Spring 2003 trip to Portugal and Spain
In April and May, Lee
and Pat spent a month touring Portugal and Spain. We had 28 days of sunshine! In
addition to visiting many small
villages and towns along the coasts and inland, we spent time in Lisbon, Cascais
and Albefiera Portugal. In
Spain the bigger cities were Malaga, birthplace of Picasso, Torremolinos a
Mediterranean coastal resort, Seville, and Madrid the home of the famous Prado
museum. And if you ever travel to
Spain, don’t miss Toledo, an absolutely beautiful old city in a spectacular
setting.
The coast and
countryside of Portugal and Spain is very clean and scenic. The old (some going back to 700 AD) is well preserved
….cathedrals, fortress towns, bridges and aqueducts, etc. The new dwellings,
government buildings, terminals, malls have very modern and distinct
architecture, much of it influenced by Moorish design. The ordinary is also eye
catching…almost all houses and apartments are white with orange or red tile
roofs. There is a distinct sense of the aesthetic and design.
Much to please the eye, especially of an artist. We also took a side
day-trip to the British city of Gibraltar and toured the “ROCK”, which is
another “don’t miss”.
As usual Lee kept a trip journal and took all the opportunities he could to do some quick sketches in pencil, ink, or watercolor. A few of these are shown below.
An apartment complex in Cascais Portugal…typical white walls and orange tile roofs. Sketch done from 5th floor of our hotel.
An outdoor café along the shore walk in Estoril near Cascais.
Distinctive Moorish design chimneys typical of the Algarian region of southern Portugal.
Bronze statue of artist Velasquez outside of the Prado museum in Madrid, Spain.
A few photos from the trip:
