Curious Traveler

- Its name comes from the legend of Ulysses, it was at the heart of the Age of Exploration, and even its sidewalks are pretty.

(Christine speaking Portuguese) (lighthearted music) - [Announcer] "Curious Traveler" is made possible by the following- (majestic music) - [Announcer] At Regent Seven Seas Cruises, we believe that personal space is essential to the luxury travel experience.

With no more than 732 guests, our ships allow you to explore the world and discover the freedom of having space at sea.

- [Announcer] Over 300 tours across all seven continents, over 40 years of serving travelers, you can experience effortless fun vacations and authentic experiences with GET.

GETours.com - [Announcer] Windstar Cruises, intimate private yacht-style cruises to the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Tahiti, and more.

We look forward to seeing you on board.

WindstarCruises.com (majestic music) - [Announcer] When you travel with us, you are not the typical tourist.

(perky music) - Lisbon or Lisboa, as the locals say, is of course the capital of beautiful Portugal, and it is the westernmost capital of Europe.

Its history runs the gamut from Venetians to Romans to Visigoths to a curious line of monarchs who left behind a distinctly beautiful form of architecture.

It is time to get (speaks Portuguese) about Lisbon.

Lisbon looks like it's always dressed for a party with its yellow buildings, frilly elevators, and its thousands upon thousands of beautiful, brightly-colored, and intricately-patterned tiles adorning just about every surface inside and out and even under your feet.

The history of Lisbon is just as colorful with influences from the Phoenicians to the Greeks to the Romans to the Moors to the Crusaders, and all that history can be traced through its name of Lisbon.

There are many theories to the origin of the name Lisbon.

It could be from the Phoenician Alis-Ubbo or from Homer's "Odyssey," with Ulysses founding his Ulyssipo right here, or from the Hebrew prophet Elisha or from the Moors' Lixbuna.

And if you say Alis-Ubbo or Ulyssipo or Elisha or Lixbuna real fast, you can hear how we got to Lisbon and Lisboa.

(quirky music) (elegant music) So, here's what I'm curious about in Lisbon: Who are all these guys looking out to sea and what do they have to do with all the frills on this building?

What do the monks of this monastery have to do with this tasty treat?

Where can you find the most beautiful bright-yellow welcome mat?

Why is this castle so important to the history of Portugal and why are there peacocks living inside it?

(peacock cawing) When did this special type of cross become a symbol of Portugal and what does it have to do with the Age of Exploration?

And how do these tiny little tiles tell the big history of Portugal?

So much to be curious about in Lisbon.

(elegant music) (cheerful music) We begin our curious exploration into Lisbon at its port.

Remember how the Phoenicians named this area Alis-Ubbo, meaning delightful little port?

Well, what a delightful little port it is, and a history-making one too.

From these waters, those legendary Portuguese explorers set sail during the Age of Exploration.

As the prosperity of the city grew, leaders needed to welcome important visitors coming into their city at a place that told in an instant just how successful Lisbon was.

I think this big, bright, yellow reception hall of sorts does the trick, kind of like a giant, yellow welcome mat.

This is the beautiful and bright Praca do Comercio, and it has been greeting visitors to Lisbon for centuries.

As you might guess, comercio means commerce, so this used to be the marketplace, and this area is full of curious history.

If you can look way up here, you might be able to make out a castle on top of the hill.

That's a very important castle because that is where the kings of Portugal lived for centuries.

That is until King Manuel I came along and said, "Nope, I wanna be closer to the port," so he built his palace, the Ribeira Palace, right here.

Now, sadly, all of that was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake but Lisbon will not be defeated, so they built this entire plaza soon after that earthquake and this plaza remains one of the largest in all of Europe.

And I gotta tell you, I really love the yellow.

And the crown in the middle of these welcoming yellow arms is Lisbon's triumphal arch called the Rua Augusta Arch, the gateway to the city beyond.

As you cross under it or climb up it, take time to notice the symbolism of the allegories here.

We have Glory crowning Genius and Valor and some pretty important Portuguese explorers whom we will soon meet.

But first, we mosey over from the Baixa district to the Belem Quarter for some distinctly Portuguese architecture.

This exquisite building behind me is of course the Jeronimos Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It sits within the Belem Quarter and Belem simply means Bethlehem, so it is fitting that a church would be here.

But not just any church, the original church on this site was built by the Knight's Templar in the 12th century.

The one you see today was built in the early 16th century and in a very specific style, the Manueline style.

"What is that?"

you might say.

Well, Manueline is basically Gothic architecture but with a bit of a Portuguese twist on it.

It has certain religious figures, a couple of natural elements, and my favorite part, because it's Portugal, some nautical elements too.

(ethereal music) The Jeronimos Monastery is one of the most important and cherished buildings in Portugal.

Prince Henry the Navigator had a small chapel built here in the 14th century.

Portuguese sailors and explorers would often spend their last night here praying and confessing their sins before embarking on dangerous world voyages the next day.

Jeronimos Monastery took about a hundred years to build with more and more wealth coming in from those explorations and the expanding Portuguese Empire.

Today, it stands as one of the best examples of that Manueline style of architecture.

As you may have guessed, that beautiful, delicate, almost looks like lace but it's really stone, frilly, fluffy style is named for King Manuel I.

Follow me, I know a few more Manueline elements we can spot.

Here at the beautiful church door, there are all kinds of curious symbols to explore, come on over here.

Some of these are the Manueline details we were talking about earlier.

Look closely, you can see kind of a cluster of grapes here, some beautiful flowers, and a stone version at least of those wandering vines there, and then come on over here and we've got a pair of lions, and the lion is the symbol of Saint Jerome, which gives its name to the Jeronimos Monastery.

And my favorite part, because we're in Portugal, everything has to have a nautical thing, so if you look way up high, can you see that pair of mermaids?

(elegant music) But as lovely as this style is, it was only used for a few decades.

Fortunately, some of the best examples have been preserved, including the Jeronimos Monastery and our next curious stop.

So from the mermaids to the sea, we continue across the Belem district to the water's edge not to look for mermaids but to look for more Manueline architecture on one of Lisbon's and Portugal's most important historic landmarks in the middle of the Tagus River.

This is the mighty Belem Tower, one of the most recognizable symbols of the city.

King Manuel I had it built basically to protect his riches from any enemy ships that tried to come into Lisbon.

And because he had it built, he had to put his symbols on it, of course.

So do you see all those crosses there on the fortress?

Well, that is a very special type of cross known as the Cross of Christ, and that particular cross became so important, it became known as the Cross of Portugal.

In fact, you can see that cross here on the Portuguese flag, with five blue shields representing the five defeated Moorish kings and the five white dots on each of those shields representing the five wounds of Christ.

But why did the Knight's Templar come to Portugal in the 12th century?

Well, it was part of the Second Crusade under Pope Eugene III who said that Crusaders could fulfill their holy duties not by going to Jerusalem but by pushing out the Moors in the Iberian Peninsula, which included Spain and Portugal.

(gentle music) Later in 1319, King Dinis founded a new order for the Crusaders in Portugal called the Order of Christ, and it became very, very wealthy.

In fact, it funded many of the groundbreaking Age of Discovery explorations.

(gentle music) To explore that bit of history, we visit a monument that was built as the centerpiece of Portugal's 1940 World Expo, and it is right on the west coast of Lisbon for a very important reason.

As we know, Portugal is at the westernmost edge of continental Europe, so it is no surprise that once upon a time, people believed this to be the edge of the entire world.

So in the 15th century, it was the Portuguese explorers who led the way in the Age of Exploration.

Of their many accomplishments, they were the first Europeans to sail all the way around Africa and land in Asia, and this monument, the Discoveries Monument, commemorates that.

Now of all the figures on there, can you see one who's a little bit larger than the rest and way up at the top kind of leading the way?

Well, that is Prince Henry the Navigator.

But let me tell you a little something about old Henry, he never actually navigated anywhere.

That's right, Prince Henry the Navigator never actually set foot on one of those expeditions, let alone a new continent.

But he did provide funding for some of the most groundbreaking Portuguese explorations in history.

Behind Henry are the famous explorers including Bartolomeu Dias, credited as the first European explorer to sail around the southern tip of Africa, then there's Vasco da Gama, credited as the first European explorer to travel to India over the Atlantic, and Pedro Alvares Cabral, credited as the first European explorer to reach South America and Brazil.

Cabral's voyages were also the first to touch four separate continents, South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

These journeys helped to map the globe.

(gentle music) (gentle playful music) Next, before Portugal could explore the world, it had to establish a kingdom and a capital.

How and where did they do all that?

Follow me.

I know the exact spot.

Remember that castle, the one way up high?

It's a top Lisbon's highest hill in the picturesque Alfama neighborhood.

So let's climb to the top to get a closer look.

But first, pastries!

Oh, all right, we'll do the history first, pastry second.

Joining us here in the Castelo district is local guide Carmel Battello.

We are here at the beautiful Castle of St. George, which really should be the Castle of the Peacocks which we'll explain in a second- - It's a good, good thing.

- Which is hilarious but let's talk about the history.

This location, we've been seeing it as we've been wandering around and visiting your beautiful city here in Lisbon.

It's high up on a hill, who chose the spot, who first had the castle built?

- So we are in the highest hill of Lisbon, we have seven hills.

This is the highest point of the city, have been always sees the first people to establish in Lisbon, so we can talk about Phoenicians, the Greek, the Visigoths, the Suebians, so all them select this hill to be established because you are safe and you have the river close, so you have food and you have protection.

- [Christine] In the 11th century, Arab geographers referred to the castle as the qasaba or fortress, but it changed hands in a very important way in the 12th century.

- Our first king, Afonso Henriques, was the one responsible to conquest the city to the Moorish.

The Moorish, they were living here in the castle and we are talking about the year 1147.

It surrounded the castle during three months, and during these three months, the Moor were getting out with food, so they opened the doors of the castle and the Portuguese troops enter.

So this was the conquest of the city.

- So after the Battle of Lisbon, the city becomes Christian and Lisbon becomes its own independent kingdom in 1143.

Then more than a century later, in 1256, Lisbon becomes the capital of Portugal.

And somewhere in between all those kings and countries, we get some peacocks, some very beautiful but very vocal peacocks.

(peacock cawing) But, yeah, wait, lets talk about the peacock.

- There's the peacock.

- Let's talk about the peacocks.

So let's talk about the peacocks then I'll go back to my other questions.

So why are there peacocks here at the Castle of St. George?

- Well... (both laughs) - During our history, we have the king, Afonso V, that he brought all these exotic animals.

- Lions?

- Yeah, lions too.

- And peacocks?

- Peacocks, elephants, - Crazy.

- and we maintain this tradition nowadays.

- But I love that, when a king or monarch is that wealthy, they wanna show off their wealth and they're like, "Well what is more exotic?

Let's ship in lions from Africa."

- The lions, the animals.

- Nuts but we love it.

Before we leave the castle, there's one more spot to explore showing just how far back in time this location has been occupied, and by so many different tribes, religions, and cultures.

The Castle of Saint George has so many amazing curiosities, and some of the best stuff is actually seen outside of the castle.

Right here is this beautiful, amazing archeological site that is open to the public, and there's a lot of different areas here.

So this first one here, this used to be a gorgeous palace that was unfortunately destroyed during the 1755 earthquake, and then as we make our way around, we actually walk through different time periods.

This area here that looks like a big iron box, well, that's actually fitting because inside is the oldest section of the castle complex.

Archeologists believe that this area was a fort that dates back to the 7th century BC.

And last but not least, you notice this very modern-looking building behind me, this big white box?

Well, there's nothing modern about that either.

This actually is believed to be some of the most expensive, wealthiest homes in the Islamic area, and how did archeologists figure out these were wealthy homes?

Well, something very important, toilets.

Yes, they found a toilet inside and that told them it had to be a wealthy family because only the wealthiest families could afford indoor plumbing.

(quirky music) Next from ancient and medieval architecture, we now explore the more modern architecture of Portugal which has a recurring theme to it, full of patterns, color, and history.

On the palaces, on the shops, on the walls, beneath your feet, red, yellow, green, and blue, Portugal is just bursting with colorful ceramic tiles known as azulejos.

But why?

While decorative tiles date back to ancient Egypt and Babylonia, it was the Moors who brought this tiny art form to Portugal and Spain in the 8th century.

In fact, the word azulejos is Arabic and roughly translates to polished stone.

(quirky music) And for more Portuguese tiles, we take a little side trip, west from Lisbon to Sintra, to see a palace like no other, full of those iconic Portuguese tiles.

(elegant music) From Britain to Austria and all across Europe, the normal color of a castle is just plain gray stone, right?

But why be normal when you can have a castle all decked out in orange, purple, and beautiful bright yellow.

(quirky music) This, my friends, is the unique, to say the least, Pena Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sintra.

Built for King Ferdinand II and Queen Maria II in the mid-19th century, the architectural styles run from Moorish to Gothic to Manueline to wonderfully weird, (quirky music) all splashed with every color of the crayon box.

Outside, the palace is also surrounded by stunning gardens in the Romanticism style of the time, complete with waterfalls, bridges, and quiet spots for contemplation.

And the curiosities continue inside the palace where we find out the origins of this one-of-a kind royal retreat.

This courtyard is a very important part of the palace, that is because it is not just any courtyard.

Does it look a little bit familiar, kind of like a church?

Well, that's because it is, sort of.

This was actually the cloister part of that 16th century monastery that King Ferdinand purchased to help create his dream palace and park.

And all these beautiful Portuguese tiles that you see here, a lot of them were already intact when he purchased the monastery, but of course the king had to add his touches too because when it comes to those beautiful Portuguese tiles, more is always more.

That's right, the palace was built a top an old monastery, and around it too.

Just look at all the rooms and wings of the palace, perhaps the most grand is this one, the Great Hall.

(grandiose music) So come on in, watch your step, you are invited into the Great Hall.

Isn't it great?

This is where VIPs would be received here inside the palace, and greeting them, of course, we have this very exotic torch bearer.

Now you see the torch he's holding there?

That's ornate enough, isn't it?

But of course, here in Pena Palace, everything has to be supersized.

So that same design there in the torch, with the four torch bearers, is mimicked up here in this amazing chandelier.

But that's not even my favorite part.

If you look over here at this window, you see it's stained glass.

Now, we've seen stained glass windows before, but if you look closely, doesn't this look a little bit like a collage?

Well, that's because it is.

The King collected stained glass from all over Europe to create these two very unique windows.

And come a little closer here, you know how the entire palace has the beautiful coverings all along the walls and all along the ceilings?

Well, this one really takes the cake because it kind of looks like a wedding cake.

If you look up here and you kind of see that pink background and that very, very delicate geometric design all done in white, I think it almost looks like lace.

How did they do it?

But as wow-worthy as the Great Hall is, after all that entertaining, a royal needs some rest.

This is the king's bedroom, and it's got a couple of elements you might expect in a typical castle and a typical king's bedroom, like this beautiful four-poster canopy bed, with that royal red and gold just for the king.

But because it's Pena Palace, there are several elements you wouldn't expect in a regular castle.

Just look at the wall behind me, can you see all these beautiful Moorish designs with all those beautiful natural elements to it?

And guess what, because it's Pena Palace, it extends all the way up to the ceiling, and you can see the patterns upon patterns upon patterns all the way up, almost mimicking the night sky.

I bet the king had some really sweet dreams in here.

(grandiose music) Speaking of sweet dreams, it's time to wrap up our visit here at Pena Palace and head back to Lisbon for a tasty treat that tells the history of Lisbon.

And to share in this decadent dessert, we meet back up with our friend and guide Carmel.

(Christine speaking Portuguese) (Carmel speaking Portuguese) (Christine speaking Portuguese) This pastry shop is named Santo Antonio, for Saint Anthony, considered Lisbon's patron saint of the people.

So let's see how inspired the pastry of the people is.

I've been hearing nonstop about these, is this a Portuguese thing, is it a Lisbon thing, what is your tradition - Well - about them?

- Nowadays, you'll find it in all Portugal, of course, but originally the recipe is from Lisbon, originally comes from the monks that live inside of the Jeronimos Monastery.

- Ah, so the monks made them first.

- Yeah, the monks made it.

- And the reason why the Jeronimos Monastery monks made this particular sugary, eggy treat is hilarious.

Supposedly, the monks used egg whites to starch their clothing, I know, weird, right?

So then they were left with a whole bunch of leftover egg yolks on their hands, literally.

So what's a monk to do with all those yolks?

Waste not, what not, just add copious amounts of sugar from the sugar refinery right next door to the monastery and create a Portuguese pastry icon.

- So belongs to our Portuguese traditional... - To your heritage.

- Yes, yes, heritage.

- Now, I gotta tell you something funny.

So in all our travels, I've heard of amongst making pretzels, making beer, - Beer.

(laughs) - making wine, I have not heard of the making pastries.

- The pastries.

- I think I like Portuguese monks the best now.

- And they are so good and so sweet.

- That's do cool.

- Now, how do you say, so in Portuguese, cheers or something?

- (speaking Portuguese) But... - That's like, to your health, like health?

- Yeah.

(Christine speaking Portuguese) (Carmel speaking Portuguese) (Christine speaking Portuguese) All right, it's not gonna be pretty.

Those monks know what they're doing.

- Mmm.

- That's good stuff.

(perky music) So from a big, bright yellow Welcome Center to some tiny bright yellow tasty tarts which were produced by some savvy monks who had some leftover eggs, way more than a spoon full of sugar, and a really great idea, and those monks lived in this UNESCO-status monastery decorated in a whole new architectural style full of frills, shells, and a curious mermaid or two which leads us to a mighty tower along the water with some curious crosses which are connected to the watery Age of Exploration which spread a language and a culture around the globe and forever changed our history to a mighty castle on a hill with ancient history and some very vocal peacocks (peacock cawing) to those ever-present, ever-beautiful tiny tiles which trace the North African, the Spanish, and the oh so pretty history of Portugal, Lisbon or Lisboa has so much to be curious about.

Thank you for joining us on our educational journey, and hopefully now you're even more curious about the who, what, where, why, when, and how's of curious Lisbon.

As they say here in Portugal, (speaks Portuguese).

(perky music) - [Announcer] "Curious Traveler" is made possible by the following- (majestic music) - [Announcer] At Regent Seven Seas Cruises, we believe that personal space is essential to the luxury travel experience.

With no more than 732 guests, our ships allow you to explore the world and discover the freedom of having space at sea.

- [Announcer] Over 300 tours across all seven continents, over 40 years of serving travelers, you can experience effortless fun vacations and authentic experiences with GET.

GETours.com - [Announcer] Windstar Cruises, intimate private yacht-style cruises to the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Tahiti, and more.

We look forward to seeing you on board.

WindstarCruises.com (majestic music) - [Announcer] When you travel with us, you are not the typical tourist.

- [Announcer] And closed captioning provided by TAP Air Portugal.

- [Announcer] Still curious?

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(quirky music) (dramatic music)