Sunday, August 23, 2015

A day in Barcis!

August in Italy is insanely hot so we headed off to the lake for the day to try and escape the heat. Barcis is not too far away and in a beautiful location. A hike around the lake will take you about and hour and a half or so - totally manageable, even with a five year old in tow!


Start of the trek



At the halfway point!

While we opted to drive the 30km to get there, one of us was a bit more ambitious! Maybe a future Tour de Francer!




And no day in Italy would be complete without food!




Serious business at one end of the table!

And so ended my time in Italy, well actually it ended with a whole lot of food at a birthday party but I don't have any pictures of it . . .


Next stop on vacation - Italy!

I couldn't possible got back to work after only one week away so I headed off to Italy. It had been six years since the last time I was there - crazy! This trip was more about visiting family than heading out to see the sites so there won't be a lot of details in these ones.

A lot has changed in 6 years - the main street where my great aunt used to live is now all fancy! Much to the disappointment of my family that can no longer park there :-P


The trip was off to a good start!


Spritzes in town

Since most of my time there is spent eating, I jumped at the chance to take a stroll to another town and back.

Hopefully you can see the mountains in the back

A quick stop along the way
The Friday night I was in the big SQ, there just happened to be a concert in the town square so it was a big night out for us :)




Someone was mesmerized by the show!
Of course we had to visit all the family! Especially the newest member!





Next time it won't take me 6 years to go back!

Vilamoura - beach time!

And as mentioned, the point of heading to the Algarve was the beach so I spent the rest of the time there. There are a number of beaches in the area - my hotel was located right on Vilamoura, also known as Praia da Marina.

View from my balcony

And again
One thing I love about European beaches is you can rent chairs and umbrellas - it is so much more civilized than lying in the sand. And necessary because it gets really hot! As a total contrast though, the water is freezing!



Not quite yet tourist season it was not over run with people :)

Lunch at the local beach bar

My hotel was also conveniently located a short walk from the marina areas which hosts most of the restaurants. As one of my meals out I had to try one of the local delicacies - grilled sardines.





And well, that pretty much sums up what I did during my time there!

And then it was off to the Algarve

The rest of my time in Lisbon was spent in the Algarve in the south of Portugal. My primary objective was the beach but before that, it was a full day tour of the region. Aside from the two hours it took each direction to get picked up and dropped off from the tour, it was nice to see different parts of the area.

First stop on the tour was a town called Silves which dates back to the 700s. The old part is small narrow streets that take you to the main tourist attractions - the castle and church.



The Silves castle is a Moorish one built between the 8th and 13th century. The walls are very well preserved but the interior has been turned into a modern day garden.



The interior garden
View from the wall
View of the cathedral
Sé Catedral de Silves was originally a mosque when first built by the Moors and then later converted into a cathedral. There are a number of crusaders buried in the church.







Next stop was the highest point of the Monchique mountains. It has some great views which are not justified in the photos I took. It did have a little piece of home though, rock sculptures similar to those on the Ottawa River.






After a lunch of chicken piri piri it was off to the end of the earth, or so they believed until Africa was discovered - the Cape of St. Vincent. Aside from freezing! It was stunning.




And last stop of the day was Lagos at the juncture of the Bensafrim River and the Atlantic Ocean. At one time it was the centre of the slave trade but today it is pretty much just over run by tourists - mostly British. 






After checking out a handful of sites, I opted to take a petite pause for the rest of my time in Lagos and end the tour on a relaxing note



A walking tour of Lisbon

On my last day in Lisbon I did a waking tour to cover off the rest of the sites I had missed. Lucky for me it was not a popular day for touring so I was the only one in the group :)

Dom Pedro IV

My private tour began at Rossio Square which is actually called Praça de Dom Pedro IV but no one would know what you were talking about if you asked for it by name - though he is the guy on the statue in the middle. Dom Pedro IV was the founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil and only briefly reigned over Portugal.

Rossio Square is known as the "meeting place" so it is fitting to start the tour there. 

A lot of Lisbon was destroyed in 1755 during an earthquake so much of the city's buildings were rebuilt following this including those around the square.It was also at this time the square was tiled with the wave patterns seen today.



Rossio Square with French inspired fountain

From there we headed to Praça da Figueira which is where people would go to conduct business, eat etc. While I didn't take a picture of that square, it was where I had lunch after the tour so here's a picture of that instead!

Bifana - popular pork sandwich 

Just off this square is an old church which the name escapes me, but it is known for having had a fire and not being renovated following this so the interior still has sign of the burn marks.


We then meandered through the core and stopped by Praça do Comércio. This area was also destroyed during the earthquake and rebuilt to be the centre of commerce. It is right on the river so a lovely spot to spend time.


Walkway on the square

We then took one of the old school trams to make our way to the Alfama neighbourhood - the oldest part of Lisbon. Before heading into the small streets of Alfama we took in the view from Miradouro das Portos do Sol. Standing at the top is a statute of Saint Vincent - the patron saint of Lisbon. He holds a boat and ravens which are the symbols of Lisbon.

Saint Vincent of Saragossa

This spot is also great for taking pics of Alfama and the Tejo river.

Rare picture of me in a city I visited
Alfama

Alfama is very densely built and many homes still don't have their own bathrooms or laundry facilities. It is still very much communal living and most of the area is only accessible on foot. Neighbourhood cookouts are a common feature and everyone says hello when you pass by. It is also the birthplace of fado music which you can find in most local restaurants in this area.

The streets of Alfama






Next stop was the Sé de Lisboa - the oldest church in Lisbon. It started being built in 1147.


Lisbon Cathedral with tram
Interior

After all the sightseeing it was time for a snack, or two. The tour included sampling of local treats which is always welcome!


Green wine, chorizo and local cheese

Pastel de Nata
Last stop of the tour was the Chiado neighbourhood which historically was more of a bohemian place but later became a shopping district which it remains today. A portion of this area appears quite modern as it was rebuilt following a fire in 1988. This neighbourhood is also where you will find the Carmo Convent - a Gothic church - which was also ruined in the earthquake and left as such as a memorial to those that died.


View of Chiado from the Santa Justa elevator

Carmo Convent

At a price tag of 18 euro this tour was definitely worth it!