A Travel Blog
The Real Alcázar (Royal Alcazar) in Seville is a Royal Palace constructed by a succession of Moorish Kings beginning around the year 913.
It is now a sprawling complex of beautiful buildings, gardens, fountains, and baths, and is one of the most visited sites in Seville. The royal family still uses some of the upper levels as an official residence.
Earlier this week we’d walked past the Metropol Parasol (commonly known as Las Setas — “The Mushrooms”) but tonight we paid our €3 fee and went up the elevator to the viewing platforms above.
We timed our visit to coincide with the 6pm sunset, hoping for good views, and we were not disappointed.
After an overnight flight on Aer Lingus (good experience, would fly again) we arrived very early in the pre-dawn drizzle of Dublin. Since we’re just on a short layover, for minimum hassle we stayed at the shiny new Holiday Inn Express on O’Connell Street, located on the north side of the River Liffey. Free breakfasts and Wi-Fi are nice touches, and we can walk everywhere.
Throughout our visit to Lisbon we’ve enjoyed many panoramic views of the Rio Tejo, which inevitably include the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge that connects Lisbon to the opposite shore of the river and its towering statue of Christ, the Cristo Rei.
This opposite shore is in fact another city: Almada. And the closest part of Alamada to Lisbon is Cacilhas, a former fishing and shipbuilding district.
Josie filmed short video of one of the two fountains in Praça de Dom Pedro IV (commonly known as Rossio Square) in Lisbon.
Today is Easter Sunday, and whoever operates the bells on the Igreja e Convento da Graça has clearly been waiting for this day with anticipation.
The bells tolled long and hard at various intervals throughout the day, to the point that we had to close the window during dinner in order to converse.
North of the Rossio train station along the beautiful tree-lined Avenida da Liberdade there’s a small funicular that connects to the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara on the hill above.
There are a number of such funiculars around Lisbon, but many are currently closed or under repair. This one was originally built in 1885 and electrified in 1914.
Half an hour from Lisbon is the small town of Sintra, located on a forested mountain. It is home to historic palaces, a Moorish castle, and other picturesque tourist attractions.
We visited on Good Friday and the crowds were out in force. We were glad we decided to go with Lisbon Destination Tours instead of finding our own way on the trains and overcrowded buses.
Roughly 40 minutes west of Lisbon is Cabo da Roca, a rocky outcrop that forms the westernmost part of mainland Europe. (Ireland is conveniently not counted in this context, being considered an island.)
Somewhat reminiscent of Peggy’s Cove in Canada, the only signs of humans at Cabo da Roca are a lighthouse, a gift shop café, some stone monuments and a hundred or so fellow visitors.
After dinner on Tuesday we stopped at the nearby Mirodouro das Portas do Sol to see what the view looked like at night. We were treated to a very large moon reflecting in the Rio Tejo behind the medieval alleys of Alfama.
After Sunday’s visit to the more famous landmarks in the Belém area of Lisbon, we found lunch and then wandered through the nearby Jardim Botânico Tropical.
Much of these tropical gardens were originally installed for an exhibition in 1940, and the original intent was to showcase plants native to some of Portugal’s more tropical colonies, including Brazil, Goa and Macau.
On Sunday we visited Belém, a district of Lisbon about 20 minutes from the city centre by tram. Historically this area was where the royal and religious elites of Lisbon lived and built their palaces and other buildings of importance.
By far the most dominant building in the area is the enormous Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery) which was constructed over several decades beginning in 1501.
After waiting in an unnecessarily long line to enter, we were finally able to circle the very large cloister, which has two levels of incredibly ornate carved pillars and windows looking into a grassy courtyard.