Well, we are back after a 1 month trip to Portugal that included a cruise on the Douro River and a 3-week stay in Lisbon. Actually, we almost didn’t make it. One of our connecting flights was from Frankfurt airport in Germany and the ever helpful pilots union of Lufthansa announced one day before we were due to fly that they were going on strike. So we had to scramble to find a new route to get there, which thankfully enough, Mary Anne found.  

In a lot of ways it was one of the more interesting trips we’ve taken recently. Portugal is a very conservative country, unlike say, France; and the Portuguese are extremely proud of their history. 

The guides spoke endlessly about 3 things: (1) the Carnation revolution that deposed António de Oliveira Salazar, (2) the great earthquake of 1755 and (3) the amount of Cod that Portugal consumes. 

A certain myth has developed about the Carnation revolution that took place in 1974. While Salazar did establish a dictatorship around 1932, he was replaced after he suffered a stroke in 1968. The leader who was actually deposed in 1974 was Marcelo Caetano who had taken over. Nevertheless a fledgling democracy was established and seems to have taken root. 

The earthquake of 1755 destroyed much of Lisbon and the city was rebuilt and decided to put Portuguese architecture on display. The architecture of the (very hilly) city is truly magnificent. Cod is the national dish–close to an obsession–of the Portuguese. They have it all the time. The strange thing is that Codfish are not native to the waters of Portugal. They have it shipped in from Norway in huge quantities. Go figure. 

Anyway, despite the last minute scramble we got a nice introduction to Portugal and its history. More later. 

JFB