Category Archives: Architecture

The Truffle Fair

February 20, 2015 Rosemary Kneipp 6 Comments

We’re up at the crack of dawn (well, for a Saturday anyway) to join Susan and Simon from Days on the Claise at our first truffle fair in Touraine, a couple of hours away. Not chocolate truffles, but the mythical mushrooms.

Chanterelles and amethysts found in the State forest

As you know we are keen mushroom pickers. The proximity of a State forest was even one of our criteria when we started looking for an area to retire to. Blois stood out because it is surrounded by forests in which we have the right to go mushroom gathering, unlike Sologne where you can be chased out of the woods.

But we never find truffles. Only carefully-trained pigs and dogs can do so. They are mostly found under truffle oaks which can be planted but it takes six or seven years before the first crop appears.

We arrive in the little village of Marigny-Marmande but there are no signs indicating a truffle fair. We see some other people walking around so ask them. They, too, are looking for the truffle fair. We park next to the church and send a message to Susan. Within a few minutes, Simon turns up and tells us to get back in the car and follow them.

Still no signs indicating the way. We turn left down a very unlikely road and come to a sort of community hall. When we get out, Susan tells us that when they have the truffle markets before Christmas, the whole parking area is full of vendors.

We enter and see a man sitting at a trestle table so I assume we have to pay to get in. No, he laughs, he’s selling truffle oaks. I am immediately interested but the waiting time for the first crop seems a little far ahead (several years) and we probably don’t have the right soil. Neither do we have a truffle dog. We could hire one but the distance might prove a little prohibitive.

I leave Jean Michel to it and go into the hall. There are about six or seven truffle stands, a beekeeper, a spice seller, a saffron vendor and a couple of other stands that I can’t remember.

Susans tells me that the Marigny-Marmande truffles are black truffles Tuber melanosporum, or truffes in French, which are found in France, Italy and Spain, growing in the earth in a symbiotic relationship with broadleaf deciduous trees, mainly oak. They are harvested from November to January.

The first truffle vendor is very friendly and willing to answer all our questions. We see there are two qualities of truffles. He explains that the more expensive ones (first category), which cost a mere 800 euros a kilo, are whole, wheras the second category, at 700 euros a kilo, are missing bits but the actual taste is the same. At the Christmas markets, Susan tells us, the prices are higher – 800 to 1000 euros a kilo.

He cuts us off a shaving to taste. He also explains that once they are dug out the ground, they only stay fresh for about a week. They should be firm and not soft. We can freeze them, he reassures us.

We wander around the other stands. At one of the them, a man accosts me and asks me if I know the difference between first and second category. I reel off my explanation without hesitation and he is suitably impressed, but I don’t like being sollicited. We’ll buy our truffles from the first man. They are also selling truffle slicers but I don’t think we’ll be buying enough truffles to need a special slicer!

Second category truffles and the truffle slicer

Another stand is selling books about truffles. There is an explanation about how they train the dogs. One lady used to always hide three truffles when she was teaching the dog the find them. Once it had learnt what to do (and didn’t eat the truffles!), she took him to the truffle plantation. However, as soon as he found three truffles, he would stop for the day!

We eventually return to our truffle vendor and choose two small truffles, one to use fresh and the other to freeze. We’re intending to put some in next year’s foie gras! The total cost is about 70 euros which is a bit extravagant but I have fond memories of little bottles of truffles in oil we bought in Umbria and used to put in mashed potato. Delicious!

The truffle oak field — A young truffle oak field

When we’ve bought our truffles we set off for Richelieu where we’re meeting up with two other English speakers for lunch. On the way, we go past several fields of young truffle oaks.

We have visited Richelieu before and enjoyed it. It was designed by Cardinal Richelieu in the 17th century as an ideal city and is based on a grid plan.

Many of the houses, unfortunately, need renovating but the overall impression is interesting. The rafters of the big market hall have been completely refurbished and are most impressive.

It’s really a little cold to linger in the streets for long so we go to a likely-looking café for an aperitif. It’s obviously a favourite with the soccer crowd.

Simon and Susan in front of the soccer trophies

We make our way to the Auberge Le Cardinal for lunch. Nothing wonderful, but there isn’t much culinary choice in Richelieu. As the lunch continues, I start feeling very much under the weather. I swap places at dessert and sit next to Susan, unfortunately for her, because you may have guessed it – I’m coming down with the flu and probably at my most contagious. She and I are both still worn out and coughing a whole month later.

Auberge Le Cardinal in Richelieu where we had lunch

We forego the visit of the lovely gardens that we cycled through last time we were here and I go home to bed. We end up freezing both of the truffles because I am certainly not up to appreciating them and it seems a great pity to waste such gourmet, not to mention, expensive ingredients, on someone with the flu …

Architecture, Art, Food, Restaurants, Sightseeing, Spain

Sun and Snow in the Albaicin in Granada

February 5, 2015 Rosemary Kneipp 11 Comments

Snow has been predicted but when we wake up, there is no sign of it. We walk up Cuesta Alhacaba, our double hill road, to Casa Pasteles on Plaza Larga for breakfast. There’s a market today – one clothes stand and a fruit and vegetable stand! We go for the tostado medio and have trouble understanding how much we have to pay : 7.70 euro, which somehow seems a very strange amount.

We walk down the other side of the Albaicin quarter through tiny winding streets, the sky dramatic with its bright sun, deep blue and menacing clouds. I’m starting to get the feel of Granada which has escaped me up until now. A word we keep seeing is Carmen, derived from the Arabic for a garden planted with vines. In Granada, it means a villa. I’d love to see behind the high iron gates.

Our first destination is the 11th century Bañuelo, one of the oldest surviving and best-conserved baths in Andalucia and the oldest public building in Granada. It was not destroyed during the Christian era because it is underneath a private dwelling. We have the place to ourselves and are impressed by the sheer size of the baths although their tiles have long disappeared.

Banuelo, Granada's oldest public building — Banuelo, Granada’s oldest public building

As we walk past Plaza Nueva, I connect it up with the touristy place at the bottom of the Alhambra from the day before. Granada seems to have no centre.

Having coffee in the sun - at last! — Having coffee in the sun – at last!

After having our only outdoor coffee since the beginning of our stay in Granada, we visit the Royal Chapel and I’m astonished to see how terrible some of the wall paintings are although the faces of the sculptures on the ornate altar are finely carved.

We walk quickly through the modern souk in Alcaiceria, that replaced the original medina after it burnt down in 1843, and is now a craft market with lots of souvenir shops. We cross over Gran Via de Colon and start walking up the little streets to the Albaicin.

By the time we get to Plaza Aliatar, I’m more than ready for lunch – well, a rest in any case. We choose Bañeao with its 3-course menu at 9.50 euro and hope for the best. We are served a tapa consisting of a small fried egg surrounded by some sort of dried peas or beans, followed by what look like eggplant French fries, then grilled squid with salad. I have the somewhat liquid rice custard. People keep running outside to see the whispy little bits of snow that are falling.

It’s late afternoon and the snow has finally started, light at first, then gradually heavier. By the time we venture out to buy food for dinner, it’s snowing quite heavily and wetly. The paving stones are a little slippery as well.

When we look out the window next morning, we see there is still snow on the ground, especially on our terrace, but the sky is bright blue so we head over to our favourite Mirador San Nicolas.

It hasn’t snowed enough to turn the Alhambra white but the glinting rooftops and snow-covered orange trees are lovely. It’s biting cold though.

We make our way down the hill towards the university quarter where we’re going to visit the Carthusian Monastery and are delighted by the views of the city spread out before us.

From the outside, the Cartuja reminds me of the Cartosa near Milan, one of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen. The inside is very ornate with multi-coloured marble and polychrome wood drapery. Unfortunately photos are not allowed.

Former royal hospital, now Granada university

On the way back, we discover a new area we haven’t been to before and visit the former royal hospital, now the University of Granada. It consists of a series of beautiful white patios but no students. Maybe it’s holiday time.

We debate whether or not to eat downtown or up in the Albaicin and decide on the latter. As before, the views from the tiny winding streets are stunning but exhausting and it’s still very cold with little pockets of snow on the ground in some places.

We end up again on Plaza Aliatar and try the other restaurant, Horno de Paquito (horno = oven) which ostensibly has the same menu but turns out to have a lot more deep-fried dishes. We order a vino tinto followed by a vino roja, although we’re not sure what the difference is!

After our well-earned siesta, we suddenly look outside and see there’s a magnificent sunset. We quickly get dressed, but by the time we are rugged up and ready to leave, the sunset’s nearly over. I nearly burst my chest getting up another of those hills but we are five minutes late. Maybe we’ll do better tomorrow.

Architecture, Art, Restaurants, Sightseeing, Spain

Sunny Spain and the Alhambra

February 3, 2015 Rosemary Kneipp 17 Comments

We’ve booked our tickets for the Alhambra ahead of time on ticketmaster.es and collected them in a Servi Caixa terminal to avoid the queues. We know this from Barcelona. This is a great idea when there are lots of tourists but unfortunately it means you can’t choose the weather. Today it’s overcast and sometimes drizzly although we have a fleeting patch of blue sky mid-morning. The next sun is predicted for Thursday.

At about ten, after eating a boiled egg and a yoghurt at home, we walk down our double hill and left onto Gran Via de Colon, the main street of Granada. The first place we choose for coffee doesn’t have any tables left. This is a common occurrence during peak breakfast hour in Granada. Fortunately there is another place across the road with lots of tables.

We order our espresso and freshly squeezed orange juice, then tostados and tomate which are even bigger than yesterday. We pour over olive oil as we’ve seen the other other patrons do. Jean Michel finishes off my second one. It’s costs us a whopping 3.50 euro each.

Then we set off for the Alhambra which is on top of another hill. This world heritage site consists of a palace and fortress mainly rebuilt in the 11th century by a Moorish emir called Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar and converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada. After falling into disrepair it was rediscovered in the 19th century by European scholars and travellers.

By the time we get to the top of the steep hill at 11.30 and discover we’re at the wrong entrance for our tickets I need a very long rest as I am still tired from my flu. We find a restaurant where we can just have coffee because even by French standards it’s way too early for lunch and we can’t get into the Nasrid Palace until 2 pm. There is a welcome fire blazing in a brick fireplace. So much for sunny Spain!

I slowly recuperate while Jean Michel reads the guide book and we eventually ask for the menu. I order an eggplant salad and Jean Michel a Caesar salad and we both have our customary dry white wine (though I did have a red with my baby lamb cutlets yesterday which also went will with Jean Michel’s ox tail).

I’ll just make a slight digression here about the ox-tail which is a typical Andalusian dish during bull-fight season which obviously results in large amounts of bull’s meat.

The eggplant salad turns out to be slices of eggplant cooked in filo pastry – it’s very hard to get away from deep fried food here – on a bed of lettuce, hard tomatoes and capers with a sprinkling of parmesanand a large amount of mayonnaise.

We walk back down to the correct entrance and wander around the gardens waiting for 2 pm. We can see the Mirador San Nicolas opposite where we took our photos of the Alhambra the day before. It’s at the top of our double hill road. We can also see the troglodyte houses in the side of the hill.

One of the many beautifully carved archways

We begin our visit of the Alhambra. It’s full of people taking photos of each other in front of every single visible arch which somehow detracts from the atmosphere. There is no furniture, but mainly intricately carved Arabic inscriptions in the form of geometrical patterns, with painted tiles on the walls. I have to confess it’s all a bit repetitive for me and it is absolutely freezing cold as well.

Opposite windows looking over an inside garden

I do like the different patios with their fountains and greenery which are no doubt a welcome break from the steamy hot weather that most people experience in Grenada.

One of the many keyhole views overlooking the surrounding countryside

The path out of the palace takes us through more gardens and past stunning views of Grenada to the Palace of the Generalife and the Upper Gardens which we also try to imagine in the warmer weather.

We finally emerge an hour and a half later (the visit is supposed to take 3 hours). It’s spitting and we’re cold. Let’s find somewhere to have hot chocolate and churros we both decided of a common accord.

In the gardens walking towards the Generalife

We ignore the touristy places at the bottom of the hill and head for Gran Via de Colon. On the left we see a promising-looking place appropriately called Via Colon. We order our chocolate and churros and sit back in eager expectation. We have very fond memoires of eating the same thing in a very famous place in Madrid called Chocolateria San Giné.

The hot chocolat, which arrives first, is OK but the churros are very disappointing. They are large and a bit tough and SALTY. We coat them with sugar and dip them in our hot chocolate but it doesn’t improve them much. Jean Michel orders a chocolate cake with a strange spice in it to get rid of the salty taste. I reckon we might have done better in one of those touristy places after all!

Architecture, Australia, Germany, Italy, Loire Valley châteaux, Portugal, Travelling

Travelling Highlights of 2014 and ideas for 2015

January 6, 2015 Rosemary Kneipp 12 Comments

Venice, Germany and Lisbon, in that order, outside France, and Turquant near Chinon, closer to home.

Saying "spaghetti" at the end of our wonderful gondola ride — Saying “spaghetti” at the end of our wonderful gondola ride

Venice comes first because of our wonderful gondola experience (which sounds very touristy I know) and all our other less touristy visits as it was our second time in the Floating City. Strange as it may seem, it was not until I had read my way through Donna Leon’s 23 Commissioner Brunetti crime novels a few months later that it became really apparent to me that there are no cars in Venice.

I see Venice as being full of canals and bridges and boats and alleyways rather than being without cars. I was fascinated by all the different types of boats and activities on the canal. Last time we were there, I had a foot problem and we spent a lot of time on the vaporettos. This time, we did a lot more walking.

Next, Germany, where we cycled for a month, first along the Moselle River, then the Rhine, followed by the Elbe, which took as into the former East Germany then up to the North Sea and Friesland, chasing the sun and windmills.

Highlights included Lorley and Koblenz on the Rhine, the Bastei Rocks and Honigstein in the area known as Saxon Switzerland near the Czech border, Dresden (particularly the singing drainpipes in Kunstof Passage) and Meissen known for its porcelain, Martin Luther country and the surprising architecture of Hundertwasser, the Wörlitz Gardens, Turgermünde, which we dubbed the prettiest village on the Elbe, the mediaeval towns of Celle and Bremen, the painted façades of Hann Münden, the windmills and dykes in Friesland, the hidden treasure of Bernkastel, and historical Trier, the oldest town in Germany.

The street façade of Hundertwasser's Green Citadel. — The street façade of Hundertwasser’s Green Citadel.

Our Danube cycling trip in 2013, including the Wachau and Budapest, is still my favourite though. The scenery is stunning and we had near-perfect weather.

September found us in Lisbon which we loved when the sun come out but found somewhat seedy when it rained, which was more often than not. The best surprise was the marvellous monastery of Jeronimos in Belem, which is among the five places in the world that have left an indelible mark on me. The others are Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, Tasman National Park in Australia and Rila Monastery in Bulgaria.

Beautiful lacework on the arcades at Jeronimos Monastery

Lisbon is a city of vistas and tiles and we even bought some 18th century azulejos to incorporate into our future kitchen. The other place we really enjoyed was Sintra with its beautiful palace and hilltop castles.

We didn’t go very far afield in France this year, because we spent a lot of time cycling along the many paths around Blois and the neighbouring châteaux of Chambord, Chaumont and Cheverny, but we did go to Turquant on the Loire not far from Saumur for a surprisingly early cycling weekend in March.

The famous kitchen at Fontevraud l'Abbaye — The famous kitchen at Fontevraud l’Abbaye

We went back to visit the austere and beautiful 12th century abbey of Fontevraud with its extraordinary kitchens.

However the real find was the restored troglodyte village of Souzay Champigny which we literally stumbled upon on the bike path between Saumur and Turquant.

An 18th century pigeon house in the troglodyte village of Souzay Champigny

Our first trip in 2015 will be to Granada for a week at the end of January to soak up the Spanish atmosphere of Andalucia, which we discovered (and loved) in Seville a few years ago and get some much-needed sun.

We have a home-exchange in Istanbul to redeem, but haven’t fixed the dates yet.

With Black Cat now living in New York I would like to visit the city through her eyes and take in Boston as well.

With Black Cat on the opening day of the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris

I’m still hoping to go to Australia before the end of the year but don’t know yet whether that will eventuate.

This summer may be a series of short cycling trips, along the lines of Turquant, as we plan to renovate the kitchen and add at least one large and several small windows to bring in more light. And, as everyone knows, renovation always takes far longer than expected!

What are your travelling plans for 2015?

Architecture, Loire Valley châteaux, Uncategorized

Château de Chaumont in Winter

December 29, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 11 Comments

I’m off to visit Château de Chaumont with Black Cat and the Flying Dutchman. I suggest we park along the Loire and take the front entrance to the castle. Not a good idea. It’s closed so we have to walk a kilometer up the hill at a nearly freezing 2°C. Stoic, the Flying Dutchman does not complain about leaving his earmuffs behind.

View of an island in the Loire from inside the castle

We take the back entrance, next to the parking lot where we usually leave the car, and walk through the gardens towards the château which is just as beautiful as it usually is, despite the cold, because at least the sky is a wan blue.

Chaumont has a spectacular view of the Loire River below. It initially belonged to Catherine de Medicis but after the death of her husband Henri II in 1560, she swapped it with Henri’s mistress, Diane de Poitiers, for Chenonceau. Diane was understandably very disappointed in the exchange and preferred living in the Château d’Anet to the west of Paris.

There are not many people which is always pleasant when visiting and I am surprised to discover that there are lots of things I missed the last time.

In the Ruggieri Room assigned to Catherine de Medicis’s personal astrologer, I suddenly realise the connection with the Astrological Tower near the old Commodities Market (Bourse du Commerce) in Paris where we used to live.

We then closely examine a series of seventy medaillons and eight moulds produced in the 18th century by the Italian artist Jean-Baptiste Nini. The delicately sculpted medaillons depict celebrities of the time such as Louis XV, Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and Benjamin Franklin as well as members of the Leray famille, who owned the château at the time, and the local bourgoisie – doctors, lawyers, etc.

The aristocratic nose of Charles III of Spain

The beautiful 17th century majolica floor in the Council Room which originated in Collutio Palace in Palerma in Sicily and acquired by the last owners, the Boglie family, provokes an interesting discussion about transporting art and archeological works from other countries.

At another point we spend time looking at old photographs of the Broglie family showing the fashions and moustaches of the time. When Princess Henri-Amédée de Broglie, the granddaughter of sugar magnate, Louis Say, first saw Château de Chaumont as a child, she immediately declared “Je veux ça, je veux ça” (I want that). In 1875, at the age of 17, she became the owner of the castle and the one thousand and so hectares around it. Hard to imagine.

One of the giant cedars in the park surrounding the Château, seen through a grisaille window

It’s closing time before we know it so we walk very quickly down the hill in the cold spurring each other on with thoughts of tea and Christmas cake in front of the fire!

Architecture, Paris

A Welcome Break from Packing – my Daughter and the Fondation Louis Vuitton

October 30, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 14 Comments

For the last week, I have been packing, moving and unpacking virtually non-stop, with the wonderful exception of Monday between 10 am and 2.30 pm which I spent with my daughter on a flying visit from New York visiting the Fondation Louis Vuitton, an extraordinary building that I will describe when I am not feeling quite so exhausted. In the mean time, here are a couple of photos. For any of you who read my other blog, Loire Daily Photo, I have a technical problem that is keeping me from posting. I hope it will be resolved soon.

Accommodation, Architecture, Loire Valley, Restaurants

A Significant Birthday or Taking a Pensioner Out to Dinner

October 13, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 14 Comments

Entrance to Manoir de Contres (photo courtesy of http://www.manoirdecontres.com)

I’m always on the look-out for new restaurants to try so when my friend and neighbour Françoise mentions the Manoir de Contres in Sologne, I immediately note the name in my iPhone for Jean Michel’s next most significant birthday – the one corresponding to his retirement and our move to Blois!

Contres is about 45 minutes by car due south of Blois so night is falling when we arrive. As we drive into the grounds, we can just see the beautiful early 19th century brick and stone manor house with its many turrets and gables. It was built in 1818 in the style of Louis XII and modelled on the Louis XII wing of the Blois Royal Castle combining the Gothic tradition with the early Italianate influence.

Day time view of the Manoir (photo courtesy of http://www.manoirdecontres.com)

We are welcomed by the owner, Maria Orsenne, originally from Hambourg, and taken through to the beautiful living room with its large fire place, sculpted doors and painted ceiling, which we later see is actually papered. What a clever idea!

The manoir has had a somewhat chequered existence, we learn, changing hands every 30 or 40 years. Maria and her husband Victor bought the château in 2010 and turned the main house and garden pavilion into a hotel. We are sorry not to be able to visit the lovely grounds.

The living room with its carved doors and painted ceiling

We sip our fine bulles (fine sparkling wine) from Saumur and read about the history of the Manoir then we consult the menu. We can choose between the Menu of the Day (3 courses, 32 euro, starter + main or main + dessert 35 euro) or the 4-course Autumn Menu for 43 euro. We are told that everything is prepared in the manoir kitchens from fresh produce by Victor Orsenne and his team.

A close-up of the painted ceiling which is actually papered.

We choose the Autumn Menu, starting with foie gras, followed by medallion of venison with chanterelle mushrooms and spaetzle (the hunting season has begun), a selection cheeses and a hot vanilla soufflé.

Maria suggests we have a glass of semi-sweet local wine with our foie gras and a glass of côt de Touraine with our venison. We’re happy with the choice.

Our meal is enjoyable and the service is friendly and discreet. The venison is not too strong and the spaetzle (noodles boiled in water or broth then pan fried in butter) remind us of our recent cycling holiday in Germany. The vanilla soufflé is mouth-watering!

Jean Michel's enticing vanilla soufflé — Jean Michel’s enticing vanilla soufflé

When I take the bill, I explain to the young man serving us that it is Jean Michel’s retirement birthday. Maria then appears with a little Villeroy & Bosch dish with the logo of the manor house on it as a souvenir.

We are able to reassure Françoise that her recommendation was worth taking up. We plan to come back again in the summer and have lunch on the terrace!

Manoir de Contres, 23 Rue des Combattants d’Afrique du Nord, 41700 Contres, FRANCE.
Tel. +33 254 784 539, info@manoirdecontres.com, http://www.manoirdecontres.com/english/welcome.html

Architecture, Art, Flowers & gardens, Portugal, Sightseeing

Lisbon – an iconic tram, a hilltop castle, La Fontaine’s fables and a sublime view

September 29, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 12 Comments

It’s an intermittent fast day so we prepare a picnic to eat in nearby Estrela Gardens with their exotic trees and shrubs and 19th century bandstand, obviously a Saturday rendez-vous for the locals.

The bandstand in Estrela Gardens — The 19th century bandstand in Estrela Gardens, originally located on Avenida da Liberdade and moved here in 1936.

There’s even an outdoor cinema. What a pity it’s in Portuguese or we could come back in the evening and conjure up childhood memories of sitting under the stars on canvas seats at Magnetic Island in North Queensland, particularly with all the tropical trees around us.

Open-air cinema with the Estrela Basilica in the background

Just opposite the park is the imposing Estrela Basilica but there is a mass inside so we don’t visit – it doesn’t look any different from most of the other churches we’ve seen in Lisbon anyway.

Basilica da Estrela built in the 1780s, impossible to photograph without the tram lines!

Instead we take the famous n° 28 tram which is a great favourite with tourists so is usually completely full. But this is the terminus even though the tram does a loop so we manage to get a seat. If you are on the tram and want to continue you have to get out and walk to the next stop a few metres further on.

Alfama in the sun – with lots more people!

As we’re almost at the beginning of the queue, we both get a single seat on the right. It takes us up the hill to the cathedral and through the Alfama quarter we visited in the rain but as today is fine and sunny, there are a lot more people. We decide to stay on the tram until the second terminus.

Tram 28 at the Graça terminus — Tram 28 at the Largo da Graça terminus

With a big clunk, the tram stops and the driver announces finished. Some of the people look completely bewildered because they don’t know about moving along to the next stop. Jean Michel checks the map and says we’re in Largo da Graça and we can walk to the Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, which we also visited in the rain. It, too, is full of people today.

You can see the castle on the hill on the left from the esplanade in front of — You can see the castle on the hill on the left from Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner Adrensen, the esplanade in front of Graça church

However, it still offers the best view of the castle on the next hill over. Up and down we go until we reach a very decrepit area that is part of the Alfama but last time we came from the opposite direction and it didn’t look nearly as bad.

The Disoriented Pavilion by Camila Cañeque, 1984

We walk around the ramparts of the castle but they are hidden by more delapidated housing. We walk through a tiny street and come out on an a vacant alotment with masses of artificial flowers. This, we learn from the sign, is a work of art called the Disoriented Pavilion by Camila Cañeque, Spain, 1984. Taking “disappointment as a starting point, the sign explains, her art interrogates unending paradoxes on how humans create and modify the cultural/material landscape they inhabit”. Yes, well …

Crowds in front of the entrance to the castle walls

The castle is surrounded by souvenir shops and cafés. There is a long queue even to visit the grounds so, instead, we decide to go to the nearby 17th century Mosteiro de São Vicente de Foro (Monastery of Saint Vincent outside the walls), renowned for its azulejos and in particular a collection illustrating La Fontaine’s fables.

Bougainvillia-coverd courtyard of Monastero — Bougainvillia-coverd courtyard of Monasteiro de São Vicente de Foro

We give the church a miss and enter the monastery via a bougainvillea-covered courtyard. Inside are two-storey cloisters with blue and white azulejos on every wall. There is virtually no one in sight.

The two-storey cloisters with their azulejos

Various rooms lead off the cloisters, including a lugubre royal pantheon of the Braganza monarchs and a marquetry marble chapel.

The mausoleum at the Monastery — The mausoleum of the Braganza monarchs in Saint Vincent’s Monastery

A staircase with azulejos on both sides leads up to the La Fontaine collection on the first floor. I don’t recognise any of the 38 fables but our guide book tells us that many of them are relatively obscure. I like the one about the astrologer who is so busy looking at the stars that he falls into a well.

The astrologer falling in the well because he's looking at the sky — The astrologer falling in the well because he’s looking at the sky

By now, my feet are aching but we remember that the lady who sold us the tickets said there was a good view from the roof terrace. Good is not the word – it is breathtaking. We can see the National Pantheon, Alfama, the Tagus River and rooftops of Lisbon spread out before us.

The view of the Tagus and rooftops of Lisbon from the Monastery

There are lots of columns on top of the balustrades that remind me very much of Gaudi’s chimneys, especially the ones on Guell Palace. This is not the first time that I am reminded of Gaudi in Lisbon.

The pinacles on the rooftop of the Monastery

We walk back to Largo da Graça to get the n° 28 tram down to our bus in the historical centre. We’ve only been in it for a few minutes before it comes to a stop. The driver climbs down to check the tyre of a big black stationwagon badly parked halfway up the pavement next to us. We can’t get past because the tyre is turned outwards.

As the passengers don’t believe we can’t get past, the driver, who seems very young, gets out with a template and shows that it’s impossible. He blows his horn very loudly for a long time but nothing happens.The next tram soon pulls up behind us so the drivers have a conflab. Our driver gets back into the tram and phones the police. There is a lot of photo-taking and questioning from the passagers, most of whom are tourists.

I whip out my dictionary and ask the Portuguese lady behind me if this happens frequentemente. She shakes her head. Eventually the driver tells us in English that it’s going to take an hour for the police to come and tow away the car. People start to leave the tram including ourselves.

Not enough distance between the tram and the car tyre

Then several men all try to lift the car out of the way. Jean Michel joins them and they manage to move it enough to let the tram go past. Everyone cheers. The driver gets back into the tram and edges his way forward. We all breathe a sigh of relief!

Architecture, Art, Flowers & gardens, Portugal, Restaurants

Sintra – A Lovely Palace and a Yellow Monster

September 22, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 8 Comments

We’ve checked the weather and it looks like it isn’t going to rain. We walk down to Rossio Station to take the train to Sintra. We’re amazed to see the long queue of people, even at the ticket machines. We soon understand why – the system is quite complicated because of the Via Viagem travel card.

If all these people are going to Sintra, I think, it’s going to be very busy. However, we easily get a seat, the windows are clean (unlike the train to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris!) and it is a comfortable 40 minutes to our destination. As soon as we get out of the train, it feels like we’re in a different part of the world.

The charm that is often lacking in Lisbon abounds in Sintra. It’s cooler and we are surrounded by what looks like a tropical forest. We stop for coffee and a cake at a little café opposite a house covered in bougainvillea. I order a cappuccino for the first and last time. Jean Michel wants a bigger cake than the pastel de nata that I choose. It turns out to contain ham …

House with bougainvillea opposite our tea shop

To quote the Unesco World Heritage Site: “In the 19th century Sintra became the first centre of European Romantic architecture. Ferdinand II turned a ruined monastery into a castle where this new sensitivity was displayed in the use of Gothic, Egyptian, Moorish and Renaissance elements and in the creation of a park blending local and exotic species of trees. Other fine dwellings, built along the same lines in the surrounding serra , created a unique combination of parks and gardens which influenced the development of landscape architecture throughout Europe.”

An unusual building near the train station in Sintra — A very romantic-looking building near the train station in Sintra

We start walking up the hill towards the castle. The promenade is quite delightful, with forest on both sides and modern sculptures and views of the palace and town along the way.

The white royal palace with its two tall chimneys looms into sight. It was probably constructed on the site of the Moorish Alcazar and its buildings result from two main periods (15th and 16th centuries). We buy a double ticket to the palace and nearby Pema Castle for 22 euro each and begin our visit.

The first thing I see are what look like leather Henri II chairs and a table, similar to those in Blois castle. We go from one room to the next, admiring the beautiful azulejos tiles of which there is a different set in each room, the unusual ceilings and intricately carved furniture, harmoniously blending Gothic, Moorish and Renaissance elements.

Henri II table with azulejos in the background — Henri II table and chairs with azulejos in the background

Lovely little patios lead off the main rooms and there are views in every direction.

My favourite is the breathtaking Heraldry Room, built in 1515 to 1518, with its magnificent coffered domed ceiling. It reminds me of the beautiful rococco libraries along the Danube, such as Melk and Wiblingen Abbeys, except that the scenes on the walls are blue and white tiles.

The Heraldry Room with its beautiful blue and white azulejos

I also love the Galley Room whose painted ceiling depicts various sailing ships representing the great discoveries.

By the time we finish it’s 1.30 and time for lunch. We wander off into the very touristy old town, with its steep little streets and I eventually see a sign saying Miradouro (panorama) providing an excellent view of the palace and surrounding countryside, including the steeple in the second photo.

View from the Miradouro da Villa restaurant

There is also a little restaurant called Miradouro da Villa that still has a free table on the minute terrace. We are soon esconced on our high stools and can watch other people coming to “ooh” and “aah” over the view and take selfies.

A little cherub on the road up to the restaurant

We order pork spare ribs, rice and salad and a ½ bottle of local red wine. There are no half-bottles left so the waiter suggests wine by the glass, although he warns us to drink it slowly so it won’t go to our head! One glass doesn’t seem to do much harm and although it has no nose it is a dark red and full bodied.

My favourite azulejos in Sintra National Palace

At 28.40 euros for both of us, including olives and coffee, the restaurant with its beautiful view and quiet surroundings is an excellent choice.

Now we’re ready for the next part of our visit – Pena Palace, the most visited monument in Portugal. We take a return ticket for the local hop on, hop off bus which stops at the train station and in front of the tourist office in Sintra (tickets on board) (5 euros each). For the entire 15-minute ride to the palace, up a steep winding road, it pelts with rain! Just as we reach the bus stop, the rain stops. Good timing indeed.

We have the choice of either walking for 15 minutes up a pleasant path to the palace or taking a 3 euro bus. We walk of course.

By now, the palace is more visible. It looks like a pink and yellow Walt Disney castle and I think it is ghastly. Built in the 19th century, it is considered to be a work of pure Romanticism, designed by the Portuguese architect Possidónio da Silva.

Inside, however, are the richly decorated church, two-storey cloister and refectory of the monastery built by King Manuel 1 and donated to the order of Saint Jerome following a visit by King John II in 1493, accompanied by his wife Queen Leonor, who made a pilgrimage to a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena built, it seems, after an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

The cloisters of the original monastery over which Pena castle was built

For centuries, Pena was a small, quite place of meditation, housing a maximum of eighteen monks. I wonder what they would say if they could see the Disney castle and swarms of tourists today!

Both the monks and royal family certainly enjoyed a wonderful view

Lightning first damaged the monastery in the 18th century but the famous earthquake of 1755 reduced it to ruins. The marble and alabaster chapel, however, remained relatively unscathed.

The "family room" with its Islamic arches — The “family room” with its Islamic and Renaissance features

It was left to rack and ruin until 1838 when the young prince Ferdinand who was a bit of a nature lover acquired the old monastery and much of the surrounding land. He turned it into a palace to be used as a summer residence for the Portuguese royal family. The work was entrusted to a German mining engineer, Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, which is why it is reminiscent of some of the castles along the Rhine.

One of the beautiful vaulted ceilings inside the castle

The King suggested that vaulted arches and mediaeval and Islamic elements be included and Queen Maria looked after a lot of the decoration and symbolism.

We decide not to visit the nearby Palace of Montserrate designed for Sir Francis Cook by the distinguished British architect, James Knowles Jr, an example of mid-19th-century eclecticism, combining neo-Gothicism with substantial elements derived from the architecture of India. Two palaces are enough in one day.

Instead, we walk down a fairly steep path to pick up the hop on hop off bus at the second last stop as we think there might be quite a few people waiting at the main entrance at this time of the day, but we needn’t have worried. There is plenty of room. We arrive at the station just as our train is about to pull out. Back at Rossio Station, we have time to enjoy the artwork on the walls.

How to Get to Sintra: Trip Advisor has excellent advice. Click here.

To use the Via Viagem card: See the metrolisboa website

Architecture, Art, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Eastern Europe, Germany, Sightseeing

Five Unforgettable Places I Have Visited

September 18, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 7 Comments

When we discovered Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon recently, I added it to the list of places that have left an indelible mark on me because they were totally unexpected and totally overwhelming. At the same time, I was asked to participate in the Booked.net – Top Destinations to Go challenge by Anda from Travel Notes and Beyond. Choosing just five places was a hard task so Jean Michel and I pooled our favourites, which include both man-made and natural wonders.

The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

The interior of Gaudi’s Basilica of the Holy Family is absolutely dazzling, breathtaking, overwhelming. There are no words to describe it and no photo to do it justice. It is the most amazing well of light imaginable. The brightly coloured stained glass windows that would be gaudy anywhere else are quite superb.

Gaudi was only 31 when he began working on the cathedral in 1883. It evolved considerably during his lifetime, becoming more and more audacious. Sadly, he was run over by a tram at the age of 73 and nearly all the plans destroyed by fire during the Civil War in 1936.

The pillars, which split into two halfway up to remove the need for flying buttresses, represent trees in a forest with leaves at the top. The pillars themselves have a special spiral design with fluting that increases in number as it gets higher and take us soaring up to the highest point, 45 metres above the ground. An unforgettable moment.

Plitvice Falls in Croatia

And to think that I nearly missed Plitvice Lakes National Park as a result of eating tainted prawns in Dubrovnik!

Never had I seen colours like those in the Plitvice Lakes. Each view was more marvellous than the one before!

At 10 am, before the floods of tourists arrive, the upper path is simply an hour of magic to remember forever.

Tasman National Park in Australia

Our trip to Tasmania was somewhat disappointing, due to cold rainy weather. But the sun came out at last and we set off for Port Arthur. On the way, we followed a sign saying Blow Hole, Devil’s Kitchen and Tasman Arch.

And what we saw was mind-blowing.

These natural formations along the rugged coastline about an hour and a half south of Hobart are dramatic and grandiose, leaving a impression of immensity that you will never forget.

Rila Monastery in Bulgaria

The initial impression of Rila Monastery built halfway up a mountain and surrounded by forest is quite fabulous.

Founded in the 10th century by the hermit St John of Rila, it was destroyed by fire in the 19th century and rebuilt between 1834 and 1862. Although characteristic of the Bulgarian Renaissance (18th-19th centuries), which symbolises the awareness of a Slavic cultural identity following centuries of occupation, it is quite unique.

The monastery museum contains the most fabulous carved cross I’ve ever seen produced painstakingly by a monk called Rafail, with 104 religious scenes and 650 miniature figures and 12 years in the making. It was hardly surprising that Rafail lost his sight in the process. Just one more reason to remember Rila.

The S-Bend in Austria

Cycling along the Danube from its source in Donau-Eschingen to Budapest was a magical experience in itself. One areas stands out in particular, the Wachau world heritage site in Austria between Linz in Austria and Passau in Germany and the S-Bend in particular.

The single most remarkable moment of the trip was the view of the S-bend from Schlogen blick.

We had spent the day cycling along tranquil car-free paths, going back and forth across the Danube on a series of little ferries, and now we could see our day’s journey spread out in majesty before us. A truly unforgettable moment.

So tell me, if you were asked to name your five most unforgettable places, what would you choose?

And if you’re a blogger, why don’t you join the To Destinations to Go challenge (and the chance to win an iPhone 6)? Click here for more information.

Aussie in France