Royal Air Squadron Trip to Portugal

The trip was a wonderful mix of medieval and modern, monasteries, chapels, fabulous wining and dining, and a thrilling air display all carefully crafted by the organisers Marie-Josee Hunter, and Nigel Prescot, with essential help from Chris Harper.

The trip started in Evora, a beautiful old medieval town to the south east of Lisbon. Our guide Leonor took us round the old town and gave us a short history. We visited the Chapel of Bones a small chapel next to the Church of St. Francis, with the interior walls covered and decorated with human skulls and bones. Built by Franciscan monks, it is estimated 5,000 skeletons of friars were exhumed to decorate the walls of this chapel. We stayed at the fabulous Convento do Espinheiro. During the C15 and C16 this convent was frequently visited by Portuguese monarchs who brought rich gifts with them. With the expulsion of the religious orders in 1834 this beautiful building fell into disrepair. Now magnificently restored it was a fabulous start to our trip and a fitting place for us to watch the funeral service of HM Queen Elizabeth II on 19 September.

We then flew to Porto and the elegant Freixo Palacio for dinner and met up with the Vernons and Vicky Prescot who had just flown in. On Tuesday we had a fascinating tour of the Grahams cellars and an insight into the world of port, followed by lunch in their restaurant Vinum. A free afternoon followed and most took the opportunity of exploring the town – before dinner at the Factory House in the old quarter of Porto. The Factory House reflects the 650 year Anglo-Portuguese alliance and is one of the last remaining factory houses that existed throughout the English, Portuguese and Dutch empires. Rupert Symington CEO of Symington Family Estates (Graham’s, Dow’s, Cockburn’s and Warre’s) welcomed us to the Factory House, and after a quick history we were taken on a tour. A delicious dinner followed after which to our amazement a door was opened and we were invited into an identical candlelit dining room and seated in the same place. Here we drank the vintage port unsullied by the smells of the food just consumed!

Another day, another bus trip and we left the bustle of Porto for the peace and calm of the Douro Valley. We disembarked at the lovely old Vintage House hotel and boarded a boat for a river trip along the Douro to admire the stunning views of the terraces cultivated by the various port houses. We passed the Spirit of Chartwell going in the opposite direction. This ship was selected in 2011 to be the royal barge and carried the Queen and Prince Philip during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in June 2012. We then walked up the hill through the vineyards to Quinta do Roeda – a Croft owned establishment where we had a wonderful buffet lunch and were joined by Adrian Bridge CEO of Fladgate (Taylor’s, Croft and Fonseca). A quick change and a port tasting at Bomfim before relaxing at the Vintage House and another delicious dinner. Thursday dawned bright and we were back off to Vilar de Luz airport for our short flight to Sintra Air Base 1 near Lisbon – armed with a picnic feast produced by the hotel.
After refuelling and a look at the air force museum it was off to Lisbon via Sintra with our guide Marisa. We drove through Sintra and saw the curious palaces built on the hillside and stopped for a tour of the beautiful National Palace of Queluz, once the Summer Palace of the Portuguese monarchs. Onwards to Altis Belem our ultra-modern hotel in Lisbon on the edge of the river Tagus. A free evening for members to explore Lisbon. Friday morning, we met our guide Jorge for a tour of the magnificent Monasteiro de Jeronimus. We also discovered the pissoire monument erected to the Tavora family of which our Commodore is descended (see Wikipedia for the story!) After lunch in our hotel, we climbed onto the bus once more for a driven tour of Lisbon with Jorge which ended with the pretty Belem Tower. That evening we were entertained by the British Ambassador to dinner in his garden along with senior members of the Portuguese Air Force.

Saturday dawned – air show time! The bus departed early for the pilots to prepare for the estimated massed crowds of 25,000 all eager to see their Air Force perform together with Squadron pilots. Patrick de Rousiers (FK Comet), David Ponte (C195), Peter Fernandes and Richard Menage (Boeing Stearman), Gerry Humphreys (RV7 plus smoke!), George George and Charlie Steel (R44) and Philippe Cotrel (PA34) all gave thrilling performances before the wind got up and it was deemed unsafe to perform again in the afternoon. Bravo to all.

The last evening started with drinks at the Palacio de Centeno. Owned by Anton a long-standing friend of Marie-Josee who has recently relocated to Lisbon. He is a passionate collector and his house was literally bursting at the seams with all sorts of lovely paintings, ceramics, furniture glassware, tapestries and much more. Handbags were left by the door just in case, and we tiptoed round with a glass of champagne. Finally, it was off to the Clara Jardim restaurant next door who provided an excellent dinner accompanied by traditional Fado singers. We emerged just in time to catch the bus – late yet again. Who will ever forget salted codfish, duck rice and custard tarts !!