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Filipe Figueiredo (Graciosa) shows, half seriously and
half jokingly, an X ray of his ankle on which you can
clearly see 8 screws. “It was completely broken. This
was how they put it back together”, he explains, in
relation to a riding accident which occurred two years
ago. “I don’t limp as much now, but two screws had to
remain in there, forever, and became part of the bone”.
It is on a radiantly sunny morning that the Director of
the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art receives us in
his small office, in one of the buildings adjacent to the
Queluz National Palace. “It was the most serious accident
I have ever had, over decades of riding, but I still had
my leg in a cast when I was back mounted on a horse”,
he says
Outside, trainers, grooms and riders are saddling the
horses, preparing them for another display of Haute
École.
Dressed up in Baroque costumes from the times of
King João V, in the mid 18th century, the riders are
completing the final touches to their horses. They speak
to their animals, mount up and move towards the
paddock for the warm ups.
At the top of the Glória Funicular (1) are the gardens and belvedere of S. Pedro de
Alcântara (2). Continue past them along Rua D. Pedro V until you come to the
Príncipe Real Gardens (3), under which there is a water cistern, built in 1864 that can
be visited on weekdays. Farther down the road are the museums of Natural History
and Science (4) and the Botanical Gardens (5). The streets Miguel Pais and Monte do
Carmo will take you to Rua Cecílio de Sousa, from which a flight of stairs (6), will take
you back up to the Príncipe Real Gardens. Cross the gardens and go down Rua do
Século, turning right at the bottom into Rua da Academia das Ciências, where the
Portuguese Academy of Science and Geological Museum are located (7). Now take
Rua de S. Marçal up to the romantic little square called Praça das Flores (8), where
some excellent restaurants are located. Go down Rua de S. Bento, where there are
a number of antique shops and, on the left hand side, Espaço por Timor (9), the
center created to support the rights of the people of Timor to independence and
their courageous resistance to the Indonesian occupation. At the end of the street
on the right is the São Bento Palace where the Portuguese Parliament sits (10).
WALKS
Continue in the same direction down Av. D. Carlos I to the fountain called the Chafariz
Monumental da Esperança (11), by the architect Carlos Mardel, then take Rua do
Poço dos Negros and Calçada do Combro up to the Church of Santa Catarina (12)
and the magnificent belvedere of the same name (13). Ride the Bica funicular (14)
down to Rua de S. Paulo, and to the square, Largo de São Paulo (15), built in 1849,
with its church and fountain (16). In Travessa do Carvalho are the old baths known
as the Banhos de São Paulo and farther ahead, going west through Praça D. Luis I
(17), is the municipal market known as the Mercado Municipal de 24 de Julho (18),
built in 1876. There is an important public transport interface with bus, metro, tram
and ferry lines at Cais do Sodré (19) railway station, where the Cascais train line
begins. Try some charcoal-grilled fish along the attractive Passeio Ribeirinho (riverside
walk) (20), then climb Rua do Alecrim to Luis de Camões Square (21) and the Church
of S. Roque (22). Go into the Bairro Alto quarter (23) and sample its renowned
nightlife. You can hear genuine Fado and pass some enjoyable hours without any
worry about personal safety.
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