My family and I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel across practically all of Western Europe, with the exception of the Iberian Peninsula. So last summer, we decided to finally make that first trip to Portugal and Spain. It was truly a most memorable experience for all of us, arguably the best family trip we have ever taken. So it is intriguing that most European tours don’t include these countries in their Western European itineraries.
While we took a customized land tour the last time we were in Europe, this time around we decided to just do things on our own time and whims, without the early wakeup calls and stress of a tour itinerary. Needless to say, we slept well and ate well, and got to see some of the best sights in the area, all on our own time.
One of the reasons for the great time we had over there was the hotels we stayed in. In Lisbon, I decided to treat the family to a stay at the Four Seasons Ritz Hotel. I have to say that, bar none, this hotel is the best hotel I have ever stayed in, in terms of service, friendliness and general amenities. As the Four Seasons website describes it, ”long considered the city’s finest hotel, Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon reflects the nobility and charm of historic Portugal, and offers vistas of Eduardo VII Park, St. George’s Moorish castle, the Old Town and the Tagus River from atop one of Lisbon’s seven hills. Walking distance from the neighborhoods of Baixa and Chiado, the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon is a spacious retreat. The 282 rooms (272 with private terraces or balconies) complement the clean lines and unmatched views of the top-floor fitness center and bottom-floor spa.”
Now, I’m not about to do a travel monologue here. The reason for today’s article happens to be the “friendly vegetation” we encountered at that top-floor fitness center. Some of you may know that I’m a bit of a workout buff. While I tend to take breaks from working out while I’m abroad, the fitness center at the Four Seasons was just too inviting, with good equipment, a great outdoor track and, at the basement of the hotel, a really nice, indoor pool. But what caught me by surprise were the plants the hotel used to landscape around the outdoor track and all around the fitness center: cacti and succulents, with an odd bromeliad here and there.
The plants themselves were quite healthy and thriving outdoors year-round at the top of the hotel. There were magnificent and flowering specimens of the famous golden barrel cactus, Echinocactus grusonii. Some were growing on the eastern side of the hotel and others were at the western side. This means that these plants only received direct, unobstructed sunlight half of the day. Yet the spine formation and growth of the plants were outstanding. There were also beautifully grown and huge specimens of Opuntia, and a yet unknown (to me, anyway) species of Euphorbia. Even Yuccas and Dyckias were growing happily there.
According to Wikipedia, “Lisbon is one of the mildest European capitals. Spring is cool to warm (between 6 °C and 28 °C) with sunshine and also some showers. Summer months are mostly sunny, dry, hot, with a little breeze with temperatures between 16 °C to 37 °C. Autumn is mild and unsettled with temperatures between 8 °C and 23 °C and winters are typically rainy and cool with some sunny days (temperatures between 3 °C and 18 °C), usually staying at an average of 12 °C. Snowfall is a very rare occurrence — Lisbon briefly witnessed snow on January 26, 2006 and January 28, 2007 thanks to cold waves from the Arctic that affected Europe in those days. Before 2006, no snowfall had been registered for over 40 years, just some sleety days. On average, there are 3,300 sunny hours per year and 100 days with rain per year. Lisbon’s climate is strongly influenced by the Gulf Stream.
So Lisbon has a most ideal climate to grow cacti and succulents year-round, and even under the elements. What a lucky place to be in if you are a succulentophile. Lisbon itself is a beautiful place, rich in culture, history and architecture. And the people there are among the friendliest I have ever met. Most speak English, so there shouldn’t be any problem getting around. Even the American movies there are in English with Portuguese subtitles (in Spain, the movies are generally in dubbed Spanish). So my family and I even enjoyed a screening of the Hulk there. I would highly recommend a visit to Lisbon and its surrounding areas. And if you’re staying at the Four Seasons Ritz hotel, do make it a point to go up to the top-floor fitness center and check out the interesting flora that lives up there. I know I was thrilled.
