European Holiday - Portugal 1 - Lisbon & Centre

For other signs from around the world check Tom's blog

July 14th - Jose, Karina and I arrived in Lisbon around 12,30pm after a 3 1/2 half hour flight from Berlin.

These were the first signs seen at the airport while we waited for our luggage.

Sagres Beer

Bolt ride share

Welcome to Lisbon - Hard Rock Cafe

              

After a late lunch at my parent's house in Cascais (30km from Lisbon), together with my sister and brother-in-law who also live in Cascais, we had a short rest, and then packed a small suitcase each for our 3 day trip the following day! 

Yes, we were on the move again, this time by car.

Day 2 

We were driving to Carregal do Sal (285km away/about 3h drive), the small town where we lived for 12 years before moving to Australia. It happens to be my parent's birthplace, and we moved there 1 year after arriving in Portugal because Jose was starting a rail project nearby, and as we had cousins who lived there, we decided to settle in that town.

My parents, our daughter Karina and both of us left home about 10,30am, and drove towards the North.

One and a half hours later we stopped in the central town of Leiria, where I had arranged to have lunch at 12,30pm with cousins and a couple of South African friends - a big group of 18 adults and 2 kids. After a most wonderful lunch at Frangus - great food and service, we took a group photo and it was time to say goodbye and get back on the road.

It was late afternoon when we arrived at our final destination - Carregal do Sal - a small town which lies between the more known towns of Coimbra and Viseu, and contacted the owner of the Airbnb to get the keys.

We had requested if it was possible to have an extra bed for Karina, and they left a foldable bed in the tiny lounge of the 2 bed-roomed wooden bungalow. 

We experience quite a few hot days and the bungalow just wasn't insulated to withstand that type of weather! Because the windows were low and didn't have mosquito nets, we couldn't leave the windows open at night either when it was cooler, and the fans were quite noisy, ... so needless to say, this was the worst Airbnb we stayed in, in the last 5 or 6 years.  But in that area we didn't have much choice, as when I booked I didn't realize that the municipality's Summer festival was on for 4 or 5 days at the same time we were there.

The bungalow was just outside the town and the owner had mentioned there was a small cat that used to come to the property, and they would feed it. And yes, just a couple of hours after our arrival the cat popped by and walked straight in. We would often find her sitting on the outdoor furniture waiting for us to open the door in the morning.

Later I noticed the very young cat was pregnant. Of course on our first shopping expedition I bought cat food and would feed her and leave water for her. I tried to convince my parents they "needed" to adopt the cat, but they didn't think it was a good idea.

When we left, I told the owner the cat was pregnant and to please look after her.

                          

Signs hanging in the bungalow

During the 3 nights we were there we dined at the festival grounds, and then stay and listen to the different music bands.

Walking around every night I would always come across people we knew when we lived there over 15 years ago (I always try and visit when we go to Portugal), and people were happy to see us.

Lights, music, food, friends

Dinner on the first night - Codfish with fried potato chips, goat cheese with pumpkin jam, cream milk pudding

Dinner on the second night - bread with various dried sausages, codfish in cream sauce, more puddings...

We were recommended a new (to us) restaurant in Cabanas de Viriato, just a 15 minute drive from Carregal do Sal.

Delicious food, cheap but oh so much food!! In fact in most restaurants where we ate I found the portions were too big for what we are used to, so a lot of food is wasted...

Octopus with potatoes in olive oil

On the way back we stopped at Casa do Passal, the home of the Portuguese Schindler - Aristides de Sousa Mendes. 

He was a Portuguese consul in Bordeaux during WWII and he defied orders from the ruling dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar (whose home-town is also about 15km from Carregal do Sal), by issuing visas and passports to an alleged 30,000 refugees fleeing Germany. He was punished by the regime with demotion and then compulsory retirement.

He died in misery in 1954, in Lisbon at the age of 68 and is buried in Cabanas de Viriato.

After his death, the regime "disappeared his memory" - nobody in Portugal knew what he had done to help the refugees, not even historians.

He was first recognized for his efforts in Israel in 1966, where he was declared to be a "righteous among the nations", and in 1986 the United States Congress issued a proclamation honouring his acts. Only in 1987 did the Portuguese Government publicly apologize to his family and posthumously awarded him the "Order of Liberty".  In June 2020 the Portuguese Parliament officially honoured Sousa Mendes with a monument at the National Pantheon in Lisbon.

          

Sadly until about 2015 the family's former residence in Cabanas de Viriato was falling into disrepair , the roof having already caved in. After a protest by the locals, the restoration of the house is underway, thanks to a grant from the European Union and private funds, with a view of transforming it into a memorial museum.

House as it looked in 2014 

You might enjoy reading this long article about Sousa Mendes and stories of Jewish people he saved.

Before getting back on the road, we had a last lunch with 2 friends of mine, and we came loaded with more gifts - cheeses, home-made wines, home-made Aguardente (fire-water), vegetables...

 Our last lunch: Top - Alheira (Chicken sausage invented by the Jews who lived in Portugal ) and Bottom: prawn patties with tomato rice

The alheira, was originally invented by the Jewish people who lived in Portugal, made with chicken and bread. Nowadays it is no longer kosher and might include pork, game or even be vegetarian.

In the north of Portugal every home preserved pork sausages to see the family through the winter, hanging them from the rafters in meaty coils. Jews – who did not eat pork – were conspicuous for their missing sausages. 

“They were seeking refuge from the Inquisition,” so they developed a bread sausage that could fool informers and local zealots who denounced them to the Inquisition for not eating pork.”

We were gifted 2 zucchinis (courgettes) - the size of my carry-on bag :)

                                L - My parents, daughter Karina,  R - Jose and I

Before we drove back to Leiria (to have afternoon tea with friends that had been at the lunch on the way from Lisbon) , I wanted to stop at this swing.

Situated on the other side of the Mondego River, that separates the District of Viseu and District of Coimbra, in Vila do Mato (Tabua), is the Swing of "Bóco" with lovely views over the river. There are a couple of swings with views over the rivers in this area, but no time to visit them all 😏.

In Leiria, we made a quick visit to the farm of our friend John - "Karamba Chilli". He farms and makes chilli sauces, chilli powders, etc. which he sells in Portugal and some overseas countries. I have great admiration for John, he used to be a Civil Engineer, but about 20 years ago he was involved in a horrible car crash and became paraplegic in his early 40's. He later bought this farm and with his wife they have dedicated themselves to growing chilli, some fruit, onions...

We then drove to our friend Bela's house, where we joined her parents and one of her daughters who had recently returned from a teaching job in China for late afternoon tea. 

Belas's parents were my parents first friends in Johannesburg and in fact Bela's late grandparents were our "adoptive grandparents" in South Africa. 

Bela's daughter, Bela, Jose, Karina, me, Bela's parents and my parents

After tea we said our goodbyes and got back on the road towards Lisbon. 

And that was it for our first 5 days in Portugal.

The following day my younger sister would arrive from South Africa at 6,30 in the morning!!

Ready to get back on the road towards Lisbon

Electric car charging stations at one of the petrol stations/service stations on the highway

On the highway we saw the Google Street View car