Song of Lisbon

Michael had been working very hard on his project and accrued some days in lieu for weekends he had worked and coupled with the bank holiday long weekend, we were able to take advantage of week off which we spent in Portugal.  It was our first time flying with the budget airline, Ryan Air, and I have to say that both flights were very good.  There were definitely no frills, however for such a short flight (just over 2 hours), it was quite comfortable.



A short train trip from the airport took us to our hotel (yet another major city with a direct train line from the airport – when is Melbourne going to get with the programme?)  Then it was off to explore the city.

 

Lisbon is a beautiful city filled with narrow, winding cobbled streets and footpaths.  The roads themselves can be quite steep and you need a fair bit of stamina to constantly climb up and down.  The roads leading down to the harbour are picture-postcard pretty, with washing hanging over the balconies and elderly ladies leaning out of the windows watching the comings and goings.  Michael didn’t waste any time tracking down his first pastel de nata, the Portuguese egg tart pastry that is common in Portugal.  I have never been a fan of egg tarts, however I became seriously addicted to these tasty mouthfuls over the course of our stay.

 

The following day we took a tram ride out to the picturesque district of Belem.  There are many landmarks in the area including the Jeronimos Monastery and the Tower of Belem.  There is also the Monument to the Discoveries, which is a 52 metre high slab of concrete erected in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator.  The monument is shaped like a ship’s prow and is adorned with dozens of figures from Portuguese history.  There was also a huge market taking place the day we were there, so it was pleasant wandering around in the sunshine looking at the various stalls.



We made the most of the sunshine and took a half hour train journey to Sintra, a resort town in the foothills of the Sintra Mountains.  This was the home of Portugal’s monarchs and is now a major tourist destination.  We were lucky to visit when we did, as the crowds must be horrendous in the peak season.  A short bus ride took us up a very steep mountain to the Pena National Palace.  The sweeping views of Sintra and the Atlantic were well worth the visit and the palace was interesting and painted in very bold and unusual colours.

 

Michael and I then walked down part of the mountain to the Castle of the Moors (or Moops as they will forever be to me – thanks George Costanza).  This ruinous castle was constructed in the 8th or 9th century and we were able to clamber all over the structure and admire the spectacular views.  We then trekked back down the mountain to the main town where we found a lovely wine bar and spent an hour or so with a glass of wine and a cheese board.

 

One of the best places that we visited was the Mercado da Ribeira, a fabulous market showcasing the best of Lisbon cuisine.  The food was sensational and Michael and I returned there a number of times during the course of our stay.  Michael enjoyed the fresh seafood whilst I enjoyed the pork pancakes amongst other things and of course there were beautiful wines, beer and sangria on offer.

 

We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary with a visit to Sao Jorge Castle, another Moorish castle on the tallest of Lisbon’s 7 hills.  Once again we clambered all over the walls and the views were again spectacular.  The weather was a sunny 30 degrees and it didn’t take long for me to wilt in the heat.  Both of us started to sunburn quite quickly so we headed to the shade of the Thieves Market for a brief respite and some lunch.  Dinner that evening was a celebratory glass of champagne followed by octopus (Michael) and roast suckling pig (me) at a lovely family run restaurant.  The waiter kept apologising for his bad English (it was perfect), and would then talk French to another table of diners as well as speaking Portuguese to the locals.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he could speak Spanish and German as well.





The Home of Port



A very comfortable 3 hour train journey took us to Oporto.  We arrived at the magnificent Sao Bento railway station, which was inaugurated in 1916 and is decorated with tile panels that depict scenes of the history of Portugal.  There are over 20,000 tiles and they are just lovely to look at.  Michael had told me that our hotel was located just behind the station and I was puzzled when I couldn’t see it.  He gestured upwards and my gaze followed his finger, which was pointing up a near vertical street, which ended in a set of huge, steep steps and, sure enough, there was our hotel.  I swear that man thinks that I am part Sherpa! Off we set, with luggage, to scale the heights, in 33 degrees heat. 

Hotel is the white building at the top of the hill only 200 mtrs

Luckily for him, our hotel room was fabulous – a suite, complete with George Clooney coffee maker so he was soon forgiven for treating me like a mountain goat.

 

We set off to explore the city and found it to be beautiful.  The streets were narrow and cobbled just like Lisbon, with the prettiest areas being along the Douro River.  The streets were very steep but luckily Michael booked us on a hop on hop off bus tour, so we didn’t totally wear ourselves out.  There was also a funicular, which operated in the steepest street.

 

Our main reason for visiting Oporto was to taste the port for which the town is famous.  We visited the Casa Kopke, which is the oldest wine lodge in Vila Nova.  We were able to taste 2 ports with a chocolate pairing and it was a relaxing way to spend a little time. 

 

Michael found a restaurant close to our hotel that served traditional Portuguese food.  It was a family run restaurant, with even the elderly grandmother putting in an appearance. Very little English was spoken, so we relied heavily on Michael’s Portuguese phrase book.  Our meal was delicious, with Michael choosing sardines whilst I had the roast pork. The owner even gave Michael and I a sample of some type of liqueur which tasted like rocket fuel and which sent me into a coughing fit.  We enjoyed our meals so much that we returned for a repeat performance the following evening.



The next day we took a river cruise, which was pleasant and relaxing.  Unfortunately, the lovely, sunny weather deserted us and the rain set in however, we were still able to enjoy the cruise and the cooler temperatures made walking around a bit more comfortable.  We sampled some more ports, this time at Quinta Do Noval-vinhos Sa, including one that was 40 years old – lovely!  We both tried Francesinha for lunch, which is a Portuguese sandwich made with bread, wet-cured ham, smoke-cured pork sausage, chipolata and steak covered with melted cheese and a hot, thick tomato and beer sauce.  If that sounds like a lot – it is!  Delicious, however there was no way that I was ever going to finish a meal that huge.

 

In the afternoon we toured Cockburn’s Port Lodge.  The tour guide was very informative and took us through the cellars and showed us the barrels used for the aging process.  The tour concluded with a port tasting, which once again was very nice.  Michael purchased 3 bottles of port to take back to Ireland with us after first checking what the allowance was.  Would you believe that you are allowed 20 litres of port per person if you are travelling from a European Union country?  You are also allowed a staggering 90 litres of wine.

 

We were sad to leave Oporto however we had another comfortable return train journey to Lisbon.  The weather had taken a turn for the worse and we arrived in a torrential downpour.  Luckily our hotel wasn’t too far from the station however, we were still soaked by the time we arrived.  We dropped off our bags and headed into the main part of the city however it was just too wet to walk around.  We found our way to the Mercado da Ribeira and settled in for an early dinner and a nice glass or two of wine.  We were lucky that the weather was so good for the first part of our stay in Lisbon.



Portugal is a lovely country and it would be great to return and explore outside the main cities.  The food and wine are fabulous and the people very friendly.  I will certainly miss the Pastel de natas.