Our adventures in a mobile home
Posts tagged Architecture
Water, trees and piggies
Apr 1st
Luso is the home of Portugal’s famous mineral water. It was a pleasure to go and fill up our water bottles for free at the town’s fountain. In fact, the fountain provided us with much entertainment over our lunch. There is an endless stream (haha) of people that come to fill up and we counted them with up to 10 big water bottles each. They must be very thirsty!
The campsite in Luso is set amongst the pine trees and dotted with daisies, it was very quiet and peaceful. From the site it is a short walk (up a very steep hill) into the Bucaco forest. This walled forest was planted by monks and there is a tree dating from 1644. The paths meander past ponds full of rose petals and up to the Palacio do Bucaco, now a hotel. The hotel is ornate, in a manueline style with some beautiful azulejos on the exterior walls.
We walked up to the Porta de Coimbra and also to what we thought was the Cruz Alta, but we discovered that we must have stopped climbing before reaching the summit and the topmost cross! Ah well, both had panoramic views of the countryside.
This region is famous for its leitao, a roast suckling pig which is usually eaten accompanied by a local sparkling red wine. We tried both, and stuffed ourselves silly with such a decadent meal. I had to leave the driving to David as I had rather overindulged my appetite for wine at lunch and had to have a little lie down.
Coimbra
Mar 30th
One of Coimbra's beautiful fountains
Coimbra stunned us with architecture and culture. The city is hilly, like so many in Portugal, but this gives it great views. We marched about exploring the winding staircases meandering from the university down into the commercial part of the city and then onto the river. We had lunch and I got to try a local speciality, Chafana – goat stewed in red wine. It was very rich but tender and tasty.
Woe is me, and you too if I don't get a good tip
That evening we ventured back into town for some fado (the Portuguese equivalent of the blues) and had our first taxi ride with a Portuguese driver. It was more hair raising than driving with an Italian as he managed to clock up 110 in a 50 zone! The fado wasn’t neearly so quick. We had to wait an hour for it to start - apparently my strop eventually got it going. It was interesting and I enjoyed the guitar but I wouldn’t listen to it regularly as it is rather moody for my tastes. One guitarist was most enthusiastic, strumming like his fingers were on fire, but the other looked like he wanted nothing more than to get back to his fishing boat …
NATO is unpopular with the local student population
Sumptuous Sintra
Mar 19th
Sintra, in the hills above Lisbon, is full of fairytale architecture and was once a retreat for wealthy Lisbonites. The pastel coloured palaces and chimneys revealed themselves through the mist and cloud. Apparently this is normal weather for Sintra and is affectionately known as the ‘queen’s fart’. We explored the boulder strewn hills near the Palicio da Pena. There are steep inclines and declines creating some great mountain biking routes with fabulous views down into Lisbon and the coast.
Whilst in Sintra we went to visit the ‘Quinta de Regaleria‘, the vision of a wealthy aristocrat and a visionary architect and set designer. Each element of the house and garden is based on classical themes and the design extended to every element including each piece of furniture. It must have been an overwhelming project; it certainly overwhelmed us and we only had to walk around it! It was a contrast to the Convento dos Capuchos, a monastery with magnificent gardens but rather stark monk cells covered in cork bark.
We also stayed over at Cascais and enjoyed the beach at Guincho – a popular hangout for surfers and for Odie, a massive doggie population! The sun beat down on us during our cycle along the coastal path along with hundreds of other walkers, cyclists and roller bladers. Summer is on its way!
Lovely Lisboa
Mar 17th
We have bravely made our way into Lisbon, the first capital city we have visited on our travels. Odie has been relegated to the van in the campsite whilst we bus into the city. Dogs wander the streets all over the country but are not permitted in most of the restaurants and bars, and definitely not on buses.
Lisbon is a tourist mecca, chocca full of museums and sights. We only had a couple of days to visit so contented ourselves with wandering up and down the hills, catching trams, eating out and enjoying the bustling city vibe. The Alfama was insightful, beautiful buildings next to run down hovels. Belem was impressive with its manueline architecture and homage to past explorers. The Belem pastries were as delicious as I thought they would be. It’s a good thing I have started jogging as it means I can eat more pastries ; ) The terrain of the city reveals views that we have missed in the flatness of London and the tiles everywhere you look add colour and life. We hope to come back and explore more.
Chapel of Bones
Mar 15th
We’ve been sticking to the coast up to now but decided to take a detour inland to visit Evora. The drive took us through the cork forests of the Alentejo. The cork trees are stripped to their waists, the underlying bark being red to start and turning slowly to a deep black in the 10 years before the trees are stripped again. The cork itself is strangely light (though that shouldn’t have been a surprise given how many win bottles I’ve opened) and has a very spongy texture.
Evora is a town of many interesting sights. We arrived intending to park under the aqueduct but on meeting some other motorhomers who were robbed overnight in their vans we opted to check into the campsite instead. Evora had the usual impressive cathedral and other interesting architecture but the highlight for us was the macarbe chapel of bones. The walls were created with monks bones (mostly femurs and humeri) and it is decorated with a trio of hanging mummies. The inscription above the chapel entrances reads ‘We bones here are waiting for your bones‘. It definitely stimulated thoughts of our own mortality, and it made me glad we are seeing the world before we enter the chapel of bones!
Bom Dia Portugal
Feb 20th
Winner of Portugal's "Untidy Garden" award, 2011
We have arrived in the Algarve, only a month late but never mind! Almaco de Pera is a holiday town we have visited before in the winter. Its beach is dotted with fishing boats and the local restaurants offer massive portions of the local catch for lunch. We chose a little shack-like place on the beach and enjoyed ‘sardinas’ in the sunshine. The weather has been incredible since we arrived in Portugal and was baking hot for February. On our walk we discovered a fabulous wild camping parking area on the cliffs overlooking the sea and the western end of town. There were at least 15 campers dotted along the cliffs, but a hefty fine of up to 30k can be levied if you get too near the edge!
It was then time for a bit of culture and history, something we have been missing for the last few weeks as we have mostly been at the sea. We made our way to Silves, a Moorish hill top town an impressive clay coloured castle that dominates the skyline. There is a massive parking area and a huge motorhome community, we counted over 65 vans camped next to the river. We explored the deserted cobble streets by moonlight and only encountered an occasional doggie, of which there seem to be many in Portugal. Silves in the brilliant sunshine was another kettle of fish, the castle and cathedral were our first stops. The castle is laid out with a Moorish garden and you enjoy wonderful views of the town from the ramparts. The cistern is supposedly haunted by a Moorish maiden but all we heard were some brilliant acoustics that David was hugely excited by and he even threatened to come back and sample the sound patterns.
Mmm, doughnuts (drool)
The monthly market was in full swing and we managed to purchase a new grill for fish for our bbq and peruse the local tat. We also caught a virtuoso performance of doughut frying by one of the local vendors and enjoyed a delicious ‘fratera’, a long, thin, crinkle shaped doughut dusted in cinnamon sugar.
Carmague
Oct 23rd
We have been dying to see flamingos close up. The Carmague region is famous for them and so we decided to trek further south in search of these elusive pink birds. The Carmague is like the last frontier, it is full of wide open plains and stark skies. There are numerous marshes and canals that make it perfect for rice growing and its proximity to the sea allows for the farming of salt. The salt pans vary in colour from white to a pinky purple hue. We visited the towns of St Gilles, Grand du Roi on the Rhone river and Aigues Mortes.
Aigues Mortes, a town as famous as it is picturesque, is fortified and surrounded by canals. We arrived on the last day of their end-of-season bull festival. The French towns in this region often have bull rings, demonstrating the strong link they have to the Catalonians just across the border. In contrast to the Spanish version, the bulls are not killed, instead the bull fighter has to show his skill by plucking a ribbon (or two if he is lucky) off his angry nemesis. The end of festival party included lots of drinking and dancing in the streets. Even a heavy storm did not manage to dampen the locals’ celebrations, but it did send me into a panic as the puddle under our van steadily grew bigger and bigger. I began to think we may be washed along the canal and David had to reassure me that our van could cope with this sudden onset of water. Eventually, the rain dwindled and I managed to get to sleep. The puddle the next morning was still rather large though, and we had to drive out to avoid very wet shoes.
Thisa isa Pisa
Oct 11th
We had decided to put Italy behind us as quickly as possible and, with this in mind, set our minds to driving through the night back into France. On route however I spotted signs for Pisa and, having read stories and looked at pictures of the leaning tower as a child, couldn’t resist a diversion into the famous town to take in the sights.
Having spent all day on the lurking in the back of the van Odie was dying for a walk so we decided to take him around the block. It turned out that our motorhome stop was practically in view of the leaning tower. A glimpse of the rooftop stirred in me such desire to see the famous monument that I rushed back to the van, fetched my camera and tripod, and dragged Chris and Odie at a fast pace into the walls of the old town.
Although I’d seen drawings and photographs of the tower in books, the actual building took me quite by surprise. It is incredible – beautiful and delicate in a way that no picture can possibly capture. I could have spent hours photographing it from different angles but, with a cold wind biting like an annoying insect, and a shivering and complaining wife, I had to make do with just a few quick snaps.
The next morning we decided to visit the same sights in the light of day. What had been a tranquil and moving view by night was quite a different experience in the sun. Hoards of tourists arrived by the busload, and within a couple of hours we were elbowing and cursing our way through noisy crowds. As always though, the masses were only interested in the main attractions. A short walk took us way from the throngs of happy-snappers into the heart of the town where many beautiful sights could be seen without hundreds of people posing in front of them.
Pisa’s tower is famous for leaning, but many other attractions of less repute follow suite. Walking along the river you can see buildings from houses to banks tipping over, as their foundations slowly sink into soft soil below them. You could really call it the leaning town of Pisa.
We’ve come to accept the incredibly commercial aspect of any tourist site in Italy (little wonder as it’s the fifth most visited country in the world) and were unsurprised to find stalls selling various spirits in leaning bottles and leaning tower shaped pasta. As you can see from the photo though leaning towers don’t always have to be buildings … 
Caving in
Sep 24th
The Basilicata region is known throughout Italy as being poor and rather downtrodden. The city of Matera is no exception. As late as the 1950s many people were living here in caves, without running water or sewage removal. It has managed to turn its fortunes around somewhat in the last few decades, attracting tourists to see the caves that housed so many residents. When housing was eventually built for them they shunned the cushy life of indoor plumbing and stubbornly refused to leave their holes. They were finally flushed out by force! The town has also gained some fame by providing the backdrop for the film ‘The Passion of the Christ‘.
We drove into the town and followed the signs for motorhome parking. Unfortunately there was a festival of some sort going on and our designated motorhome parking area was now the party headquarters, although to look at the ankle deep pile of litter in the car park you’d think it had become the designated town dump. We circled round and round on the narrow streets looking for a space that could accommodate our van. Sadly, with cars triple parked and delivery vans thrust into every available crevice, we stood less chance than a fat tourist trying to squeeze into Italian designer wear . That put a swift end to our sightseeing for the day. Sometimes life in a motorhome is difficult!
Haleccenating
Sep 22nd
Trying to get picked up
Lecce, in the deep south of Puglia, Italy is a town that overloads the senses. It has over 40 churches and just as many squares. The heavenly architecture which dots the town reaches a crescendo at the Basilica di Santa Croce. My guide book declares that he stone masons must have been hallucinating when they created this masterpiece. I concur, for this fresco contains all manner of creatures including, believe it or not, dodos! It is rather overwhelming and we had to take refuge inside the church to recover. The interior is rather more sedate although still beautiful in its own right. The rest of this city follows the Baroque trend and also has not one, but two Roman theaters. This cultural overload contrasts with the abundance of crude graffiti scrawled over the ancient walls.
Some of the intricate carvings inside the church
We made our way into the city via bus from our area di sosta (camperstop) 6km out of Lecce. We knew we’d found the bus stop when we noticed a little piece of cardboard tied to a road sign with the words “fermata bus” scrawled on it. While the bus stop might have been very third world, bus driver wasn’t, and surprised us by being perfectly on time both on the way there and back. Odie, was in luck. Instead of being relegated to the luggage compartment (as he was in Spain), he was able to ride in style with us! Bus tickets came in at a trifling €0.80 and were available from the camperstop.