We stayed in the Alfama neighborhood, Lisbon's charming former sailor's quarters, comprised of tightly twisting, narrow, medieval cobbled lanes and houses covered in Portuguese tiles or brightly colored paint that seem to lean on each other and which drip with the day's laundry hanging on the line. The Alfama neighborhood dates back to the sixth century when the Visigoths occupied the area, and was also a thriving area during the Moorish period. It was during this time that the tangled street plan was laid out as a defense against invaders trying to reach the castle at the top of the hill. In 1755, a massive earthquake struck off the coast of Portugal, decimating 2/3 of the city from the earthquake damage and subsequent tsunami and fire. The Alfama neighborhood was largely spared from this destruction, and later left out of the rebuilding of the city, and, thus, retains its medieval charm today.
On our first morning in Lisbon, we set out to find a Pastelaria (pastry shop) so that we could try the famed Pastel de Nata, an egg custard tart that is ubiquitous in Lisbon. We set off up the hill from our apartment toward Castelo de São Jorge and came across Pastelaria Santo António in an adorably tiled building and with a window full of pastéis de nata.
So of course we went in. We ordered our pastries and café com leite and enjoyed our breakfast at the bar. We were not disappointed. The pastéis de nata were delicious and creamy. In fact, these ended up being our favorite pastéis de nata of the whole trip!
After enjoying our breakfast, we walked a little further up the hill to Castelo de São Jorge. This castle was originally built by the Moors in the 11th century. It was captured by siege in 1147 by Alfonso Henriques, a warlord with a strong army, who became the founder and first king of Portugal. Entering through the fortified gate of the castle, you reach the Miradouro de São Jorge, a terrace with a stunning view of the city of Lisbon stretching down to the Rio Tejo and beyond.
We wandered around the fortified castle area and into the inner castle, whose sloping walls were built to withstand 14th-century cannonball attacks. We climbed up the extremely narrow and steep stone stairs to the ramparts and towers that afford an even more incredible view of Lisbon.
The castle grounds serve as home to a flock of peacocks; remnants of a time when exotic birds and other trophies were brought back to Portugal during the age of voyages and "discoveries" (colonization) that funded Portugal's growth. This particular peacock decided to block the entrance to the restroom. I decided not to challenge him...
After spending time exploring the castle, we headed out through the fortified town with the ultimate goal of ending up downtown in the Baixa neighborhood, but with the more immediate idea of finding lunch. (We really like food...) We walked back past Pastelaria Santo António, and a little way further down the street our eyes were caught by a sunny terrace overlooking the Rio Tejo that we spied through an open door.
It turned out to be a restaurant and sushi bar, the Solar Tagus View. So we went in, and were glad we did! We grabbed a table on the edge of the terrace with a nice view and enjoyed a leisurely lunch and coffee. I ordered the vegetable risotto and Russ had the black pork. Both were delicious.
Before the 1755 earthquake, Praça do Comércio served as Portugal's royal palace for 200. After the earthquake, the Square and the Baixa neighborhood were rebuilt in a militaristic grid plan, with economical materials and designed to withstand the next earthquake, by the chief minister, and former military man, the Marquês de Pombal, whose name now describes the style of architecture. After the earthquake, King José I did not return to the palace at Praça do Comércio, and the building now houses government ministries.
We wandered out of the Square and through the arch into the Baixa neighborhood. First, we found a street recommended to us by our friend, and my fellow sewist, full of fabric shops and notions stores. I couldn't get over the amazing storefront of Bijou! (Plus it is my favorite color!)
We continued through Baixa into the Chiado neighborhood in search of another recommendation from our friends: Livaria Bertrand- the oldest operating book store in the world. The bookstore was founded in 1732, and was recognized as the oldest by Guinness World Records in 2011. It was a lovely little store with seven rooms that we enjoyed exploring. We weren't in need of any books at the moment, so we didn't purchase any, but I understand that they stamp your book as coming from Livaria Bertrand if you purchase one.
Walking further into Chiado we found the ruins of the Convento do Carmo, which we had spied across town from the Miradouro de São Jorge. The convent was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake and subsequent fire. Some reconstruction was undertaken on the exterior, beginning in 1756. However, reconstruction was halted indefinitely in 1834 due to the extinction of Religious Orders in Portugal. The soaring Gothic arches of the Convento do Carmo thus became a memorial to the 1755 earthquake.
The Convento do Carmo overlooks Rossio square (officially Praça Dom Pedro IV), which was our ultimate destination, as we had signed up for a food and wine tour that evening, which was meeting there at 4:30pm. Unfortunately, we ended up at Rossio square with another hour and a half to kill before the tour. (Yes, we did all of the above in six hours. It was a LOT of walking and hills!) Instead of heading all the way back to our apartment in Alfama, we decided to explore around Rossio, which is the opposite end of the Baixa neighborhood from Praça do Comércio. Given the elongated oval shape of the square, Rossio square is believed to have been a Roman racetrack. At one point, this square held a palace that served as the headquarters for the Inquisition. That building was torn down with the aim of erasing the memory, and the National Theater was built on that site. The square itself is a magnificent example of the black and white stone pavement found all over Lisbon. These limestone and basalt cobbles were originally laid by prison laborers in the 19th-century, and to this day patterns are chosen from a book of acceptable designs. Here the pattern is meant to evoke the waves that Portugal's explores encountered on their travels.
We strolled around Rossio square, past the train station of the same name, through Praça dos Restauradores with its obelisk celebrating Portuguese independence from Spain in 1640, and onto Avenida da Liberdade. This grand boulevard was the royal promenade prior to the 1755 earthquake. The current street, built in the 1880's, was inspired by the Champs-Élysées in Paris and is now lined with banks and high-end shopping. On the way back to Rossio square we came across the Elevador da Glória one of Lisbon's funiculars, which takes you up to the Bairro Alto neighborhood. By this point we were too short on time to take a ride on the elevador, so we headed back to the meeting point for our tour.
As I mentioned earlier, we really like food. So, when we learned we would be exploring Lisbon on our own, we decided the best way to do that was with a food tour. We booked the "Food and Wine Walk" with the company Inside Lisbon, which we had found recommended both on Trip Advisor and by Rick Steves. We liked the idea of booking a group tour, rather than a private tour, so that we could meet other people, and we ended up having a really enjoyable time talking with the other members of our tour group and enjoying delicious food and wine. In fact, we all had such a good time that we ended up staying at the last restaurant for a couple hours after the tour guide departed and we left only when the restaurant was closing for the night.
Our first stop of the tour was Manteigria Silva, an historic shop specializing in meats, cheeses, and salted cod, for port wine and quince marmalade on cheese. Most people on our tour had never heard of quince, let alone quince marmalade, but I knew I loved it after trying it a few years ago. So I dove right in!
We then headed to a restaurant at the base of Castelo de São Jorge for tapas and sparkling Vinho Verde (green wine). Green wine is a staple in Portugal, and just means that the wine is young- being consumed only three to six months after harvesting the grapes. The sparkling Vinho Verde was definitely the best version of green wine that we tried.
Next we headed back to a restaurant near Rossio train station for cod cakes and white wine. The wine was good, but the cakes were bland and dry, and not photo worthy! Then we headed across Rossio square to the oldest ginjinha shop in town. Ginjinha is a sweet liquor made from a ginja berry, which is like a sour cherry. It was delicious! Russ only tasted cinnamon, but I mostly tasted the cherry flavor and really liked it! A couple members of our tour group may or may not have bought a couple more bottles to share...
Our final stop was a restaurant a bit further off Rossio square for red wine, bread, and chouriço. It was good, but not really photo worthy and by that point we were having a wonderful time with new friends and were not thinking about blog documentation. The best sign of an enjoyable evening!
My only small complaint about the tour would be that it consisted of a lot of wine and comparatively little food. For Russ and I who don't eat dinner super late, we had planned for this 4:30-7:30pm tour to serve as dinner. But we ended up drinking quite a lot on semi-empty stomachs, and though we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, we paid for it a bit the next day!
So fun! I’m making you go back with me. And we’re spending all day eating pastries and hanging out in the old bookstore.
ReplyDeleteSounds good to me!
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