de Castro love story 😛 and I was able to see  her tomb for the first time, as well as her husband’s, D. Pedro I (king of Portugal). The story is a bit tragic but oh well…hard times.

Here’s the most interesting things to see inside the monastery: 1) the Capítulo room, 2) the monks chambers and 3) the huge kitchen chimney.

And this was pretty much it. Very interesting indeed but not that different form the monuments one can find in England.

Hope to travel a bit more around Lisbon before I go back to Coventry! Stay tuned 😉

Pictures (from top to bottom): Aljubarrota battlefield (Campo de São Jorge), Batalha’s Monastery, inside Batalha’s Monastery, Alcobaça Monastery, D. Inês de Castro tomb.

See more of Batalha . See more of Alcobaça

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The city of the seven hills

Well, as you might have already noticed this is the city where I was born, 21 years ago. It’s difficult for me to write a post about Lisbon because there’s so many things and want you to see. ‘Hmmm’ – I thought, if I climb São Jorge’s Castle I can show everybody all those beautiful things so characteristic of Lisbon.

São Jorge’s Castle dates back to VI BC, probably occupied by Celtic and Iberian tribes. It was later occupied by other tribes until it was finally taken by the Moors. It was in 1147 that the castle was finally conquered by D. Afonso Henriques (the 1st king of Portugal)  in what is called The Siege of Lisbon. When Lisbon became the capital of Portugal, in 1255, the castle was taken by the King as the Royal Palace. From then on many famous play writers, navigators and all kinds of V.I.P’s (such as Vasco da Gama) stopped here to have some fun with the king and the ladiesss, I guess?

After the Great Earthquake in 1755 the Castle was severely damaged and from then on it started to decay. It still is decaying today. Bad government!

Interesting legends about the castle? It is said that Martim Moniz, a knight, sacrificed his own body preventing the castle gate from closing, allowing the army to enter the castle and tacking it for good! Bad Moors!

From the Tower of Ulysses (former Torre do Tombo (where the Nation Archive was)) you can have a 360º view of the city. Try to spot the most important places among the buildings: 1) Praça do Comércio, 2) Ruinas do Carmo, 3) Elevador de Santa Justa, 4) Ponte 25 de Abril and 5) Cristo Rei.

After that we went down the hill (very slippery floors people! G. knows it) looking for Lisbon Cathedral, also known as, Sé de Lisboa. It’s the oldest church in the city, survived many earthquakes and it’s a mix of architectonic styles. Good stuff if you’re into churches and stuff.

If you ever have the chance to visit Lisbon make sure you climb the hill on foot. There’s plenty of stuff to see on the way to the castle. No, trying to park in tiny tiny streets is not a good idea 🙂 .

Another great day with my friend G. and hopefully, many more to come. As for the rest of my holidays you know, I’ll be traveling around Portugal! 🙂

P.S – Note that the city was totally rebuilt after the earthquake by Marquês de Pombal, a visionary gentleman 🙂

 

Pictures (from top to bottom): castle, random, Christ statue (left) and 25 Abril bridge (right), Praça do Comércio, Santa Justa elevator (front) and Carmo ruins (behind), some boat, Lisbon Cathedral’s door, a window in the castle. See more