Fado

Sintra, Obidos, and Nazare, Wednesday and Thursday 1 and 2 June

Sintra, on the coast about 100km north of Lisbon, is the home of the Pena National Palace, as well as other Portugese cultural and historical attractions. We visited the palace which is a bit like the fairytale Neuschwanstein castle in Germany. It is relatively recent, built for the enjoyment of the Portugese royal family in the 19th century on the site of earlier buildings. The views are amazing - all the way to the Atlantic ocean, and the buildings are sumptious (as long as you only have to live there in summer and can have someone else worry about the damp problems in winter).

Views to the ocean.

The current castle was built iby Ferdinand, the husband of Queen Maria of Portugal. He seemed to be an early adopter of technology, having installed a telephone in the castle. It had a connection to the opera house in Lisbon so he could listen the the performance from home when it wasn't convenient to attend! Good thinking - would save getting dressed up as well.

Ferdinand's phone

Sintra itself is a super cute medieval town with must try traditional local pastries and souvenir shops on every alleyway and stairway. Nevertheless a very pleasant stop.

Sintra down town shopping.

Shopping street.

Window shopping.

Sintra, and nearby Cascais, are on the Portugese riviera, a series of beach resorts north of Lisbon. Very nice, but if living in Wellington you might find Waikanae or Himatangi just as pleasant and a whole lot more convenient.

Cascais beach.

Being cultural people we attended a Portugese "dinner and fado" performance back in Lisbon that night. Fado is a form of Portugese music with a traditional structure  - a singer accompanied by a Spanish guitar and a Portugese guitar. The performers appear between dinner courses and perform a set then leave, presumably to go to the next door venue and repeat. The songs tend to be quite "serious", typically  with mournful tunes and lyrics and rather melancholy. Always in Portugese as well, so a bit tricky for ignorant foreigners. The performance was great, but let's say we didn't buy the CD afterwards.

Fado singing.

Next day we were on the road again heading for Porto. Stopped on the way at Obidos, an ancient walled city where we were  introduced to (among other things) ginjinha, a liqour made from sour cherries. It is often served in a chocolate cup which you eat afterwards so immediately has an attractive point of difference. We tried it.

Ginjinha in chocolate cups.

We walked parts of the Obidos castle walls preserved from medieval times pre dating H&S rules about protection from falls from heights. It was a bit nerve wracking with the sheer drop and absence of barriers. Fortunately a small sign suggesting that we give our fullest attention to the walkway kept us safe. The views were marvellous.

View from the wall walk (feet just out of shot!)

Downtown Obidos.

Just before sampling the freshly baked treats at Obidos's traditional bakery.

Further on, Nazare introduced us to traditional "on the beach" fish drying methods. We ate meat that day.

At Nazare there was also a funicular to ride. Once you've tried one funicular it is increasingly hard to pass  the next one by. Another great view from the top.

The thrill of the ride.

A view from the top.

Another view from the top.