Where: Lisbon, Portugal
When: August 22 - 24, 2012
With: Dave
The rest of our time in Lisbon consisted of exploring its many neighborhoods.
While we tried to be adventurous and find different places to go out, both of our nights seemed to consist of us walking down empty streets until we reached the Praça do Comércio, or "Trade Square". This large empty square at the edge of Lisbon is lined with small cafés that played live music late into the night. While it was touristy, the sangria was good, the music kept playing, and the views from the edge of the river were pleasant.
After our first breakfast in Lisbon, we returned to the Praça do Comércio in the daylight for the start of our self-guided walking tour around the Baixa neighborhood. The square makes a perfect kick-off as the neighborhood exists in its current state as a result of the great earthquake of 1755. Pre-1755, the Praça do Comércio served as the royal palace before it was leveled to the ground.
Passing through this Arc, we began our walk through the rest of the Baixa, or "lower", neighborhood. This is the biggest accomplishment of Pombal's work after the earthquake. The neighborhood was built on a grid pattern with military preciseness. The buildings are all the same size with similar façades and all built to withstand another earthquake. Really different to the maze of streets in the Alfama neighborhood next door.
We walked up the main street that out of the Arc. The pedestrian walkway was elaborately patterned in mosaic tiles and street performers lined the entire way.
After the commencement of eating our way through this walking tour, it was high time to start drinking our way through it too. We stopped at this small, hole in the wall place that was literally just a man behind a counter serving one thing, Ginjinha. One of Portugal's national "drinks", it's made from the cherry-like fruit of the same name, grappa, and sugar. It is super strong, but super delicious. We stopped in, just like the locals, for our mid-day shots.
After leaving the funicular, at the top of the hill, we were able to see the shape that gives Lisbon's neighborhoods their names. We were standing on the high point at the edge of Bairro Alto looking across at the Alfama (look for the castle over there) covering the other hill, while the Baixa lays in the valley between the two.
First stop was at the Port Wine Institute. We left the heat of the sun to sit in big squishy arm chairs and study a menu of over 150 different kinds of port. Dave initially ordered 3 glasses to taste for EACH of us, but luckily, the woman misheard and only brought us 3 glasses total. Our day would have taken a serious turn otherwise.
Stumbling downhill through the neighborhood, we stopped in the São Roque Church. It was cool because it's ceiling was all wood painted to look like a dome. The chapels around the edges were so incredibly gaudy, each one trying to outdo the next. The best part was how well the unassuming outside of the church hid the ornate interior.
The last bit we saw of the Baixa neighborhood was the Largo do Carmo, a square that contained the Convento do Carmo. The most tragic thing about the earthquake of 1755 was the fact that it occurred on All Saints Day on a Sunday at 9:30am, meaning that the majority of the country was attending Sunday holiday mass. This structure is a stark reminder of how many of the estimated 90,000 people who died that day perished as the roofs of their churches came tumbling down on top of them. The Gothic arches were left with nothing above but sky as a memorial to that day.
The final neighborhood we explored on our last day in Lisbon was Belém. This one was a little ways outside of central Lisbon, but gave us the opportunity to finally ride the trolley. The area of Belém once acted as the main port for sailors of Lisbon, as it had a tall tower that welcomed returning ships home, as well as a chapel where sailors could pray before setting off again.
Our morning in Belém started at Casa Pasteis de Belém, known for its famous custard tarts, pastel de Belém. You are actually encouraged to cover these delicious pastries in cinnamon and powdered sugar (heaven!) and with some fresh-squeezed OJ and coffee on the side, this breakfast was amazing!
After breakfast, it was off to the National Coach Museum. The last queen of Portugal saw that cars were the way of the future, and in 1905, she converted this formal riding school into a showroom for all her wonderfully elaborate horse-drawn carriages. Also included in her collection are coaches that date back as far as the 1600s, including some that used to carry the pope.
Inside, the church was crowded and fairly plain compared to most churches we'd seen. The part I did really like though was how the columns and ceiling were made to look like palm trees.
The main attraction of the Monastery is the cloisters in the back. I will say, they probably weren't worth the 10 EUR to get in (the rest of the church was totally free), but I wouldn't have felt like we'd seen everything otherwise. We were pretty much museum-ed out at this point, when Dave looked at me and said "no more history".
When: August 22 - 24, 2012
With: Dave
The rest of our time in Lisbon consisted of exploring its many neighborhoods.
While we tried to be adventurous and find different places to go out, both of our nights seemed to consist of us walking down empty streets until we reached the Praça do Comércio, or "Trade Square". This large empty square at the edge of Lisbon is lined with small cafés that played live music late into the night. While it was touristy, the sangria was good, the music kept playing, and the views from the edge of the river were pleasant.
After our first breakfast in Lisbon, we returned to the Praça do Comércio in the daylight for the start of our self-guided walking tour around the Baixa neighborhood. The square makes a perfect kick-off as the neighborhood exists in its current state as a result of the great earthquake of 1755. Pre-1755, the Praça do Comércio served as the royal palace before it was leveled to the ground.
In the center of the square sits a giant statue of King Jose I. After the 1755 earthquake, he freaked after his palace collapsed and fled to live his life in a wooden palace further up the river. He gave control of the city to a guy named Pombal, who set out to rebuild the razed city and restore Lisbon to its formal glory. To start this process off, he built a giant Arc de Triumph and placed a likeness of himself on top of it.
Passing through this Arc, we began our walk through the rest of the Baixa, or "lower", neighborhood. This is the biggest accomplishment of Pombal's work after the earthquake. The neighborhood was built on a grid pattern with military preciseness. The buildings are all the same size with similar façades and all built to withstand another earthquake. Really different to the maze of streets in the Alfama neighborhood next door.
We walked up the main street that out of the Arc. The pedestrian walkway was elaborately patterned in mosaic tiles and street performers lined the entire way.
The rest of the neighborhood are buildings built to replace what fell during the earthquake. However, our guide book had a couple of nice little surprises hidden in the rigid structures. One of them was an old fashioned sweet shop that opened in 1829 and hasn't changed much since. We definitely stopped in for a pastry and Coke in an old-fashioned bottle.
After the commencement of eating our way through this walking tour, it was high time to start drinking our way through it too. We stopped at this small, hole in the wall place that was literally just a man behind a counter serving one thing, Ginjinha. One of Portugal's national "drinks", it's made from the cherry-like fruit of the same name, grappa, and sugar. It is super strong, but super delicious. We stopped in, just like the locals, for our mid-day shots.
Those drinks definitely made the next square we came to more interesting. Rossio was believed to be a Roman racetrack 2,000 years ago, and still serves as the city's cultural center today (cue African immigrants trying to sell us hashish). The most notable thing about the square are the mosaic tiles, made to look like ocean waves. It apparently used to make the locals seasick. After walking around here for 10 minutes, I could see how that could happen - it was like a Magic Eye.
A few squares later and we had seen the end of the Baixa neighborhood. Now it was time to go up to the Bairro Alto (or "high" neighborhood). To get there, we had to take a funicular, a little trolley that's rail goes up and down a very large hill.
After leaving the funicular, at the top of the hill, we were able to see the shape that gives Lisbon's neighborhoods their names. We were standing on the high point at the edge of Bairro Alto looking across at the Alfama (look for the castle over there) covering the other hill, while the Baixa lays in the valley between the two.
After enjoying the views, it was off to explore the neighborhood.
First stop was at the Port Wine Institute. We left the heat of the sun to sit in big squishy arm chairs and study a menu of over 150 different kinds of port. Dave initially ordered 3 glasses to taste for EACH of us, but luckily, the woman misheard and only brought us 3 glasses total. Our day would have taken a serious turn otherwise.
Stumbling downhill through the neighborhood, we stopped in the São Roque Church. It was cool because it's ceiling was all wood painted to look like a dome. The chapels around the edges were so incredibly gaudy, each one trying to outdo the next. The best part was how well the unassuming outside of the church hid the ornate interior.
Since the theme of this walking tour seemed to be slightly alcohol focused, we next stopped in the "oldest beer hall in Lisbon". The room used to serve as the dining hall of a monastery, but when the monks were expelled in 1834, a brewery opened and it's been a beer hall ever since.
The last bit we saw of the Baixa neighborhood was the Largo do Carmo, a square that contained the Convento do Carmo. The most tragic thing about the earthquake of 1755 was the fact that it occurred on All Saints Day on a Sunday at 9:30am, meaning that the majority of the country was attending Sunday holiday mass. This structure is a stark reminder of how many of the estimated 90,000 people who died that day perished as the roofs of their churches came tumbling down on top of them. The Gothic arches were left with nothing above but sky as a memorial to that day.
Our morning in Belém started at Casa Pasteis de Belém, known for its famous custard tarts, pastel de Belém. You are actually encouraged to cover these delicious pastries in cinnamon and powdered sugar (heaven!) and with some fresh-squeezed OJ and coffee on the side, this breakfast was amazing!
After breakfast, it was off to the National Coach Museum. The last queen of Portugal saw that cars were the way of the future, and in 1905, she converted this formal riding school into a showroom for all her wonderfully elaborate horse-drawn carriages. Also included in her collection are coaches that date back as far as the 1600s, including some that used to carry the pope.
The biggest draw to Belém for the sailors of Lisbon was the chapel. But in 1495, King Manuel decided to build the Monastery of Jerónimos on the site of the chapel as a thank you to Portuguese explorers for all their discoveries. I wonder how the sailors felt about that.
Inside, the church was crowded and fairly plain compared to most churches we'd seen. The part I did really like though was how the columns and ceiling were made to look like palm trees.
The main attraction of the Monastery is the cloisters in the back. I will say, they probably weren't worth the 10 EUR to get in (the rest of the church was totally free), but I wouldn't have felt like we'd seen everything otherwise. We were pretty much museum-ed out at this point, when Dave looked at me and said "no more history".
So we ended our morning in Belém with a walk along the river and lunch.
Time to say goodbye to Lisbon!
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