Wrap-Up - June - Portugal & Signs

Linking to Tom's SIGNS. Please check his blog for other signs from around the world. 

Monday 1st - We had lunch with my parents at nearby small cafe/restaurant at Ryad shopping - Jose ordered prawn curry and I had Codfish fritters with tomato rice, followed by a shared dessert. 

Tuesday 2nd - I had my dental implants today - 3 on one side, 2 on the other side. No gum numbing injection could be given as the dentist said she needed to see the reaction of the gum....not sore at all on one side, but very sore on the other! But job done!!

Friday 5th - We rented a car to drive to Carregal do Sal, (between Viseu and Coimbra) the town where we lived during 11 years in Portugal. We have some family there as my parents were both born there, and some friends too, so I always like to visit if I can.

On the way there we stopped in Leiria to have a quick lunch with my paternal cousin Tony and his wife, at the food court of Leiria Shopping. Even though he's about 11 years my senior, we get on very well and he's very close to my parents. Sadly I didn't take a photo.

Meat patties with salad and chips

Sign seen at Leiria Shopping

When we stopped at a highway service station, I had to take a photo, as this would be unthinkable in Australia - a fridge with beers, wines as well as juices and carbonated drinks. And yes, people will order a meal and drink a glass or two of wine or a beer. The food choice was great, there are also shelves full of beautifully packaged chocolates, cookies, liqueurs, etc. There is also a children's corner so kids can play, paint, etc while the parents relax a little.

Half an hour before reaching Carregal I spotted people selling fruit on the side of the road and we stopped. They had a 2kg box of cherries for 7 Euros, and we bought one. We finished eating them in the 3 days, and sadly on the way back to Lisbon they weren't there, as I had wanted to take a box to my parents.

Roadside fruit seller, our box of cherries and a bag of plums a friend gave us

In Carregal do Sal we stayed for 3 nights at Salinas Residential. The bedrooms were recently updated, but I find there are a few things missing - hooks in the bathroom, a shelf in bathroom for the toiletries, bedside lamps... I mentioned that to reception, so hope if we do stay there next time those things will have been added.

The restaurant which has also been renovated serves good food and the staff is friendly. Breakfast which was included is a simple coffee (tea for me) and a ham and cheese roll.

Sandwich and Coffee/tea breakfast

When we arrived I contacted my maternal cousin Vitor and wife Fatima and we arranged to meet at their house and go in their car to dinner at "Casa Arouquesa" Restaurant in Viseu. Her daughter in law and grandchildren who live in Viseu would meet us there.

Monkfish rice (for me), roasted veal with potatoes, Jose and I shared crème brûlée My cousin Vitor, his wife's uncle, granddaughter, wife Fatima, grandson and daughter in law and us

It's an upmarket modern restaurant, the food was delicious and service was impeccable.Their speciality is oven roasted veal with potatoes, which most of them had, but I had the monkfish rice.

Saturday 6th - I had arranged to catch up with my long time local friends at Millenium Cafe at 10am. 

Left: Teresa, Paula, me, Teresa H, Laurinda and Anabela. Right: Ivone and son poppe in for 5 minutes as they were on the way to a baptism.

Jose joined us later and when everyone was ready to leave we walked back to the hotel and had lunch at their restaurant.

Alheira (remember the Jewish chicken sausage) with chips and rice! for me and Feijoada (bean and meat stew) for Jose

A 10 minute drive after lunch to Cabanas de Viriato, to visit the Aristides de Sousa Mendes Museum, the 19th century family mansion that was restored from a ruin over many years and inaugurated on the 19th July 2024.

A monument to Arisides at the entrance of Cabanas. The Aristides Sousa Mendes Museum (former Casa do Passal)

I remember for years and years driving to Viseu past this once majestic house and seeing it fall apart...

Aristides (read his story here) was born in 1884, studied law with his twin brother, entered the Consular services, and worked in many parts of the world as a Consul. In 1940 he was working in Bordeaux, France.

Against orders from the then dictator Antonio Salazar, he issued an estimated 30 thousand visas to Jews and others desperate refugees, allowing them safe passage to Portugal so they could be free to then travel to other countries.

For his defiance he was stripped of his diplomatic position, forbidden to earn a living. His 15 children were also blacklisted and forbidden to attend university. Their ancestral home had to be sold to creditors.       

Before he died in 1954 he asked his children, scattered all over the world (mainly in the USA and Canada) to clear his name. The first recognition came in 1966 from Israel which declared Aristides to be a "Righteous among the Nations". The United States Congress issued a proclamation honouring him in 1986, and finally also in 1986 he was recognized in Portugal by President Mario Soares, who awarded him posthumous the rank of Officer of the Order of Liberty, in 1987 there was a governmental apology to the Sousa Mendes family, in 1988 he was fully restored to the Diplomatic Corps, and the Grand Cross of the Order of Christ was awarded in 1995.

Upon buying the entry tickets we were allocated a guide who gave us an introduction to the Museum, the history and the honoree. Then we were given free rein to walk around, look at photos, objects, read the stories...

We encountered many Americans and overheard conversations - one was writing a book on how Aristides had saved her Jewish grandparents who had emigrated to the USA, others had similar stories about family members who had been saved; there were French school kids on an excursion - and all learning about the history of this man and this house in a remote corner of Portugal!

I felt ashamed that I had lived 10 minutes away during 11 years and I had hardly paid attention to this man's heroic act.

Some of the names of people he issued visas to.

Rabbi Chaim Kruger, who he befriended. Rabbi Chaim Kruger, wife and 5 children had also gone to the Bordeaux consulate seeking a transit visa. But he refused the offer from Aristides unless other refugees received one too. Moved by his own deep religious faith and the Rabbi's stance, he ordered his office to grant transit visas indiscriminately.

The writers of the children's book series "Curious George" - Hans and Margret Rey, (formally Hans Rey­ers­back and Mar­garete Wald­stein) German Jewish writers and artists, who fled on bicycles carrying their first manuscript. They secured Portuguese visas issued by Aristides de Sousa Mendes, allowing them to transit via Portugal to Brazil and later to the United States. 

The staircase leading to the first floor

Street name on the 8th arrondissement in Paris

Just around the corner is a lovely park with views to the Estrela mountain (highest mountain in Portugal). There is a statue of Christ and a sign saying "Cabanas de Viriato".

The house/Museum to the right, a surrounding park and the Estrela mountain in the distance

After the Museum visit we returned to Carregal to have dinner at my cousin's house, so the men could watch a football game on tv.

Sunday 7th - We visited an older couple who I've known since my childhood in Africa, who moved to Carregal a few years ago. The wife is sadly bedridden, but G was kind enough to take us to see what is supposedly the biggest eucalyptus tree in the area.

On the right G and Jose in front of the giant tree.

We left G at home and said our goodbyes and drove down the road to have lunch with my friend Rosa who wasn't in town on Saturday, and had arranged for us to have lunch with her on Sunday.

Grilled Codfish and potatoes

After lunch we drove about 15 minutes to the village where my grandmother used to live - Alvarelhos. 

On the way there I saw two new miniature replica of railway structures featuring road level crossing signs, railway tracks, signal boxes, clocks, tracks... Carregal do Sal was an essential hub along the Beira Alta area to Vilar Formoso on the border with Spain. Jose worked on the project for the electrification of this line in the late 90's.

The side of my grandmother's house at the entry to the village There we also visited a friend, whose wife Natalia (who died a few years ago) used to work as a domestic for my grandmother and looked after her in her last years.                      Jose and I with another Jose and his new wife Flowers from their garden

Back to Carregal, another short visit to our former apartment neighbour - Lita. She now lives in a house across from a piece of land that we bought about 25 years ago, where we intended to build a house before our decision to move to Australia.

The land we own with a dilapidated stone house

The apartment building where we used to live in Carregal do Sal (duplex top right)

A street sign with the name of my Dad's first cousin, a writer who was born in the area

Monday 8th - Jose and I went to the City Council to register our rural property in the new BUPI register. This is a online platform to help owners of rural property to identify and map their properties to help prevent property inheritance disputes and to aid in wildfire prevention. 

The helpful lady behind the counter asked Jose to download an app, go to the property, walk around the perimeter to do the measurements. Then we went back to the City Council where she downloaded the measurements and completed the process.

And that was hard work! Time for lunch! We had already checked out of the hotel, but went back for lunch at their restaurant.

Battered fish with tomato rice for me, desserts for Jose and I

It was then time to drive about 3 hours south to Costa da Caparica to have dinner with our Perth friends Wendy & Lido, and then back to my parents place in Cascais.

Crossing the 17km long Vasco da Gama Bridge

The cow from the Ale-Hop shops

Another Alheira (chicken sausage) and Molotoff pudding

Wednesday 10th - My mom, sister, Jose and I visited the mother of a friend who lives in Perth, at a nursing home in Cascais.

After the visit, my sister dropped us in the centre of Cascais, so we could go and buy a suitcase. 

My idea to follow the Sudoku packing method - just a carry on suitcase, wasn't too successful. It might be a great method for a short 2 or 3 week holiday, but we had 7 weeks and I got tired of wearing the same clothes and also some of clothes I had taken were probably too dressy for home days...

I had already bought 3 pairs of trousers and 2 tops, and my Mother had also given me some tops that no longer fit her, so a suitcase was needed for our return flight... and also we were just going to dispatch 1 suitcase for the 2 of us to fly to Malta the next day.

Before returning home we stopped at a coffee shop where Jose had a beer and a prawn rissole and a samosa, while I had a fruit juice and a Custard tart. Umm, delicious😋

We bought a box with some pastries to take home to eat after dinner with the family.

My favourite Bean pastry and Custard tarts

Next post: 1 week in Malta and our 7 week holiday is slowly coming to an end.