Spain and Portugal (the Iberian Peninsula) were two high priority destinations for the trip from the first draft of our itinerary. In the combined 10+ trips to Europe that we’ve gone on, neither Angie nor I had ever been to Spain or Portugal. The appeal included the castles, warm weather, a fascinating history, and a rich and beautiful culture. To top it all off, I studied Spanish for 2 years in middle school and Spanish is a little like Portuguese. What better way to experience a new culture than to speak to the locals in their local language? 😉

Learning to say Thanks

Before we left Paris to go to Lisbon I had looked up a few basic phrases in Portuguese. The first, and most important, phrase in every language is “Thank You” which for me is “obrigado”. While we were waiting to board the plane in Paris, a woman let me go in front of her to catch up with my kids on the jetway. I took a chance that she was Portuguese and tried my new phrase – obrigado. She was actually from Brazil and spoke excellent English because she did a lot of business in the US. In the course of our short conversation, she made two critical contributions to our time in Portugal.

First, she explained that obrigado, like many words in Portuguese, is gender specific. When used by a man it is obrigado, but when used by a woman it ends with an A – obrigada. We found this two be both interesting and useful.

The second contribution she made was to ask whether we were planning to go to Fatima. As a devout Roman Catholic, Fatima should have been our primary reason for visiting Portugal. At that moment, I was standing on a jetway with a 10 day rental car and an AirBNB and literally no other plans. Yet another example of how doing normal things like researching our destination and planning a daily itinerary is not part of our travel plans. All I can say is obrigado to our Brazilian “Portuguese instructor” for suggesting the centerpiece of our agenda.

Our AirBNB in Portugal…

…was 45 minutes north of Lisbon in a maze of twisting narrow roads, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. Our host lived next door and her parents – who only spoke Portuguese – lived next door to her.

The apartment was like a Minnesota lake cabin: well worn, cramped, and with only some of the comforts of home. Our host’s parents came by multiple times a day with fresh grapes from the vine or persimmons from their tree. They insisted on long friendly conversations and were not bothered by the fact that I had almost no conversational Portuguese. It turns out the European Portuguese is not all that close to Latin American Spanish.

The highlight of the AirBNB for the kids was the pool in our host’s yard that we had access to. It was surprisingly cold considering the scorching daytime high temperatures – but the kids didn’t mind.

The Shrine of our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima

Fatima, Portugal is the sight of probably the most important Marian apparition of the 20th Century. The Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima every month for six months.

During Her last appearance on October 13, 1917, She performed a miracle that was witnessed by over 70,000 people. The sun “danced” in the sky for multiple minutes and was seen by people more than 50 KM away. On each visit, Our Lady asked the children to pray the Rosary for peace. 1917 was the height of World War 1 and Marian intercession is credited with keeping Portugal out of World War 2.

The location of the apparition is now a shrine with a chapel and two minor Basilicas. The chapel is an open air and at the exact spot where Our Lady appeared to the shepherd children. We went to Mass at the Chapel of the Apparition and also lit enormous brown wax candles at a station for candles that looked a lot like an industrial barbecue.

Basilicas and Treasures

The square in front of the Chapel is a large paved area with two minor Basilicas one on each end. The Basilicas are in very different styles but both are magnificent. If you stand in the center of the square facing the Chapel of the Apparition, the Basilica on your left is rounded and modern with an intricate reflection pool in front. There is also a 40 meter high steel crucifix and a large (maybe 5 meters) statue of Pope Saint John Paul the second. On the right is a Basilica that is more typical of the Spanish and Italian Cathedrals from the late renaissance with statues and frescos. We just took a quick look at each Basilica because it was really hot and we were getting tired.

We also went to the shrine museum and saw gifts that had been consecrated to Jesus and our Lady by the faithful. The most interesting was a beautiful golden crown that is still used on the 13th of every month on the Mary statue in the Chapel of the Apparition. The crown has the bullet from when Pope Saint John Paul the second was shot in the early 80s. There is also a bike that a German man gave to Mary after riding it from Germany to Fatima Portugal. We also saw golden roses that were given to Mary by the three Popes that have visited most recently.

Sintra

I first read about Sintra when I was looking through a Portuguese travel guide at Chiara’s Dance recital in May. Of course I only read it while the other dance groups performed.

Sintra was the historic home of the Royal family and other elites, and features a number of impressive castles. We got up early and drove 65 minutes to the town of Sintra and proceeded to get thoroughly lost while looking for a parking spot. After 10 minutes of twists and turns we ditched our car on the side of the road and walked toward the city center to catch the tourist bus.

The small town of Sintra has many shops, hotels, sidewalk cafes, and virtually no parking. The historic castles and palaces are on the mountains surrounding the town. There is a tourist bus that drives a circular route through the city center and to each of the popular destinations. My goal was to visit ruins of the Moorish castle and also Pena Palace. If there was time, I was going to try for a third palace but three kids, an introverted wife, and a REALLY hot day are not the makings of an aggressive day trip party.

Fortresses and Palaces

The Moorish castle is a proper mountain top fortress from the eleventh century. There were towers, walls, and lots of stairs. The views and were incredible and the temperature was over 38 degrees Celsius (101 degrees Fahrenheit). Being from Minnesota, we prefer our 38 degree excursions to be Fahrenheit…

We almost didn’t make it to the Pena Palace but I convinced my sweaty and exhausted crew that it was “just a quick stop” on the way back to our air conditioned car. The Palace was built in the 19th century and inspired by Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, built just a few years earlier. From the outside it looked like a spectacular multicolored version of a Disney fairytale castle. From the inside, it was the 19th Century home of a rich person and by this time we had already seen enough of those on this trip.

Our time in Sintra was punctuated by a 45 minute frantic search for the car we had carelessly parked earlier in the day. We’ve since learned to save our parking location in Google Maps.

Lisbon Hippo Tour

After a few chill days recovering from Sintra we decided to once again venture out and explore Lisbon. We booked a “Hippo” land and sea tour of the city on a bus that converted into a boat. Our guide brought a lot of energy but I didn’t remember much in the way of Landmarks. Most memorable was the monument to all the explorers that sailed from Portugal in the age of exploration.

All in all

I loved Portugal and would be happy to go back though I might plan a bit more next time. Portuguese culture is so fun and laid back. There are so many facets that it is hard to mention them all. I’ll finish with one that Asher wanted me to mention.

There was a bread truck that delivered fresh baked bread to our cabin every morning. Our host gave us a colorful canvas bag and clear, though odd, instructions. We were to put one euro and 15 cents into the bag and hang it on our fence every night. Every morning our bread was in the bag and we ate it for breakfast with a bit of persimmon.

Not a bad way to wake up – next stop Spain!