Spain to Portugal in Audi TT Part 2

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Is it the culture? The history? The architecture? The weather? Our favorite vacation destinations always have cobblestone streets lined by centuries-old buildings with intricate carvings, flowered balconies, and gargoyles. Large lush gardens with manicured lawns, sculptured trees and full size statues are located near brimming outdoor restaurants serving fresh and aromatic local delicacies. A bird-eye panoramic view of colored and adorned rooftops carpeting the hilly land next to a wide meandering river provides a romantic spot to watch the orange sun disappearing over the horizon and the crescent moon appearing in deep blue sky. We have come to such beautiful and romantic place in our Spain and Portugal driving vacation: Lisbon.

Lisbon

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Avenue da Liberdade

From our hotel, we drive on Avenue da Liberdade towards downtown. This avenue is lined by world famous designers. It is as if we are strutting on Lisbon’s catwalk in a sporty and progressive Audi TT. Through our windows, we see a painter on the sidewalk sketching a couple in love, artisans offering handmade handicrafts, and a few outdoor cafes filled with tourists and locals enjoying their breakfast.

Pombaline Baixa

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Arriving in downtown area, we are greeted by relatively easy traffic despite the fact it is the morning commute hour. The downtown area, Pombaline Baixa, was constructed after the 1775 devastating earthquake. The city blocks are well organized in grid with many one-way streets. Learning from the painful destruction, the city builders in 18th century constructed the buildings in Pombaline Baixa with the probably-known-as-the-first-earthquake-resistance construction techniques. Marching troops were used to simulate earthquake on the architectural models.

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The most pedestrian-and-tourist-friendly street in downtown is Rue Augusta just north of the Praça do Comércio. Outdoor restaurants and cafes are found at the center of the wide and mosaic tiled Rue Augusta, while global brand stores on the sides provide unlimited options for retail therapy. Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, Baroque, Modern, and Post-Modern buildings in downtown exude the importance and the glory of Lisbon in the past and the rich heritage of the present.

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In late morning, the downtown is a hive of activities. Pigeons, tourists, and locals are enjoying the Mediterranean weather at expansive squares with ornate water fountains and large statues. The historical bright yellow tram can be spotted from time to time moving along the side of the modern red trams. Originally introduced in the 19th century imported from America, the original tram was called Americanos. Its skinny profile is still best suited to serve the steep hills and curvy tree-lined narrow streets of the old quarters.

Belém

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After a few hours of downtown exploration, we drive eastward on Ave. 24 de Juhlo towards Belem. There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Belém: Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery. Built as a fortified lighthouse in 16th century, Torre de Belém was designed to guard the entrance to the port and the nearby Monastery. This place was where many of the great Portuguese explorers set off on their voyages of discovery. In its golden age, treasures – porcelains, silks, rubies, pearls – and spices – turmeric, ginger, pepper, cumin – arrived from far-flung corners of its empire in the East. From the West, Portuguese imported coffee, gold, diamonds, and red dyewood. Back then, Portuguese Maritime Empire made Lisbon the commerce center for Europe, Africa, and Asia.

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After walking around the tower ground admiring the intricate carvings on the tower walls, we drive towards the Monastery. It took 50 years to complete the construction of this 16th century expansive Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. It was erected as a monument to commemorate the successful voyage of Vasco da Gama to India. The monastery features Manueline architecture. It is also known as Portuguese late Gothic. It blends Late Gothic architecture with Spanish Plateresque, Italian Urban architecture, Flemish and Maritime elements.

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Next to the Monastery is Belém’s main street Rue de Belém. We stop here to visit the famous 160-year-old pastry shop to enjoy the delicious, fresh from the oven, Portuguese custard tart made with flaky pastry and dusted with cinnamon powder.

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Castle of São Jorge

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We are heading back towards downtown to visit Castle of São Jorge. We save this for our last stop of the day because this is the perfect place to enjoy sunset. The cobblestone street near the Castle ground is narrow and ascending steeply. It passes the ancient quarters of this town where time seems to stay still. Fado, Portuguese melancholic singing, from patio restaurants, can be heard softly as we drive slowly with the windows down. The houses in the ancient quarters are made of stone and they are small compared to the relatively newer ones at the bottom of the hill.

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Castle of São Jorge is a Moorish castle and it was once a home of the Portuguese royal family. Since the Portuguese revolution, the abandoned castle decayed into ruin, and many of the complex buildings within the walls were destroyed. In the late 20th century, archeological restoration was performed on many significant foundations of the Moorish structures. Today, tourists, families, and couples come here at dusk to watch the romantic sunset.

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From this vantage point, one has a panoramic view of Lisbon’s rolling hills fully covered by variety of ornate buildings in varying scales, the wide Tagus river, the very long red “25 de Abril Bridge” suspension bridge, and the iconic Cristo Rei statue across the river. At dusk, lights glitter from the buildings below. We soak this ambiance; we let our eyes float from one neighborhood to another and towards the water. The orange light of the distant sun over the horizon bounces of the red suspension bridge and makes the bridge’s red color glows. At the opposite end, deep dark blue sky set as a perfect background for a crescent moon to appear.

Sintra

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The next day we set out early because we have about three and a half hour drive to Porto, the second largest city in Portugal after Lisbon, with a stopover at Sintra, located just 40 km northwest of Lisbon. Sintra is famous for its fairytale 19th century Pena Palace and Park located in uneven terrain of Sintra mountain range. After passing the quaint little town of Sintra, the road becomes narrow and twisty. The vegetation in this vast forest is extremely lush and tree branches create a continuous natural canopy. The temperature outside is dropping slowly as we gain elevation. After we park our car at a designated parking lot, we hike up towards the Pena Palace and Park entrance.

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Perching majestically in one of the highest points, Pena palace exhibits a profusion of architectural styles from many centuries and cultures. A drawbridge, turrets, ramparts, domes, and gargoyles are all awash in an array of pastel shades, giving the exotic taste of Romanticism. The extravagant interior is decorated in late Victorian and Edwardian furnishings complete with intricate ornaments, paintings, and priceless porcelains.

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Surrounding the palace is the mystical Pena Park. The trees and exotic plants here were brought in from distant parts of the world during the Portuguese maritime glorious days. Those include North American Sequoia, Chinese Gingko, Australian ferns, Cypress, Magnolia, and Japanese Cedar. To make it even more interesting, a labyrinth is constructed from sculpted trees and it is connecting the palace to many secret places throughout the park.

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Porto

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Last night, we covered a distance of 340 km from Sintra to Porto in less than three hours. The drive was uneventful since it was mostly on freeways. We noticed speed limit signs but most people didn’t bother to obey. Several times we ran into fast Audis and we decided to create a convoy of speeding Audis; TT, A5, A4, and S6. The convoy did save us from the dull of straight driving on freeways.

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This morning, refreshed, we are up for a new city exploration. Fortunately, despite the fact that Porto is the second largest city in Portugal, its size is relatively small. We are looking forward to slow down our sightseeing pace a bit since today is our eighth day in our Spain-Portugal driving vacation.

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Porto’s Av. Diogo Leite along Douro River is where we relax and soak the ambiance. Famous for its Port wine, many internationally renowned wineries - such as Quarles Harris, Quinta de Ventozello, Romariz, Rozés, Sandeman, and Sao Pedro Das Aguias - have tasting and dining rooms along this picturesque waterfront.

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From open rooftop bars and restaurants, tourists and locals are enjoying the panoramic view of Douro River. Across the river, Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, Baroque, and Modern buildings crowd the rolling hills. To the right and above, the steel arch Dom Luís I bridge stands tall over the river. A traditional wooden sail boats drift near the shore. The male occupant is on his knees, he is proposing to his girlfriend. The next seconds, people witnessing the scene from the rooftop restaurants are cheering and clapping at the newly engaged.

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Salamanca

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We have to go back to Madrid, Spain to return this beloved TT and to catch our flight back to Frankfurt. We add one more stop to our driving vacation; one-night stop at Salamanca, Spain. As we cross the ancient Roman Bridge and enter the University campus, our spirit of adventure wakes up. Founded in 1218, University of Salamanca is the oldest university in Spain. The city itself was founded in the pre-Ancient Roman time.

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Today, Salamanca is youthful and un-touristy. The Flamboyant Gothic university buildings are definite eye candies displaying mighty monuments and clusters of cloisters with pride. The ornately decoration on many building walls are known as Plateresque. The minute intricacy of masonry is comparable to silverwork. Getting lost here is the best way to soak Salamanca’s beauty and experience the relaxing effect on the soul.

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Looking for tapas, we head to Plaza Mayor. This plaza and the buildings along the perimeter with hundreds of Spanish windows and balconies were featured in Vantage Point movie starring Dennis Quaid. We sit at an open door restaurant and watch life goes by. As the moon is reaching its zenith, college students are congregating and singing around the plaza. We wait a bit more to enjoy the ambience before we drive around this mesmerizing campus to take night pictures. Our ten day driving vacation across Spain and Portugal is near to the end and a sense of separation anxiety with our Audi TT grows within us. This Audi TT definitely heightens our driving vacation enjoyment. The best keepsake we are bringing home is the fond memory of driving Audi TT across Spain and Portugal.

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