Lisbon

After two delightful days in Obidos we farewelled lovely hosts Gilberto and Cecelia. Gilberto kindly drove us to the bus stop for our one hour journey to Lisbon’s bus terminal.

An Uber ride from there delivered us to our rather unexpectedly fancy apartment (no stairs) in a lovely part of Lisbon in the early afternoon. We are located close to the city centre, the Rossio square and train station. A perfect location.

We headed out to explore our neighbourhood for a few hours and on the way back purchased supplies for our three days in Lisbon, returning to the apartment for dinner (mixed platter of cheese, olives, fruit, and salad) accompanied by wine we had purchased earlier. We are relaxed and ready to walk up and down hills over the next few days as Lisbon is not a flat city! Rick Steves describes Lisbon as ramshackle, trendy and charming; however, we would add ‘city of hills’.

The jacaranda trees (from Brazil) are in full flower, decorating the Rossio Placa.

Like many European cities Lisbon has a long history dating back to the Romans (2nd century) and Moors (8th century). On the morning of All Saints Day in 1755 a tremendous off-shore earthquake rocked Lisbon, followed by devastating tsunami and days of fires. As a result, much of the city was destroyed and then rebuilt, under the (despotic, autocratic) rule of the Marquis de Pombal who was King Joseph I’s de facto chief minister (BTW, an alumnus of the University of Coimbra which we visited a few days ago).

We booked a Historical and Cultural walking tour with “GuruWalk” – a service we’d discovered through Canadians we met in Obidos. The ‘guru’ guides could be retired academics, architects or history students. It is free to book on guided tour, however at the end of the tour you pay your guide in cash the amount you feel the tour warranted.

The two hour thirty minute tour was led by Marco, a 30 year old local who had also spent some time in Colombia. We were joined by three youngish folk from Austria. Marco was great and very knowledgeable and extended the tour so we could climb up another long hill to a viewpoint overlooking Lisbon. He also recommended a tasca (a very small cafe) where we could partake in the best ‘bifana’ - pork, slow cooked in red wine and beer and spices (typically paprika and perhaps a dash of piri-piri) for sixteen hours, shredded and served in a soft roll. We had been told you cannot leave Lisbon without enjoying a bifana, so we followed Marco’s advice and he was spot-on – a delicious treat.

Scenes from the tour with Marco.

The castle up top of the hill - not a highly recommended site for a visit - so we climbed to just below the walls.

The arch above this door was cracked by the 1775 quake, but the building survived.

Views inside the handsome church in which an antisemitic riot began when a crowd of churchgoers attacked and killed several people in the congregation whom they suspected were Jews. The violence escalated city-wide, with between 500 and 4,000 'New Christians' - the name for Jews who had been forcibly converted to Christianity - being killed.

The memorial stone outside the Church of the Massacre.

The 25th April 1974 was the date of the 'Carnation Revolution' - the military coup that overthrew the government - the day the military refused to act against demonstrators and the people on the streets inserted flowers into the barrels of soldiers' rifles.

The small 'tasca' where we enjoyed a spicy bifana.

The owners are an Indian couple....

Late afternoon we headed to Martim Moniz Square to ride the famous #28 yellow vintage tram which is a Lisbon classic, and yes, very “touristy”. We read that the best time to go was early evening. We arrived after 6.00pm to find a queue stretching down the road – meaning a lot of tourists had read the same message! An hour later we boarded one of the #28 trams which wound around the city’s narrow streets through the various districts in Lisbon. A great rattly ride on ancient 18-seater unit, and a unique way to experience Lisbon.

Join the tram #28 queue.... Glyn towards the left edge of the pic - jumper draped over her shoulders. And a yellow ambulance parked on the tram tracks to attend to someone who'd had a fall in a nearby building.

Photos on the fly as we rattled round the narrow streets.

Sharp right hand bend coming, so the tram has to cross over to the left to get around (a bit like the 'old' days before power steering when Grandad would swing left before turning right).

Two minutes from our apartment is a super restaurant - “Honest Greens” - serving fresh ‘wholesome’ food. Their motto is “Improve society through healthy food”. After our bifana lunch it was a great option for a 9.00pm dinner; ‘Spring Burrata’ to start, followed by ‘Wild Mediterranean’ with Roasted Sweet Potato as a side (see the interesting menu attached).

We had booked tickets for the Monastery of Jeronimos in Belem - the area down by the Tagus River (which is in fact a very wide estuary at that point). Seems every tourist in Lisbon had the same idea. They only allow a certain number of people in at one time - our waiting time was an hour in a long queue in rather warm sunshine. It certainly was worth the wait – beautifully crafted construction that was spared damage in the 1755 earthquake.

The 'line' for the Monastery - the American we spoke with didn't understand the word 'queue' (as many of us know).

A most ornate doorframe for the gents!!

The monastery had 12 confessionals along this corridor (each door opened to a confessional) - in days gone by the monastery catered to the confessions of sailors and travellers as Belem is where many voyages commenced and ended.

On the way to the National Coach Museum we stopped to view the Monument of the Discoveries - which celebrates the exploration feats of Portuguese in the Age of Discovery during the 15th and 16th centuries, and was created as part of the celebration of 500 years since the death of Henry the Navigator, who is the lead figure of the statues that include famous names such as Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan and Bartolomeu Dias.

A quick lunch in Belem before visiting the National Coach Museum – a very worthwhile 40 minutes admiring the range of coaches, charabancs, cabriolets, etc. on view. Anyone who was someone obviously spent up big to impress.

Rolls, Bentley, Jaguar and Mercedes insignia are tame compared with this 'rear spoiler' on a Papal carriage.

And 'mag' wheels don't have a patch on these carriage wheels.

A Portuguese saddle - looks comfortable, but we're no judge, neither of us being a rider.

The sports car - drive yourself or rely on a postillion mounted on one of the horses.

A 2-person sedan, carried by two mules or horses.

And finally the childrens version,

Our last night in Lisbon we treated ourselves to a delicious dinner and excellent red wine at a small restaurant across the road called "Wine Not” – indeed, why not?

A wine list of a different design!!

So we farewell Lisbon and look foward to our two night stay in Sintra. We far prefer visiting the small towns and villages where we find we get a real feel for the place and usually meet interesting people.