I cannot begin to describe how giddy I got once I found this non-ship tour. Over 10 hours we'll be exploring spots off the normal tourist traps. Namely we're going to visit
Palace of Quelez and the
Palace of Mafra and otherwise enjoying the southwest coast of Portugal.
Portugal is going through a rebirth. After having gone through war / coup (4x in the last 70 years), being declared bankrupt and having to take an extreme high-rate loan from the European Union the country is slowly getting to infrastructure work that is decades behind. As a result, tourists are now finally coming. Tourism is now the #1 industry for employment. Like the US, China and India have killed the previous blue collar jobs. The average person skimps by on $19,000 a year in income.
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I was very confused this morning seeing the SF Bay Bridge |
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Their version of Christ the Redemer, created to signify their staying neutral in WW2. They never never bombed nor attacked |
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Welcome to the new cruise terminal with the 'bay bridge' in the background. |
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Palace of Quelez, built in 1747, this was the summer retreat to
Queen Maria I and served as her final home before she turned mad. It was also one of the last Rococo palaces to be built in Europe.
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Yes, the king hired the artists the made Versailles to reproduce his own hall of mirrors |
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Hall of murals |
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Ironic this mural is here as the kings made a significant amount of their wealth from slave trade |
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The result of no maintenance done on these buildings since 1919 after the revolution |
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My gosh these people can do glass |
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Can't have a palace without your own canal |
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The level of detail in the tile work even after 200 years |
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Tiles are used everywhere mostly to help guard buildings against the constant humidity from the coast |
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They even tiled inside the canal |
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I mentioned tourism is the #1 employer now of the people here. Surfing is a significant employer in many towns.
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The local swimming hole |
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.. though I'd advise against it today |
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Freezing water, 55 degrees |
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Huge fresh grilled swordfish , $11 |
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$1 scoops of fresh gelato |
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Such a quaint town, Ericeira |
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Palace of Mafra, a baroque monastery, built in 1717
out of only limestone and marble, was built to commemorate the birth of
the first daughter to King John . It was suppose to be a small dwelling
for 13 friars but once Portugal began plundering gold from Brazil the
building started growing drastically. Construction of this one palace
nearly bankrupted the nation of Portugal. At one point building this
palace employed 45,000 people. It is the 24th largest palace on earth,
722 foot long facade, has 1200 rooms and 156 staircases and was hoped
it'd rival the most regal buildings in Rome.
It was
interesting to learn during the tour this is the least visited palace
yet it the largest and was the most expensive to build. Apparently
people don't come here because the mayor of this town doesn't believe in
spending money on tourism to attract tour groups. A lot of the building is off limits to the public as the military occupies 3/4th of it still (was cheaper moving in here than renting space after the revolution of 1910). The other mayors do
thus why no one goes here.
This
impressive building holds a library that is 288 feet long, 33 feet
wide, 44 feet high and holds more than 35000 books from the 14th to 19th
century (use to hold 60000 before the royal family fled with some of
the books due to the Napoleonic Wars). It was such an important library
that Pope Benedict XIV declared anyone taking a book without permission
from the king would be excommunicated. This library also houses a list
of books banned by the Catholic Church for being anti-clerical and
heretical. After the civil war in the early 1900's the military moved in and sold or destroyed many of the original pieces. Since Portugal is still semi-bankrupt they slowly do work / get pieces returned as cash comes in.
----- 360 degree image goes here -----
This is our first late night in a port. We're not leaving until 10pm so we can see how beautiful this town is with the lights on. Would I recommend Portugal to someone? Yes. People are friendly, food and especially wine, is very cheap. It may be a little hard getting here but I think you'd enjoy it.
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It's shower then SF but a good copy |
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The town plaza |
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Guard tower (which does have canons) |
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Tomorrow - sea day then the port that was the biggest reason many I spoke to booked this trip - Morocco.
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