As usual, our first plan never works out. Jennie, Lindsey, Forrest, and I hoped to spend our first long weekend together in the beautiful tiled city of Porto, Portugal. However, our hopes to travel to Porto for our extended weekend was thwarted by a serious lack of availability of hostels in the area…one again, our luck to find adequate housing evades us. So, after hours of searching online and calling hostels, we decided to continue our southbound trip onward to Lisbon. Additionally, Jesse, another one of our friends, decided on a whim over Thursday-night Sangria to join us. Our group set, busses booked, and hostels reserved, we were on our way!
We left early Friday morning to take our first bus at 9am to Porto. During our short layover in the city, we were able to quickly explore, taste their infamous port desert wine, grab a bite of natas, and steal a glance of the beautifully tiled blue exterior of the Capilla de las Almas church. (Nata is a famous national pastry that is a key component to Portuguese daily life. Shaped like a tart, the pastry is made of a croissant like crust filled with a sweet custard.)
Capilla de las Almas & Nata with Coffee
On the note of food and drink, I had no idea how strong port truly is! No more than a small glass is recommended by me. What little bit of Porto I was able to see has secured a spot as another one of my future weekend getaways.
From Porto, we caught our next bus to Lisbon. We arrived there in the late afternoon, dropped off our bags at the Tuk Tuk Hostel, and went out on the town. Much like Vigo, Lisbon is a hilly city located on a large river near the coast. From our hostel, we headed downhill to walk by the water and explore the Square of Commerce. From there, we toured the Lisbon Beer Museum, I tasted my first green wine, and we ate dinner at a newly opened Vegan-Thai fusion restaurant.
Green wine is another Lisbon staple. The wine—although not really green—is made by picking the grapes very early in the process. Because the grapes are very young, the wine is known to be a spring and summer wine due to its sweet and almost bubbly taste. Overall, the food, the wine, and of course the natas were to die for! By the end of the weekend I was stuffed to the rim with pastries, coffee, and vino. After our long first day, we retired to our hostel, booked a free walking tour for the morning, and turned in to our bunks.
Exploring the Streets with a little bit of Green Wine
Video from the Lisbon Beer Museum
On Saturday we woke up bright and early to join Sandeman’s free walking tour of the city. Over the course of three hours, our guide João took us to all the popular locations, gave us insight into Portugal’s twisty history and famous poets, and offered advice on where to find the best bacalhau. Here’s just a quick list of the locations we visited, fun facts about the city, and pictures I took along the way:
Largo do Chiado (Great area for shopping, home to the famous café Brisileira—coffee from Brazil—make sure to ask for “Bica”)
Famous Portuguese Poet: Fernando Pessoa (He created more than 100 fictional poets and characters within his head. Each of the different personas also displayed a different handwriting as well!)
The tiles that are affixed on many of the apartments and buildings in Lisbon originated from the Moors
The cobblestones that line the streets are made of individually cut and placed limestone (Careful, these become very slick in the rain!)
Bertrand Liveiros: Oldest continuously open bookstore in Portugal, Europe, and the entire world (It was first opened in 1732)
Carmo Square (Location of the old army barracks and where the last Portuguese dictator was assassinated)
Lisbon suffered severe damage during the earthquake that occurred on November 1st 1775, All Saints Day. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake lasted for 10 minutes and was followed by three large tsunami waves. In the aftermath, a huge fire started, lasting for 5 days. In the end, 85% of city was destroyed and only place to have survived was the city’s Red light district. The city of Lisbon is built atop five meters of these ruins. Following this disaster, Lisbon was the first location in the world to construct anti-seismic buildings—these original constructions are still used today.
Elevator de Santa Justa (From the top you can see Tagus River. On the other side of the river is the city of Almada. That city is known for their seafood and construction of Christ the King—similar to the one in Rio, Brasil. Also visible are the Cathedral of Lisbon and the Castle of St. George)
João recommend to search for the tascas to find the most authentic portuguese food and drink (a.k.a. search for a restaurant that has its own handwritten paper menu out front)
Square of Commerce (The square features the Triumphal Arch—at the very top sits Glory. On the platform below the left and right sides signify the Tagus River and Duro River—as well as the statue of King Joseph the First. The statue actually mocks the King’s rule in that it signifies he never went to battle—all legs of the horse on the ground—, the snakes around the bottom signify fear and cowardice, and the statue literally and symbolically turns its back on the entire city)
The Carnation Revolution took place on April 25th, 1974 **my birthday!** (Revolting against their dictator, the people's rebellion began in the streets where soldiers carried carnations as a symbol of peace and nonviolence. Outnumbered, the dictator surrendered, thus finally giving independence to its people)
Lisbon and Portugal’s histories are defined by ups and downs…wealth, poverty, loss and regain of independence, destruction and rebuilding
Left to Right: Triumphal Arch, Elevator de Santa Justa, Arch Backside, João, & Carmo Square
After the tour, we were excited to continue exploring the city, albeit a bit parched after a long morning of walking. That being said, we left in search of a drink. Along our walk we found a small hole-in-the-wall that sold Ginjinha shots. These traditional cherry liquor shots were poured and sold by an elderly man for only a euro each. In the spirit of “trying everything once” we ordered a round! Much like the taste of cough syrup, I can’t say that I would order it again. However, as the saying goes, when in Portugal!
Ginjinha Shots with Friends
Around the corner we toured the São Domingo church and then made our way back to explore the Bertrand Liveiros bookstore. While the shop was a slight letdown, the alley outside was crammed with individual stands selling and buying collections of books. After peering at each stand, we decided to take João’s—our guide from earlier—advice and we headed to the Lisbon Patriarchal Cathedral of Santa Maria Major. Shortly after stopping at a Bacalhau cannery, we skirted off to the streets to the right of the church. There we found a bar with a newly handwritten tasca to rest and drink some more green wine. Not long after we had sat down, João along with another tour group of his walks into the bar! After a few laughs we learned the bar was located beneath the church we had just been in. The owner then showed us to the back where a small secret door which led to the church was hidden. João then pulled out his guitar—he had mentioned earlier he was in a successful band—and played us a few songs. Coincidence notwithstanding, we felt so lucky to have stumbled in on that particular bar for our afternoon drink.
Feeling a little hungry, we took another one of João’s suggestions and went to the Casa do Alentejo. We stopped first at their small bar in a separate section of the restaurant were a large group of folk singers were located. Sitting at the furthest table, they sung many ballads and rounds in Portuguese. Shortly after it began to rain so we headed upstairs to the main restaurant. Dinner was served in a large dining hall where we each ordered the menu of the day which included a bottle of wine for the table; a plate of cheeses, bread, and meats; our main dish; dessert; and finally coffee to finish off the evening—all for just 20 euros! I ordered a nice steak for my main dish and was served a traditional slice of almond cake for dessert.
A quick side-note on the rain…the storm that was coming our way was actually Hurricane Leslie. This was the first hurricane to ever hit Europe, and Lisbon and it’s neighboring cities were at the center! After we finished our delicious dinner, we attempted to stay dry and took a taxi back to the hostel for the night. We then battered down the hatches in our room and fell asleep to the sound of the wind and rain.
Video & Pictures of The Cannery & Tasting of Bacalhau
Bertrand Liveiros Bookstore & Bar with Hidden Priest's Door
Lisbon Patriarchal Cathedral of Santa Maria Major
Ballad Singers at the Casa do Alentejo
We woke up Sunday to find Lisbon just as we had left it. The majority of the damage from the Hurricane was centered around Braga—a city to the north next to where we originally intended to stay. Following a quick bite to eat, we walked to the LX Factory Sunday Market. The Factory was a hipster art center that features various start-up businesses, local farmers, and different art vendors. Even though Jesse and Forrest took the bus back to Vigo, Lindsey, Jennie, and I decided to stay an extra night and take the train to the neighboring pueblo of Sintra. Known for its castles, forts, and fairytale-like splendor, we set off at once. After a short train ride, we decided to first hike up the large hill to the Castelo dos Moros. Established by the North African Moors during the 9th century it served as the guard to the town of Sintra for many years. In the 19th century, King Ferdinand II transformed it into a romantic space and garden for the neighboring Palacio de Peña.
Castelo dos Moros
After pretending we were royalty inspecting the grounds and high turrets of the castle, we descended to the neighboring Palacio de Peña. Already having spent our money on the admission to the castle, we passed on the opportunity to further explore the palace. From there we walked back to the town, stopping at a small local restaurant where we played a round of darts and enjoyed a quick sandwich. Once back in the city center we toured the Palácio Nacional de Sintra, the local parish church of São Martinho de Sintra, and caught a glimpse of the Quinta de Regaleria gothic mansion. After a long day we booked the next train back to Lisbon. That evening we finished our last bottle of green wine, had a late night dinner of local tapas, and topped off the trip with a celebratory milkshake.
Views From the Palácio Nacional
São Martinho de Sintra & Quinta de Regaleria
The next morning we woke up early to more rain and made our way over to the bus station. While we almost missed our bus—we were an hour early at the station, however there were no signs listed to indicate which terminal our ride was to be located at—, we finally found it by chance after having run around in the rain like chickens with our heads cut off. Our eight hour bus ride back home to Vigo gave us some much needed rest after our wild weekend.
In all, I had a truly wonderful time in Lisbon and our day trip to Sintra. The sites were quite spectacular and both cities were stood out by their incredible use of color. I also very much enjoyed speaking with the locals in my own mix of Spanish and Portuguese. While it is very difficult to speak Portuguese, having a Spanish background allowed me to understand most of what was said and written. I am so happy to have spent this long weekend getting to know my roommates better and solidifying friendships that I hope will last a lifetime! Even though I can now add Portugal to my ever-growing list of countries I have visited, I am certain that it will not be my last time there. For now, boas viagens and obregada!
Here's a slideshow of more pictures as well as videos from Lisbon & Sintra!
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