Portugal in 6 days.. a snapshot tour

Ola! I am back after a 6 day odyssey covering the major cities of Portugal. No time to go to every single part, and no money for that kind of luxury either. However, it was a fulfilling trip which has given me a much need break before I step up momentum for the last lap of my education here.

We visited Porto for 1 day, travelling southwards towards the capital of Portugal Lisbon where we stayed for 3 nights, before heading off for the sunny Southwestern tip of Portugal: Lagos.

Portugal's second city, Porto, enjoys a magnificent position, tumbling down the steep slopes on the North bank of the River Douro. This wonderfully charasmatic city has been occupied for at least 3000 years.

With Hui Min along River Douro in Porto. The bridge in the background is Ponte Dom Luis I.

On the way to one of the port shippers on Vila Nova de Gaia. The city bathed in the setting sun's ray in the background would be Porto.

Croft port shipper. The curious bunch of us in the wine cellar. The port is kept in these huge barrels to age. Note that there is a difference in taste if the port is aged in big barrels (right) and smaller barrels (left). There are even smaller barrels then what you see here.

A little background on port wines: although the grapes for port are grown in the Duoro valley, the ageing process takes place in Vila Nova de Gaia. Each spring following a harvest, the barrels of new wine are transported down river, originally in square rigged boats. (see the photo above!)

(shamefully plagarised from Hui Min): - Wine Tasting at Croft: one of the best thing of the trip is the wine tour and tasting at Croft in Porto. Croft is a Port Wine manufacturing company, established in 1678. We were introduced to the process of making port wine, right from the harvest of grapes grown on Duoro Valley just down the river from Porto, to the bottling of these wine. In the short 20mins of tour, we were over loaded with terms like vintage, tawny, ruby, LBV, etc..

Magnificent view of the river from the middle of Ponte Dom Luis I.

Night view of Porto's waterside. The dinner that even was.. an absolute disaster. Hui min and Eewen's calamari was literally floating inches above the plate b

Lisbon: the capital of Portugal since around 1255, Lisbon is one of Europe's smallest and most atmospheric capitals. Built in a rambling heap on seven hills on the north bank of the Tagus estuary, it has vibrant, multicultural appeal that stems from the large number of immigrants from its former African and Asian colonies. One of ten of Portugal's population live here, creating a livel, Latin atmosphere.

Train ride to Lisbon. Innumerable games of bluff were played in the span of 6 days. I wonder if its a world record =P

There wasn't much time left to do much after we got off the train. Walked around Baixa, the shopping district for a while and went for dinner. Dinner was a lot better than last nights. Still oily, but the food taste so much better, and the ambience was great.

Snapshop of the shopping district. No tripod this year, so my night shots are a trifle shaky.

King Afonso's statue in the foreground, Castelo de Sao Jorge (later) in the background on the hilltop.

First official day in Lisbon. We took a day trip out to Sintra. This is the summer resident of the kings of Portugal. We finally tasted proper Portugese egg tarts in a little (fantastic) cafe on the way uphill.

Palacio Nacional: The royal palace begun construction in the late 14th Century.

On our way up to Castelo dos Mouros (Moor''s Castle). The castle was built in the 9th Centruy, and captured by Afonso Henriques in 1147.

And finally, arriving at the top with fantastic scenic view of the town of Sintra.

We hopped onto the 2.30pm train back to Lisbon, and chionged down to Belem. Bad luck that the next day is a Monday, and these places are closed. Hence we have no choice but to rush through these attractions in short order.

Singapore is not on the map. Hui min attempts to punch a hole in place of it with her finger.

Sunset. I love this shot of the little boy running away from me.

The gals, with the Tower of Belem in the background.

Up the Castelo de Sao Jorge. City of Lisbon in the background.

Zhewei attempting to show the bunch of us how strong he is.

Indian - Portugese mixed cuisine. Less oily, but as salty. Tasty nonetheless =)

At the Parque das Nacoes. The former Expo'98 site has become an open air playground whre Lisboetas flock at weekends to enjoy its restaurants, bars, sculpture gardens and riverside walks.