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 and the story behind the crumbling house.

                                            

 

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, 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.

Wrap-up May - Portugal & Signs

We had arrived in Lisbon on the 10th of May, so that we could be present for my parents 66th wedding anniversary.

Wednesday 13th - The whole family went out to lunch at a small restaurant in Cascais - Cantinho do Chaplin, to celebrate the wedding anniversary.

My parents know the owner, and as we were the last to leave, she asked my Dad to sing and my sister and brother-in-law then danced a tango (they've been going to classes for years). The restaurant had a lovely atmosphere and the food was great.

Me, dad, brother in law, niece, sister, mother and Jose

        

Later that afternoon we all sat around the table having cake and a few delicious chocolate treats I had bought in Istanbul.

Thursday 14th - My parents, Jose and I took a downhill 2km walk to the centre of Cascais, with a few stops for my 93 year old Dad who isn't used to walk a lot.

We had lunch at "Somos um Regalo" - they specialize in grilled chicken. Luckily we got there when they had just opened and the restaurant was quite empty, so we were served super quick. By the time we left it was getting crazy with people already waiting to be seated, and the noise level quite elevated. (We have been here many times, but mostly we get take-away as it's easier than waiting for a table and less noisy to eat at home).

After lunch, we carried on our walk to the Citadel of Cascais, a set of fortifications built between the 15th and 17th centuries to defend the Cascais coastline and protect against attacks to Lisbon. It incorporates the medieval tower of St Anthony and the fortress of Our Lady of the Light, now functioning as a hotel and cultural area. In the 19th century King Luis I had a royal palace (now a museum) built within the walls in the citadel to serve as a summer holiday retreat, which was used until 1908.

This led to the growth of Cascais as a location for affluent people coming from Lisbon (just 30km away) to spend the summer. The complex was the first to get electric lights in Portugal in 1878!

The Cascais Citadel

In the patio there's a collection of art.

From the fort we walked around the coast past the beach area and then into the centre where we stopped for ice-cream at the popular Santinis. 

My dad had enough of walking by then, and they caught a bus home, while we stayed for a while longer.

Friday 15th - Our Perth friends, Wendy & Lido were also on holidays in Costa da Caparica, across the River Tagus -  we took a train from Cascais to Cais do Sodré station and took the ferry to Cacilhas, from across the street at the ferry station.

In Cacilhas we ordered an uber that took us to Costa da Caparica. It was a bit grey and windy, and before our friends and us had lunch we walked along the beach promenade admiring the brave surfers in the cold water!

Signs on T-shirts in a shop at Costa da Caparica

Footpath had funny signs portraying fishermen, runners, walkers, and dog walkers

Lunch was my favourite - Alheira - a smoked sausage created in 1497 by the Jewish communities in Portugal during the Inquisition, using poultry and bread, designed to look like the traditional pork sausages to avoid suspicion. Nowadays I think they include pork.

It's usually the first meal I order when eating out when I visit Portugal. Jose and our friends shared a pot of rice with prawns.

Late that afternoon our friends drove us to Lisbon to a Medieval fair.  After leaving they took us to the train station where we got a train back to Cascais.

Saturday 16th - my sister had invited us to go and watch a performance from students of the Dance School they attend. The group of 4 did 2 or 3 danced 2 or 3 tangos, others performed modern dance and Belly dancing. After the show a band started playing and before leaving close to midnight we still danced a little.

Monday 18th - usually after dinner, Jose and I would walk to my sister's house, about 15 min from my parents' house to have coffee with them. On this day we all went to have a drink at Palaphita, an outdoor eco-restaurant and lounge next to the sea, on the grounds of Casa da Guia. 

The sun was setting when we reached Casa da Guia, on the left

Tuesday 19th -  We had been invited to a birthday dinner of my brother in law's younger brother Jorge, at a restaurant that had opened on the 8th - "Cabra Cega", at 42B Dom Vasco da Gama Avenue in Restelo. One of the chef's was actually the second cousin of the birthday boy's wife. 

                   

The name "Cabra Cega"  (blind man's buff) refers to the childhood game, which the chefs use to describe a concept of playing with the senses and letting guests trust their instincts. It's a small restaurant with an open kitchen behind the bar counter.

Owned by 2 young men who studied together, then travelled the world working in various restaurants (one of them had worked in Australia) - the restaurant has two Degustation menus, with 4 dishes (40 euros) and with 7 dishes (60 eur0s).

It certainly was a sensory experience and we all loved the food, the superb service and all the unexpected ingredients. 

My brother in law will not eat mushrooms which he told the chef when he came to ask if there were any food allergies. When each dish was served the chef would explain the ingredients, but when it came to one of the desserts he just said "try it and let me know what you think are the ingredients". We ate it and liked it and then the chef said it had mushrooms :). The only thing I wasn't keen on was the wagyu steak that was medium rare and my meat has to be well done. So I tasted it, it was good actually, but then gave the remainder to Jose.

Friday 20th -  Together with my Mom and sister, we visited an immersive exhibition about the art of Monet, Klimt, Michelangelo and Da Vinci and Mysterious Egypt at the Water Museum in Lisbon.

The images repeated themselves every 1 1/2 hours, the only problem was having to stand the whole time as there were no chairs around the perimeter of the reservoir.

The building was constructed in 1746 as a reservoir to receive and distribute the water brought to the city by the Aguas Livres Aqueduct. The water tank inside the building is 7,5mt deep with a capacity to hold 5500m3 of water.

Aguas Livres Aqueduct seen from one of Lisbon's streets

Part of the aqueduct bottom left. It had a beautiful garden in front

My sister, me and my Mother

Saturday 23rd - One of my brother in law's nieces had a baby recently, she lives near Porto (north of Portugal), and wanted to come to Lisbon and show the baby to all the family. So my sister arranged a brunch at Honest Greens (across the Cascais train station) with our side and her in law side of the family - 19 of us!

It was a lively table and a wonderful way for us to meet some of the members of the extended family we don't often see.

As for the food - alternative healthy type - the portions of the protein were tiny compared to the huge accompanying salads. My niece had ordered an omelette for her 2 small kids and when it arrived much later, it was only made with 1 egg, so hardly enough for 2. When she went to order another she was told the breakfast menu was no longer being served... and of course the lunch menu didn't have the omelette the other kid also wanted.

I had wanted to visit the island of Malta for a while and this trip, since we had more time, the flight prices not too bad... so I asked my parents and sister if they wanted to go as well. 

Flights booked, an Airbnb booked for a week in Sliema, close to a ferry port... all arranged! I just had to research what I wanted to see and type up a daily route.

Sunday 24th - Lunch in Lisbon with my sister and brother in law and two other couples that dance tango with them. The restaurant - Malandro do Marques, serves typical food from the various Portuguese speaking countries, like Brazil and African countries. The venue has live music on weekends. The menu was a set price of 25 euros for an entree, a main dish and a dessert.

The menu was a set price of 25 euros for an entree, a main dish and a dessert.

There was a band from Cabo Verde (Cape Verde), which was really good, the singer had a fantastic voice and most of the patrons were dancing to their music.

Before saying our goodbyes one of the couples invited offered to cook a Feijoada (bean stew), and my sister offered to host it on the large patio of her apartment. The date was set for the 31st.

Monday 25th - my parents have an enclosed balcony accessed from their bedroom, but it was full of old document files, books, junk... I had offered to clear the space, paint it and make it more usable. Jose helped me strip the room, we threw out a lot of the stuff, a few things went to the garage..... then I started painting the yellow room in white (I had already bought all the necessary stuff). It now looks better and usable and it only took 2 days to finish.

I had also replaced the shoe cabinet as the old one wasn't closing 2 of the drawers.

Tuesday 26th - Consultation at the dentist, for a 3D mouth scan for the implants to be inserted a week later.

View to the Sintra mountains from the waiting room at the dentist

Wednesday 27th - my sister wanted to go to their holiday apartment in Vilamoura  (south of Portugal), for a few days, and offered to take us. Because she was also taking the 2 granddaughters in the car, my brother in law rode his motorbike there.

Christ the Redeemer across the river on the way south, lots of stork nests on power lines

Relaxing days by the pool, a day at the beach, walks by the Vilamoura marina in the late afternoon, ice-creams, a Berliner (custard doughnut) on the beach, warmer weather than in Lisbon ... 

The parking lot roof was covered in solar panels, a typical "Berliner" with custard cream at the beach

And look what I found when we went to Vilamoura's Marina Beach! A Bordallo II sculpture. He usually makes them mural like, it's the first time I see his work as a sculpture. It's called Sketchy Crab and was constructed with discarded bicycles parts - wheels, handlebars, saddles.

Delicious choice of ice-creams

Sunset at the Vilamoura Marina

Reading a book published in Portugal by my Perth friend, astronomer Elisabete da Cunha

Flowers in the Algarve

Friday 29th - We drove to Faro to have dinner with Jose's eldest brother and wife who live there.  We dined at "À do Pinto", a restaurant in the pedestrian Rua de Santo Antonio. The food was good and the atmosphere was great.

On the street of Faro - crochet covering narrow lanes

A pirate themed candy and chocolate shop in Faro

Saturday 30th -  After breakfast we went for a last swim in the pool. We had a late lunch at "A Palmeira", a fish restaurant in Quarteira. My sister and brother in law having been going there for a few years and the friendly owner chatted to them about their families when we arrived.

We all ordered fish, the portions were enormous, but everything was high quality and very tasty.

We went back to the apartment, finished packing, closed everything up and got in the car for the almost 3h long trip.

Statues in the garden of one of the service stations on the highway and the 25 April bridge going into Lisbon

Sunday 31st - as previously arranged, my sister's Tango friends came to lunch, tables set on the patio. One couple brought the main meal - Feijoada (bean and meat stew), the other brought wines and my sister provided desserts. My parents had also been invited and Mom made Flan pudding.

After a very animated lunch, we had entertainment. My 6 year old great-niece who loves to dance, had my niece play 3 songs that she danced to - she has great rhythm and always dances differently according to the beat.

My sister danced the tango, one couple danced a Samba (she is Brazilian), and the other couple danced the Merengue. It was a great day!

Left to right, top to bottom - My great-niece, the Samba, the Merengue and the Tango

    A fabulous holiday month!

Also linking to Tom the backroads traveller for his SIGNS meme. Check his blog to see other signs from around the world.