Chapter Five: Tell ‘Em We Love Belém!
December 12, 2022
Chapter Seven: Sintra … Colorful City of Palaces
December 29, 2022Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report
Chapter Six: Final Day In Lisbon
Day Six: We Won’t Be Taking Our Luggage, “Portuguese Versailles”, No Crowds, Tiles Channel, Time Out For Lunch, Decisions Decisions, This Isn’t A Buzzer?, The Oldest Functioning Bookstore In The World, Channeling My Inner Sinatra, Shut Out Of The Rooftop, A Much Needed Refreshment and A Charming Way To End Our Day
On our final day in Lisbon, we would take the train toward Sintra, but Sintra would not not be our destination until the following morning. Today’s agenda called for a half-day trip to the Palácio Nacionalde Quelez, a Baroque, Rococo and Neo-Classical palace commissioned in the 18th century.
We walked across the street from our hotel to the already bustling Rossio Railway Station, where there was a long queue a little after 9 a.m. It seemed the entire city of Lisbon was getting away to Sintra on this Thursday morning. The queue proceeded quickly, and we purchased our one way ticket to Quelez (€1.65), located about halfway between the two towns. The 9:30 train was so full, we decided to eschew the train the following morning because it would be tough to fit our luggage in with all the passengers. Note: Our friends who traveled the following month took an afternoon train to Sintra and said it was no sweat with the luggage at that time of day.
It was about a 20-minute train ride to the Quelez-Belas station, and then another 15-minute walk to the palace. After a few wrong turns we saw the sign to the palace as we walked through town.
The National Palace of Queluz served as Portugal’s Royal Residence in the 18th century. It’s also the place where Queen Dom Maria I would be sequestered from public view during her final years.
She became queen in 1777 when her father Dom José died. Pedro, by marriage, became king (Dom Pedro III). When Pedro (who was also her uncle … hey, it was the 18th century) died in 1786, followed a few years later by her son and then her confessor, she slipped into depression that would dog her for the rest of her life. In Portugal, she was known as “Maria The Pious,” while in Brazil she was dubbed “Maria The Mad.” She spent her last years in Brazil and although called by some “A Louca” (the Mad), she seems to be revered in both countries.
The palace, which was originally a hunting lodge and converted into a palace in the 1700s, underwent a huge restoration project in 2015, and has been called the “Portuguese Versailles.” We took a self-guided tour. Admiring the chandeliers in the first room, the Dona Maria Pavilion, we knew opulence would be the order of the day.
We entered the largest reception room in the palace … The Throne Room.
The palace was one of the last rococo-style palaces to be constructed in Europe, and this room has that rococo feel.
Pedro and Maria threw big parties in this room. Tracy spent much of her time photographing the light fixtures, which were dazzling to say the least.
The Throne Room opens into The Music Room, which looks almost the same today as it did in 1761, making it one of the oldest rooms in the palace. Operas and chamber orchestra concerts were conducted in this room.
Although Dom Miguel never resided here, his portrait hangs in the Sala do Lanterim. It’s known as The Room of the Skylight since there is an opening in the ceiling for better ventilation.
If you live in a palace, it seems you have to have a chapel.
This one was designed in 1752. The painting on the main altar depicts Our Lady of Conception, the patron of Queluz.
The ceiling painting also dates back to 1752.
There were lots of places to sleep in the Apartments of Princess Maria Francisca Benedita, but none of us were ready for a nap.
The Empire Room incorporates French influences.
Besides bedrooms In the apartments, there is also an oratory.
The Smoking Room is where you could play some board games, and I assume, smoke.Actually, smoking became a habit of the Portuguese Royal Family in the mid-19th century. There were no Surgeon General warnings.
One of the coolest parts of the palace contained some beautiful Azulejos. There are tiled panels in the Corridor of Sleeves that depict the four seasons, the continents and scenes from mythology.
It’s called the Corridor of Sleeves not because of the shirts the king wore, but because this is where glass sleeves were used to keep candles away from drafts. It is also the connection between the old palace and the new palace.
Here we were reminded that lunchtime was not far away.
There were 26 rooms open to the public. We can’t remember them all. I think the room on the right is The Torch Room.
The Don Quixote Room contain scenes of the Man from La Mancha’s life. A number of royal babies were delivered here, and it’s also where Prince Pedro, the first Emperor of Brazil and King of Portugal would die at the age of 35 from tuberculosis.
The aptly named Picnic Room contains paintings of, surprise, picnics. It was also the private dining room of the King and Queen’s Chambers.
This is The Room Where We Forgot To Take A Photo Of The Description. Let there be light!
The Ambassadors Room is pretty spectacular. It was once called The Room of Serenades because concerts were held here (Pedro and Maria liked their music).
In 1794 it became known as the Ambassador’s Room because King João held audiences here with plenty of hand kissing.
It has some pretty spectacular ceiling paintings, too. The painting on the ceiling on the right depicts the royal family attending a music concert.
The Queen’s Dressing Room gave us our last spectacular chandelier to admire.
And one last ceiling to gaze at and photograph. By the end of this tour Tracy was in dire need of a chiropractor.
Although not quite as opulent as Versailles, the lack of crowds made it a much more pleasant and peaceful palace to explore. We made our way outdoors on another toasty day. In the distance, we glimpsed the Canal dos Azulejos (Tiled Canal).
Once upon a time there was a lake and a lake house (pavilion) where even more concerts were held.
The 115 meter canal was completely covered in tiled panels in 1755.
Nearly 150 years later, King Carlos and Queen Amélia ordered the restoration of the tile surface.
We admired the Robillion Staircase, built between 1758 and 1760.
In the gardens there are plenty of large statues …
… including this sculpture of a female Sphinx.
There are plenty of fountains, too.
We wandered around the gardens for a bit, but decided it was time to head back to Lisbon. If you have some extra time in Lisbon (or Sintra … it’s about at the half way point) Queluz Palace is definitely worth a visit.
We decided to Uber back to Lisbon for a time out at the Time Out Market, the “world’s first editorially curated market.” From its website, “A concept created from scratch in 2014 by the team at Time Out Portugal, with only the best ideas and business projects in Lisbon – according to the editorial team – which can stay in the market from one week to three years. If it’s good, it goes in the magazine, if it’s great, it goes into the market.”
The market contains 26 restaurants, eight bars and a dozen shops. And it’s got a buzz, to be sure.
The choices of what to eat are many.
And what to drink.
I have made many a faux pas on our European adventures, but on this day I would make one of my funniest (for others anyway). Kim and Mary decided on Asian cuisine, whereas Tracy and I found a place with burgers (Ground Burger), which sounded really good about now. I waited in line while Tracy scouted out a spot in the crowded market for us to sit. After ordering, the man at the counter told me to take the buzzer which would alert us when our order was ready. I took it and went in search of the rest of the crew. As I approached Tracy, she gave me the “Look” that could only mean one thing … I had done something idiotic.
Over the noise of the market patrons, she I heard, “Tom, what do you have in your hand?” I answered, “The buzzer.” Shaking her head in disbelief she said, “Tom you don’t have the buzzer. You have the restaurant’s credit card reader in your hand.” Oops. Well, I hightailed it back hoping the Portuguese police were not searching for an American criminal (hopefully they hadn’t contacted the York, England, police). Expecting a not very warm welcome when I returned to the counter, the guy working there just started laughing and said, “I knew you’d be back eventually.”
Tracy’s Philly burger with pickled onions and jalapeños was great as was my Ground Burger with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and a special house made sauce, which I immediately spilled on my freshly laundered shirt. Oh well, I’d worn it enough for now. These were the two best burgers we’ve had this year. Kim and Mary enjoyed their lunch, as well.
They were both a mouthful.
After finishing, we walked around the market for a little while to check it out. This looked like a sweet stop.
We did try tp figure out this sign before we left. Then, just like this guy, we split.
In front of the market it was Tuk Tuk Central, and we hopped on one and took another death-defying trip through the streets of Lisbon. On the way to our next stop, Mary showed off a new way to wear glasses that has yet to catch on in Portugal.
Our Tuk Tuk dropped off us near Livraria Bertrand that has been certified by Guinness World Records as the “world’s oldest operating bookshop.” The book store opened in 1732, although it is not in its original location because the first store was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake.
We wandered through the various rooms, and finally found ourselves back on the street in front of another old store. The Joalharia do Carmo is a relative newcomer compared to Bertrand. The store, which sells “elite exclusive pieces in decorative silver and jewelry” dates back to 1924.
It was a short walk to the Altis Avenida from there, but Tracy thought it might be prudent for me to purchase a hat to protect my head from the sun and jokingly, “to serve as protection in case you tumble again.” As you can see on our next day in Sintra it was quite stylish (ok, maybe not). When Kim saw me exiting the store, he quipped, “When did Frank Sinatra decide to join us?”
Nearing the Elevador de Santa Justa we came across something a little out of the ordinary. Called by some the “Portuguese Banksy,” the mysterious artist Superlinox has, for the past few years, put up some interesting installations in Lisbon and Setubal, a town located about 45 minutes southeast of Lisbon. In June of 2022 she installed a lilac in color sculpture entitled “Sofia,” which is to honor the victims of the war in Ukraine.
Sofia is holding a crumb vacuum cleaner. From the website NIT: “Sofia can’t have a solid opinion about eternity, but there are two things she knows very well: she loves Chiado and she can’t stand crumbs,” describes Superlinox. “She IS a woman full of conviction, self-esteem and self-respect. She’s a diva with a cleaning craze.” 
The four of us took a power nap (not together). We had planned to have pre-dinner wine on the rooftop, but forgot that darned riff raff public was allowed back in on this day, and there was no room at the inn. Instead, we ducked inside Beher (Rua da Prata 249) for some Ibérico ham and libations.
The jámon was tasty, and I opted for a large glass of much-needed freshly-squeezed orange juice to quench my thirst.
Our restaurant on this evening was the charming and rustic Taberna da Baixa.
It was a cozy place complete with a small upstairs dining area.
As we had experienced at every restaurant we dined at in Lisbon, the service was friendly and attentive. Every dish was good. Having already enjoyed jámon at Beher, we headed straight to the entradas. Mary ordered the Arroz de Marisco (Seafood Rice), while Kim went for the Salmão Na Grelha (Grilled Salmon).
Tracy decided upon Bacalhau Á Lagareiro (codfish Lagaeiro style, grilled and served with olive oil and garlic).
I had the Wow! dish, Lombinhos de Porco (Iberian tenderloin pork with Taberna sauce (au jus with wine). It was so good, I needed dessert.
The Baked Apple with Port wine and cinnamon served with a house made passion fruit ice cream finished out a very good meal on our final night.
We wandered the streets of Lisbon on a starry evening to walk off all our food.
It was a beautiful night, and it seemed a little less crowded on this Thursday evening.
Tomorrow we would grab an Uber (we had set that up with our Uber driver earlier today) and travel to Sintra for three nights.
After dropping our luggage at the charming Chalet de Saudade Guest House, we headed toward the Palacio Nacional Sintra where we would meet our guide for a tour of the palace and another attraction, Quinta de Regaleira. Unfortunately, upon arriving at our second stop, we learned a tragedy had closed it down for the day. Our guide took us to another palace for a tour there and then detoured us through the busy part of Sintra. After a wine break on the patio, we met up for dinner with our local Southern Californian neighbors who had purchased a home in Sintra. It was here where a service breakdown made for a rather uncomfortable dining situation.
Next – Chapter Seven: First Day In Sintra – The City of Palaces
Day Seven: Beautiful Residence, The Three-Year Deposit, You Can See The Magic, Isabel Takes Over, The Oldest Palace In Portugal, Unique Tiles, Death At The Quinta, Plan B, Germany In Portugal, Some Great Advice, Wine And Pringles, Where’s Perry? and Will Mary Ever Be Served?
