# Guide Book 1991



## Stellen (Mar 19, 2010)

Twenty years ago we made our first trip to Portugal and I have just enjoyed re-reading my Cadogan guidebook of 1991. Here are some snippets:

Nazare – Tourists swell this filthy town, crowding the beach and stalking it with tents..…The grid-patterned streets are filled with laundry, garbage and birdcages.

Caldas da Rainha – The unexceptional spa town wallows beside clay deposits, which have made it a hive of pottery production.

Obidos – It is an outrageously pretty small town crowning a limestone ridge. 

We are visitig the Silver Coast next week. Have things changed?


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Portugal Virtual worthwhile looking at.

The clay deposits may still be in the Caldas da Rainha area....unfortunatley the pottery production is not. Secla is I believe the last of the pottery factories. It has closed it production lines and is selling of the remains of it's stock from their oultlet shop in Caldas. They used to supply Harrods!


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## Silverwizard (Nov 21, 2009)

Stellen said:


> Twenty years ago we made our first trip to Portugal and I have just enjoyed re-reading my Cadogan guidebook of 1991. Here are some snippets:
> 
> Nazare – Tourists swell this filthy town, crowding the beach and stalking it with tents..…The grid-patterned streets are filled with laundry, garbage and birdcages.
> 
> ...


Hi Stellen,
I live within 30 minutes of all the locations you mention....
Hope the following goes someway towards answering your questions......
Nazare...Was there last week,& certainly wasn't filthy,commercialised-yes,
filthy-no,didn't see much in the way of laundry or excessive garbage either!
Caldas...Caldas is just an ordinary Portuguese town,very little activity really since the potteries closed down,but a nice place,I like it!
Obidos....Outrageously touristy,very expensive & totally over commercialised.
This place,although very pretty,is in my opinion,not at all representative of the real 
Portugal.
Regards

Mick
The
Silverwizard


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## yorkshire lass (Apr 18, 2010)

just a point, Caldas da Rainha is in fact a city not a town, and has expanded considerably in recent years, with new build apartments all over the place. A supermarket round every corner, and cars are everywhere. However it is still one of the nicer places to be in and so are its surrounding areas. The Monday market is as popular as it has ever been, and still has that rustic value we all look for in a market, 

Enjoy your visit here, Caldas da Rainha is still one of the prettier and much nicer parts of the silver coast in spite of all the changes it has undergone.


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## Silverwizard (Nov 21, 2009)

It also has one of the best fish markets for miles around.


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## yorkshire lass (Apr 18, 2010)

it certainly does and has a very pretty park, that used to belong to Queen Rainha her self, and some lovely shoe shops!!! 

IT is probably quite a thriving city and does not rely on tourism to keep it going.


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## Silverwizard (Nov 21, 2009)

yorkshire lass said:


> it certainly does and has a very pretty park, that used to belong to Queen Rainha her self, and some lovely shoe shops!!!
> 
> IT is probably quite a thriving city and does not rely on tourism to keep it going.


Please don't mention the shoe shops,we quite often drop into Caldas for a coffee & sticky bun on the way to our daughter's in Bombarral.
It's rare,extremely rare that I don't get dragged around them by my shoe crazy other half.


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## yorkshire lass (Apr 18, 2010)

what you have against shoes they protect your feet, and they do need to match everything else, its not shoe crazy it is 'co-ordination'


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## Silverwizard (Nov 21, 2009)

yorkshire lass said:


> what you have against shoes they protect your feet, and they do need to match everything else, its not shoe crazy it is 'co-ordination'


So that's what it's called,personally I would rather co-ordinate my euros with my wallet!!


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## Miguelsantos (Dec 11, 2009)

Silverwizard said:


> So that's what it's called,personally I would rather co-ordinate my euros with my wallet!!


Ladies love to co-ordinate shoes with the trousers, top, handbag, and don’t forget the earrings


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Men co-ordinate shoes too....you don't wear a pair of brownbeige/tan shoes with navy or black trousers!


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Miguelsantos said:


> Ladies love to co-ordinate shoes with the trousers, top, handbag, and don’t forget the earrings


PLUS necklace bracelet and rings 
Oh and have to make sure that lipstick is the right colour. Also nail varnish!!!


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## stephanie (Nov 11, 2008)

siobhanwf said:


> Portugal Virtual worthwhile looking at.
> 
> The clay deposits may still be in the Caldas da Rainha area....unfortunatley the pottery production is not. Secla is I believe the last of the pottery factories. It has closed it production lines and is selling of the remains of it's stock from their oultlet shop in Caldas. They used to supply Harrods!


I have to disagree with you there actually Siobhan, there are still one or two pottery factories in Caldas. There is one behind the park that does all the funny old fish and cabbage stuff (I think the style is called Majolica), and there is an excellent factory on the industrial estate with a factory shop. The company is called Molde and they still supply shops like M&S, Debenhams etc.

The shop is well worth a visit.


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## Silverwizard (Nov 21, 2009)

siobhanwf said:


> PLUS necklace bracelet and rings
> Oh and have to make sure that lipstick is the right colour. Also nail varnish!!!


OK Siobhan,I think we get your drift!!


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## paulmanning (Aug 3, 2009)

Stellen said:


> Twenty years ago we made our first trip to Portugal and I have just enjoyed re-reading my Cadogan guidebook of 1991. Here are some snippets:
> 
> Nazare – Tourists swell this filthy town, crowding the beach and stalking it with tents..…The grid-patterned streets are filled with laundry, garbage and birdcages.
> 
> ...


I just got Cadogan to send me a copy free for a series of book reviews and prize giveaways I am doing. I looked up in the 2009 edition and the Nazare quote is the same, Caldas is no longer "unexceptional" but still "wallows" . Obidos is still outrageously pretty and suprisingly still on a limestone ridge. 

It would be interesting to compare notes on some of the restaurants to see if they haven't change since 1991. The problem with any of these guides is that you either have to do a complete new book or leave in the bits of text that can still be considered relevant. Having said all that, the Silver coast is a great place to holiday.


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## Stellen (Mar 19, 2010)

I can add a few impressions now based on my recent visits to the places:

Nazare: we were there on a Tuesday and had great problems parking. After about 30 minutes of driving around we found a space on the sea front and had a great set lunch at the Mar Brava. We had a choice of starters, main courses, desserts and glass of beer or wine, and all for Euros12. 

Caldas da Rainha: again difficult to park. We were struck by the amount of graffiti everywhere which gave it a run down and shabby feel. In contrast, we also visited Torres Vedras and found that to be a much nicer town - graffiti free and cleaner.

Obidos: we rented a small house just outside the walls. The town is wonderful and we enjoyed sitting on the terrace and looking up at the walls and buildings. We had some great meals at the restaurants and didn't have to worry about driving. There are ample paid car parking spaces just outside the walls. There is alos a free internet service offered by the municipality in the centre of the town which is open from 10 am to 10 pm daily except Sunday.


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Stellen said:


> I can add a few impressions now based on my recent visits to the places:
> 
> Nazare: we were there on a Tuesday and had great problems parking. After about 30 minutes of driving around we found a space on the sea front and had a great set lunch at the Mar Brava. We had a choice of starters, main courses, desserts and glass of beer or wine, and all for Euros12.
> 
> ...



There is LOADS of underused underground parking in Caldas da Rainha. So parking should never be a problem if you are prepared to pay a euro or 2. There is FREE two hour parking at the underground car park at Vivaci shopping mall for the 1st two hours.


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