Trip to Switzerland and Portugal - August 22 to September 26, 2000
by Ann & Bill Logan, Town, PA
(In both countries our apartments were with Idyll, Ltd.)
We arrived in Zurich and took the train to Locarno, a Swiss town on Lake Maggiori. The lake is 80% owned by Italy and consequently our Swiss Rail pass did not apply to lake steamers on this lake as they do on all Swiss lakes. Our apartment, Bonolumi 2, was very comfortable. It is on the 1st floor of the Bonolumi residence. You entered into a good size kitchen, which was very well equipped. Down a hall with the bathroom on the left and closets on the right to a small sitting area with a door looking out on the garden. To the right was the bedroom with twin beds pushed together to make one large bed and another sitting area with sofa and chair at one end. The garden was very small but full of flowers and had a patio with a view of the lake.
We were there for 2 weeks and usually had breakfast in the apartment and a picnic lunch when we were traveling, then dinner in a local restaurant. We sometimes cooked in when we wanted steak and baked potato for a change. The food was mostly Italian - pasta and pizza - very good. Next door to the apartment was the Antica Osteria, which we thought was very good. Also would recommend the Fiorentina, a good menu and good fish and vegetables.
Some of the things we did while there:
Took the funicular up to the pilgrimage church, Madonna del Sasso, and then the gondola to Cardada and a chairlift to Cimetta. There is a restaurant at Cardada where you can have lunch. The entire trip up was expensive at 59 CHFs. The views are spectacular.
Walking tour of Bellinzona led by one of the Idyll representatives, Elizabetta. Visited the weekly market, Castelgrande, a fortified castle on a hill built in BC and occupied by the Celts and Romans, Castello di Montebello, originally private but fortified, and the Collegiate Church of Santi Pietro & Stefan, a baroque church with a lovely 400 year old organ. Very interesting!
Trained to Lugano, had lunch, and took the Lake Steamer to Gandria, a fishing village built on a steep hillside above Lake Lugano. It is very picturesque and an up and down walk.
Took the bus up the Vernazza Valley to Sonogno, a village whose houses are of stone with sloping stone roofs. Visited the small museum, the church and craft shops. Walked on a path beside a stream to the next village, Frasco and had our picnic on the way. Very nice walk and took about 45 minutes. Caught the bus back to Locarno.
On one of the 2 rainy days we had we took the train to Domodossolo, Italy. Took about 90 minutes through some dramatic scenery for the first part of the trip. Walked around a little, not finding too much of interest, and returned to Locarno.
Bussed to Ascona and caught the lake steamer for Brassago, an island botanical garden. It is a small island - took us about an hour to stroll around looking at the plants and trees. It was disappointing to us because we had visited Mainau at Lake Constance which is supposed to be connected to this garden. There was almost nothing blooming in contrast to Mainau which had an abundance of flowers in the same season of the year.
Bussed to Civio in the Maggia Valley - a beautiful ride through the valley. At Civio we strolled around the village and spent quite a while at the museum which is in 2 separate buildings. The first part dealt with local traditions of the past centuries - way of life, dress, furniture, etc. In this building was the entrance to a grotto where wine was made and wine and cheese were stored - quite a large area. The second building traced the Roman influence in the area. Picnicked while wailting for a bus back to Locarno.
Wine festival in Locarno. This was held on a pedestrian street not far from our apartment. You purchased a wine glass for 5 CHFs and then you went from booth to booth for tastings of both the white and red wines of the various wineries. Big crowd and lots of fun.
Trained to Rivera-Bironico and took the gondola for a 15 minute ride to Alpe Foppa, a mile high Alpine meadow. There was a very modern church built on the rock at the edge of the mountain whose architect, Mario Botta is a well known Swiss architect. This was a Sunday and the restaurant there was full of families, hikers and bikers and there was live entertainment - a band and singers to add to the festivities. Watched gliders riding the air currents at our level and below us.
Learned to play bocce ball, a game similiar to boules in France, using a small target ball and larger wooden balls much like our croquet balls to roll as near the target ball as possible. This was at the Idyll sponsered spaghetti supper which was very good.
When our time was up in Switzerland we took our luggage to the train station the day before and checked it to the railroad station under the airport where it would be held for us. This is a service of the Swiss Transportation system and costs 10 CHFs per bag. At this point we learned something new. When we arrived at our hotel in Zurich, I decided to go to the airport and check on catching our morning flight to Lisbon. I found that we could check in then and get our boarding passes so all we had to do the next morning was catch the hotel shuttle to the airport and walk to our departure gate. No waiting in line or hauling luggage around. What a plus for the Swiss system. Wish we had that in the U.S.
Arriving in Lisbon about 10:30 a.m., we picked up our rental car and drove to Sintra and our apartment for the next 2 weeks. This apartment was on the 1st floor of the home of the parents of our Idyll representative. We entered a large room which served as living room and kitchen with a bar separating the two. Behind this was a small hall with the bathroom to the right and the bedroom(twin beds) to the left. There was a door and passageway through the garage to the swimming pool area where there were 2 tables and several chairs. Very nice apartment but, as usual in Europe, very poor lighting. Several good restaurants in new Sintra. We recommend O Tunel(on the street behing the railroad tracks – there is a pedestrial bridge over the tracks) for their fresh fish and house wine. Also liked the Frango on the street toward old Sintra. The Regional was good one time we went and poor the second time. Do not recommend the Centrallia.
Some of the things we did while in Sintra:
Our Idyll orientation lunch was a highlight. It was held in Praia das Macas a beach town nearby, we ate at the restaurant Nautilus. The fish was superb and the servings generous.
Spent time several days in the old section of Sintra(our apt. was in the new section). It is full of tourists and has lots of interesting shops, especially ceramics, and good restaurants. Found an e-mail outlet in a shop just off the main square but the computer was so slow we gave up trying to use it. Lots of narrow streets and lots of walking uphill.
The National Palace is right in the middle of town and well worth a visit. Monserrate Gardens are good for an up and down peaceful walk but disappointing as far as plantings.
It is still under reconstruction and will be much better. The Pena Palace is a Must See. It is at the top of the hill above old Sintra and you need to drive or take the bus up. It is a very large palace with Moorish influence and beautiful views and furnished rooms.
We never got to see the Virtual Reality show(between New and Old Sintra) because it was closed on Mon. & Tue. and when we stopped by on Thurs. the electricity was on the blink and it was closed again. The park is nice to walk through. Visited the Regaleira Palace and grounds for a guided tour. Very interesting grounds and more uphill walking but not a problem and would recommend this.
Went in to Lisbon on the train several times. One time we took the double deck tour bus recommended by Turismo. Don’t do it! We could not understand the commentary which was through a headset in English and should have been good. We had no idea what we were seeing or where in the city we were. E-mail places opened late, about 8 in the evening and stayed open till midnight or later. We gave up on e-mail in Portugal.
Visited Expo 98 and enjoyed seeing all the modern buildings and the Oceanarium. Ate dinner one night at the Docks, an area of docks that had been converted to restaurants with open air seating outside by the water – good seafood.
Trained to Queluz-Belas and walked about 10 minutes down to the palace. It was a large palace with many rooms reminiscent of Versailles Palace. Well worth a visit if you enjoy interiors as we do.
Drove to Mafra but only drove around the Monastery and then out to a nearby village, Sabreiro, where we stopped at an unusual workshop. It covered about a city block and had several buildings, outdoor displays, water driven dioramas and other interesting collections too numerous to mention along with a gift shop full of ceramics. On to Ericeira where we found a seafood restaurant by the water, Esplanada Furnas, and enjoyed one of our best meals. The fish was fresh and cleaned after you chose it, then grilled. Delicious!
Drove to Obidos, about 1 hour’s drive. Obidos is a walled village with narrow streets and lots of tourists but well worth a visit. Parking is outside the wall and then you walk in. The only cars allowed in are residents and delivery vans. There is a Pousada there which looks very nice. Not many restaurants in evidence – we saw several places that served snacks and drinks and sweets. On to Peniche on the coast for another seafood lunch. Many restaurants near the harbour serving fresh seafood – good but not as good as Ericeira.
After our 2 weeks in the apartment we drove for 6 days before returning home to the U.S.
First we stopped at Arriolas, a village which is known for its hand stitched rugs. We bought a small one. Then on to Evora where we stayed at the Hotel Cartuxa, a lovely hotel in a beautiful setting just inside the city walls with a large swimming pool(we didn’t try).Evora is another walled city with narrow streets and lots of tourists. We visited the Cathedral, the Roman ruins and the Church of Sao Franiceo and its chapel of bones(1510). Had dinner that night at O Grevio to try the regional speciality, ensopada de borrego (lamb stew) which we thought was pretty bland.
Next we drove to Monsaraz, a small walled hill town on a high hill with wonderful views from all sides. We stayed in the Estralogem de Monsaraz which was in an old residence with many floor levels. Monsaraz is well worth a visit but we would allow an hour or so, not an overnight.
On to Marvao through the marble quarry area. This marble is mined from ground level and below and there are large mounds of debris from the mining like the strip mining at home. We saw lots of olive trees, vineyards and cork trees all along the roads. Stopped at Estremoz and had coffee at the Pousada there. A beautiful hotel at the highest point in the town. We arrived at Marvao and found our way through the narrow streets to the Pousada Sao Maria where we were staying for the night. The dining room has a magnificent view of the surronding countryside. The castle here is very well preserved and we spent about an hour touring it before dinner.
Tomar was our next destination. On the way we detoured to a stud farm which was founded in 1748 and sounded interesting since it also featured falconry. For us it was a dud. The only way to visit was on a tour and we were put with a bus load of German tourists and all the explanation was in German. They showed some horses being schooled, some horses in stables and some falcons on perches in a building and then there was a museum with all Portuguese captions. Not a blade of grass or a pasture to be seen. For Kentuckians it was worse than bad! Tomar was a pleasant days respite. We stayed at the Dos Templarious, a large hotel of over 200 rooms with beautiful landscaping and 2 swimming pools, indoor and out. We took advantage of the outdoor pool for a relaxing afternoon and had a good meal in the hotel dining room that evening.
There were 4 tour buses there that night and were expecting 7 next day so no roooms for the next night. Next morning we visited the castle extablished by the Knights Templar in 1160. The castle is immense and we were free to wander at will through most of it. Spent over an hour and enjoyed it even tho it has no furnishings.
On our way to Batalha we stopped in Conimbriga to visit the Roman ruins which were most impressive. In Batalha we stayed at the Pousada Mestre Alfonso Domingues which is right beside the Monastery. There is a pedestrian area behind the pousada with lots of shops and restaurants. The Monastery is large and has nice stained glass windows in the church but otherwise not anything to spend much time on. Next day we drove over to Alcobaca and what else?, another monastery! No explanation and bare, would advise skipping. On to Nazare, a beach town full of tourists and after driving up and down once we went on to Sao Martinho du Porto, another seaside village. We walked some on the beachside walk and had lunch at the Casa das Gambas – probably a good restaurant but we ordered poorly. We asked for fish filets sauteed in butter and got a plate of filets(which were fresh) and rice swimming in butter. Not to our liking. Back to Batalha for the night and to the airport the next morning. We planned to turn in the car and take the Metro into Lisbon but the airport traffic is a zoo. After driving around and around and asking 2 policemen directions we finally found the rental car return. It, too, was a zoo and took about 45 minutes to finish up and shuttle to departure. Decided to have a leisurely lunch and wait for our flight.
The weather during our stay – Sept. 6 – Sept. 25 was warm to hot during the day and cool in the evening and morning till about 10. We wore shorts everywhere during the day.