Lisbon: the Fado, the Wine, and the Hills

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Bom Dia,

Upon my return to Lisbon, I had an email from Sandro suggesting that we should meet up that night to do in search of food and Fado. We picked a time and a place, you would think I would have learned my lesson by this point, and agreed to meet up then. I relaxed at my hostel for a bit, which was very conveniently located on Rua Augusta, the main pedestrianized street in the centre of Lisbon, before using the meticulously drawn map provided by Jorge to go and visit the Praça do Comercio, as well as the waterfront.

I then chanced the possibility that my friends would actually be where they said they would be and I went to meet them. Unlike in Sintra, Daniella and Sandro were exactly where they said they would be! Kerstin and Florian were also with them, and we headed off to the Alfama District to look for some dinner and Fado.

The Alfama District is the old town in Lisbon and consists of a rabbit's warren of tiny, winding streets and houses that rise up to the castle. It was one of the few parts of the city that survived the massive earthquake of the 1755. Sandro was looking for a particular restaurant so we followed him around looking for it. After half an hour of not being able to find it, we started looking for alternatives. Unfortunately, there were all very expensive and then we stumbled across a tine hole-in-the-wall place that could not have held more than 20 people. It probably was not much cheaper than our other options, but it was small, dark, and looked much less set up for tourists so we went inside. The food was simple but delicious, and one of the waitresses was actually the singer as well. Fado is a melancholic style of singing that evokes a sense of longing in the people who listen to it. The performance was excellent and the restaurant was very atmospheric!

Our next stop was Barrio Alto, which is the nightlife district. The area consists of a dozen streets or so which are all full of small bars. These bars cannot accommodate all the patrons, so people usually buy a drink and then head outside. This creates a really fun atmosphere and allows people to easily socialize with each other. After one of the largest mojitos I had ever seen, we headed down to Pink Street, which is the nightclub area. Do you want to know why it's called "Pink Street"? Well, the street is painted pink. The area was incredibly busy and the music was pumping, but it was the end of an extremely long day for all of us so we thought it would be best not to head into any places and, considering it was 3am, we all just went to bed.

So apparently I am a sucker for punishment and do not need sleep to function while I am on vacation because I woke up very early in order to catch a train for the short journey to Belem. Belem used to be a small town that guarded the entrance to the Tagus estuary, and protected Lisbon. Today, it is a suburb with some beautiful sights. Two of these sites are examples of Manueline Architecture. Manueline Architecture is a style that came about in the 16th century and only exists in Portugal. The style is a version of Gothic, but with extremely ornate detailing. It reminds me a little of Gothic Gaudi, but not as ostentatious as the Sagrada Familia. A lot of the wealth for it came from The Age of Discoveries, when Portuguese ships circumnavigated the globe. The first building I visited was the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. The building is a monastery & a cathedral, and it was well worth the wait to enter. The building was incredibly with pretty cloisters, a seeping facade, and columns in the cathedral that looked like trees branching out to support the roof. It also houses the tomb of Vasco de Gama, but the crowds were so thick around it that it was hard to get a picture. The building was truly magnificent and photographs really do not do it justice.

A short walk away is the Torre de Belem. The tower was built to guard the entrance of the harbour. It was also constructed in the Manueline style, but it was less ornate than the monastery. However, the building makes up for this with its sweeping views of the water, and the small rhinoceros that is carved into part of it. The carving was a representation of the rhinoceros that was given to a pope after a Portuguese explorer brought it back from Africa. To be honest, I was a bit disappointing with the Torre, considering it is better known than the monastery. On the way back to the train, I was hoping to get a photograph of the Monument to the Discoveries, but it was all under scaffolding.

I hurried to catch the train back to Lisbon because I had to meet Daniella for lunch. Normally, I wouldn't include a lunch stop in this unless it was special. This was just that. The place was called Timeout Market. Essentially, it is an indoor series of restaurants and bars surrounding several long tables. The idea is that people purchase food and drinks from wherever they want, and then go and eat and drink at the tables. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was really cool. The concept is something that many cities can learn from.

After lunch, I went over to the Alfama to get lost, I mean see it. After the predictable happened, twice, I found my way up to the Castelo São Jorge. The views from the top are amazing, but the whole thing felt a little re-constructed. One of the nice things about the castle was that one could by wine and walk around the walls. That is always a safe bet when there is a 15 metre drop on one side!

I thought the next day would be a cultural day, so I went to the Museo de Azulejos. For those who missed the earlier explanation, azulejos are painted tiles that are found throughout buildings in Portugal. The museum housed some incredibly intricate designs, do the point where I could not fathom how it is possible to paint so many different tiles and then piece them together to form a picture! The most incredible part of the museum was the 23 metre wide depiction of Lisbon painted on tiles. It was painted before the devastating earthquake so it is one of the best displays of what Lisbon used to look like. After the museum, I hopped back on the bus and headed to the area where Lisbon hosted the World Expo in 1998. The area has an aquarium, a stadium, and many restaurants and shopping areas, and it is very refreshing when compared to some of the more decrepit parts of the city. My favourite part was the Gare do Oriente, which was designed by Santiago Calatrava. The rest of the day consisted of a further investigation of Barrio Alto and its bar and music scene.

On my last day in Lisbon I finally put the map that Jorge had drawn me to good use and I started walking. I went through Barrio Alto and up to the Rossio train station for some stellar views towards Castelo São Jorge. I continued from there up to the wealthy Principe Real neighbourhood with its pretty parks and Rothschild banks. I continued on to a cute wine shop where the owner, Carlos poured a 30 year old Taylor's tawny for me while I spoke with him about colheitas. I really like it when they try to impress the tourists! I continued on the the Parque Eduardo VII, and then through the Baixa neighbourhood which was designed by the Marques de Pombal after the earthquake. The area constitutes one of the world's first grid patterns, and it was full of embassies and gorgeous Art Nouveau buildings. And pastel de natas. I have enjoyed far too many of those in Portugal. Afterwards came souvenir shopping, as well as bubble-wrapping my wine purchases, before I had dinner at the hostel. The staff were hosting a petiscos night, which is basically little appetizers. It consisted of cheese, wine, bread, wine, jamon iberico, wine, olives, sausages, and wine. Alex, one of the staff members at the hostel, was serving everything and he taught me a lot about the different styles of sausages and the fact that the best cheese comes from the Azores. We kept eating and talking and then we were joined by Tamara and Sara from Novi Sad before heading out to pink street, on a Monday night, and realizing that bars,no matter where they are located, are very quiet on Monday nights. Regardless, it did not make much sense to go to sleep, especially considering I had to leave for the airport in four hours so we made the most of it and danced to the surprisingly good playlist before I had to hop in a cab to take me to the airport. Honestly, it was a fitting end to my trip to Portugal: an eclectic day with a lot of walking, many sights visited, delicious food eaten, and new friends made. I loved Portugal, and I thoroughly recommend a visit!



Things I learned in Lisbon:

- The Alfama reminds me a lot of Venice in the capacity that maps are useless and one is guaranteed to get lost. Much like in Venice, this trend ceased its amusement after the third or fourth time.

- No matter where I am, there will be scaffolding on a building I am hoping to see.

- The amount of music in Lisbon blew me away. It's very diverse, but it's all incredible in its own way. Except for the guy smashing a stick into a door. I don't think he was striking the right key.

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