Deshe Bideshe 17 - Lisbon

Devmitra:

17th June 2006 - our first wedding anniversary. I guessed Shantanu was planning a trip for this occassion; he had that look of one with something up his sleeve for many days. Turned out I was right - my dear husband had planned for us to celebrate our one year of married bliss along the Atlantic coast in Lisbon or Lisboa, the capital city of Portugal. Unfortunately times were not so good back home. My Dad was down with fever; the irritating fact was that the doctors were unable to diagnose his ailment and his treatment seemed to be based on much speculation. In fact, on the morning of our special day, he was hospitalised and my poor Ma was having to manage on her own. It seemed heartless on my part to go on a trip in these circumstances. But my parents, particularly Dad goaded me to go on assuring me that he would be fine. So, with a prayer in our hearts, we set off on the morning of the 17th.

We reached Lisbon before lunch and checked into our room 805 at hotel NH Campo Grande. Shantanu loves staying in properties belonging to this chain; after all, NH Utrecht has been our haven many times. Those were our initial days in Europe, alone, far away from both & adopted home working in a high visibility project. At such times, our rooms at NH where we returned in the evening welcomed us to comfortable beds, great views and yeah, a wonderful breakfast spread :-). So it was not surprising that Shantanu had chosen this hotel as the venue for our first anniversary. After a short rest, we took off to see the city. Like most European cities, Lisbon also has an excellent transport network. Trams tour the older parts of the city while the newer areas are serviced by buses and the metro. We took the subway to Rossio. Also known as Praca Dom Pedro IV, this is one of the most beautiful squares in the city. It is edged with many cafes with outdoor sitting where people had stopped for a drink or a bite to eat. On either side of the square are two huge fountains. In the center is a monument in honour of Dom Pedro IV, the 28th king of Portugal and the 1st Emperor of Brazil. At the foot of the monument are four female figures representing Justice, Wisdom, Strength and Moderation, qualities attributed to Dom Pedro himself. We had arrived in the middle of the Cow Parade 2006 celebrations in this city and so coloured figures of the animal were placed at different parts of the square and the city. This was a public art event where multi coloured fibre glass cow figures were exhibited and sold in many important cities of the world. From the square, one can catch a glimpse of the Carmo convent which we were to visit later. The Rossio square leads to the Rua Augusta, one of the main streets of Lisbon. Only pedestrian traffic is allowed on this road and it is filled with shops selling almost everything under the sun. Immigrants from Africa and South America offer items of wood, metal, or leather, while other vendors sell books, souvenirs, sunglasses, paintings, t-shirts, and anything else to attract the crowds passing by. The road also boasts of its appearance in the movie Gulliver's Travels in which the Lilliputians wheeled actor Ted Danson, as Gulliver, through the arch. However the road will remain memorable to me for other reasons; spontaneous public display of affection is not one of Shantanu's qualities, but on this occassion, he presented me this beautiful boquet of red roses! Sudden & very romantic, a very pleasant surprise :-). The Rua Augusta leads into the Commerce square or Praca de Commercio through a wide arch decorated with statues of historical personalities, like Vasco da Gama. Mostly occupied by government buildings and a few restaurants now, this majestic square was once a major entrance to Portugal via the sea route. One can still see the old marble steps leading up to Commerce Square from the River Tagus. At the centre of the Commerce Square stands the equestrian statue of King Jose I. All this walking got a bit tiring and we headed back to the hotel after lunch.

Later in the evening, we took a trip to Cascais. This is a touristic town and one of its main attractions is the Port or Marina, a luxurious facility with capacity for more than 500 vessels. The train is the best way to travel between Lisbon and Cascais with frequent trains from Lisbon's Estacao Cais do Sodre. The 25-minute trip costs Eur 1.40. As we got off at the station, we were accosted by a garrulous but friendly taxi driver who offered to show us around. He took us around the port & then in broken English communicated to us that he would take us to a beautiful spot. The ride to this "beautiful spot" was really long and I admit that I was scared if he was planning to take us to some lonely spot & do away with us, though why he would want to do so was something I failed to consider. Also the weather suddenly turned foul, it got cloudy and there were intermittent light showers. Today I am glad that I stuck it out till the end of this ride for after 30 - 35 mins of taxi drive along the Atlantic coast, we reached Caba de Roca, a cape that forms the western most point of the continent of Europe. We walked to the edge of the cliff in the failing light and saw the lighthouse. Construction of the lighthouse was completed in 1772, and the structure rises 144 meters in height above the cape. I am not sure if it was the weather or the overall atmosphere, but the experience was simply superb. It felt thrilling, even scary to think that we were standing at the edge of continental land mass and that one false step could land us in the deep blue waters of the Atlantic. And the sight of the ocean - awe inspiring as violent waves beat upon the land, as if in a competition of who could hold on longer against the other. If the weather hadn't turned really bad and if we had arrived there earlier, we would have definitely spent more time there. However, we drove back to the station to catch the train back to the city. On the way, I fell sick and the taxi driver was most helpful, he offered water and was most understanding throughout. Isn't it surprising how you can sometimes receive help from the most unexpected quarters?

The next day, we planned to visit Sintra. After breakfast, we took the train to Sintra, the 45-minute trip costs Eur 1.40. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, this is one of the most romantic areas near Lisbon. In fact, Lord Byron called it the "Golden Eden". Since it is surrounded by tall mountains, the temperatures here are relatively lower than in Lisbon city. A thick mist enveloped the entire place and rendered the place almost surreal. We first visited the Town Hall and then walked down to the National Palace or the Palacio Nacional. This was built in the 14th century and has served as the summer house for Portugese kings since then. The exterior style is a mixture of Gothic and the Manueline with a good deal of Moorish influence adapted over the centuries. The interiors are also remarkable, including some of the oldest and the most valuable tiles in Portugal. Most of the rooms have many interesting stories to tell - like the room where Afonso VI was confined for six years by his brother Pedro II and where he eventually died, the myth is that the worn floor is a result of his constant pacing up and down. Or the flock of 136 magpies painted in one of the rooms, each bearing a rose and a scroll named 'Por bem'. The story goes that when his queen Philippa wasn't looking, Dom Joao I offered a rose to a lady-in-waiting and a magpie snatched it. The King excused himself by saying 'Por bem' or 'For good'.

Sintra is unique not only because of its palaces and churches, but also due to its peculiar characteristic alleys. The streets are narrow, mostly paved with stones and flights of steps connect them in some places. We explored the city for a while & then came down to the Guincho beach that lies at the foot of the mountains. This is a famous beach in this part of the world, a popular spot for wind surfing. The water was a deep blue and the beach was beautiful and clean. Fun and games in the water done, we headed back to Lisbon city. We visited the Elevator de Santa Justa or the Elevator of Carmo. This was built in 1902 to connect downtown streets with the uphill Carmo square. It bears a close resemblance to the Eiffel tower as the architect Raoul de Mesnier du Ponsard was an apprentice of Gustave Eiffel. The 45 m tall iron lift was originally powered by steam and later converted to electrical operation in 1907. The terrace offers spectacular views of the Rossio Square and the Baixa neighbourhood. Another surprise when we reached our hotel that evening - a complimentary gift of chocolates and port wine was sent up to our room, courtesy the hotel manager. Hmmm...wonder how he found out that we were there on our anniversary...

Our last day in this beautiful Atlantic city. We decided to explore some of the older areas today. We took Tram 28, one of the many traditional yellow trams and probably Lisbon's greatest ride as it runs through the narrowest and steepest streets of the Alfama district. The tram rattles past a unique selection of old Lisbon's sights, taking travelers through winding streets, past historic buildings and many such landmarks. Our first halt was at Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa, the oldest church in the city. Since the beginning of the construction in the year 1147, the building has survived many earthquakes and been modified several times with the result that it is now a mix of different architectural styles. From here, we boarded the tram again and got off at Castelo de Sao Jorge. Research has shown that humans have occupied the site since the 6th century BC, and possibly earlier by indigenous tribes. The castle and the city of Lisbon were won from the Moors during the Second Crusade. In the late 14th century, the castle was dedicated to Saint George, the warrior-saint, usually represented fighting a dragon. This was also the setting for the reception of the navigator, Vasco da Gama, when he returned after discovering a maritime route to India in 1498. Destroyed by earthquakes, the castle's period of neglect ended in the 1940s, when an extensive renovation was undertaken and it is today one of the most significant sites in Lisbon.

By now, it was time to catch our flight back to Stuttgart. Since the tram would arrive much later, we called for a cab to take us to the hotel & thence to the airport. Locating the cab in the middle of the street was a bit of a problem. Nevertheless we made it and returned home, safe and contended.