Discovering Lisbon

Lisbon is a city that prides itself on its maritime history and more importantly the role Portugal played in discovering new lands. A city on a beautiful river (the Tagus) that opens up to the wide North Atlantic Ocean, it was a perfect spot for setting sail to Africa and Brazil (where many Portuguese colonies were established).

Gretchen traveled on with us to explore this city, and we all decided that Portugal was definitely worth the venture. We know we will be spending more time here in the future!

Day 1 we started out by exploring on foot and on sea. Day 2 had us taking a “Tuk Tuk” tour to explore the vistas of the city and get an overview of the central areas. That was followed by a walking food tour. And day 3 had us being picked up by a driver AND guide (how special) and heading out to Cascais and Sintra. Day 4 was a little more low-key as we were all exhausted, but we did manage to take in a few sites and do MORE walking!

Our hotel (Hotel da Baixa) was conveniently located just a few blocks from Praca do Comercio, the main square on the river. It was fabulous being located in the heart of the city, so convenient to walk everywhere and experience the liveliness that Lisbon has to offer.

Lisbon was rebuilt in the late 1700s after a devastating 9.1 earthquake in 1755 followed by tsunami and fire. It is a city of both old (the historic Alfama district mostly remained intact) and new since much of the remainder of the city was rebuilt in the “new” architectural style of that day. Current Lisboners highly credit King Jose I and his very progressive minister who undertook a major rebuilding in a short period of time,

A statue of King Jose I sits in the center of the Praca do Comercio

The Arch of Triumph leads to the commercial streets behind the plaza.

Our first views of the city…by boat!

To get our bearings, we hopped on to a Portuguese traditional boat for a tour of the river, and had a blast! It was a great way to see some of the landmarks that sit along the expansive riverside. And they did serve us a traditional Portuguese wine which didn’t hurt the experience either! We were lucky those rain clouds held and did not start to pour down on us.

That’s our boat for the excursion!

PLEASE don’t rain in the next 90 minutes!
We forgot to carry umbrellas as the sun was out when we set out.

Our guide spoke four languages on the tour as we had people from all over. Why weren’t we raised to be multilingual?

Lovely city views.

The same firm who built the Golden Gate Bridge built this one. The similarity was jarring. So much of this city reminds me of SF; the bridge, the earthquake and fire; the hills and vistas; the cable cars.

Across the river lives this landmark, the Christi Rei Statue, inspired by Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer.

Belem Tower sits on what once was an island in the Tagus River. Dating back to 1515 it was built to both defend Lisbon from invaders and to welcome friends. The King used to watch explorers take off and return from here.

The Monument to the Discoveries is a mammoth white stone structure set at the point where many of Portugal’s exploration voyages set off. Dedicated to Portugal’s Prince Henry the Navigator who ushered in the age of discovery, he sits at the peak. Down both sides are other important figures in Portuguese navigation.

When we came back to explore this area later by foot, Gary took the trek to the top. That’s him waving to us down below (click on the picture to find him!). It will give you an idea of the size of this structure.

Gary was very intrigued by this historic power plant, although we didn’t have time to fit in a tour. But what a beautiful structure.

The MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology) is striking, modern structure that lies on the riverfront. Mostly used for expositions.

Back to the Plaza with the sun starting to poke out and light up the beautiful colorful buildings and red tile rooftops!

Stonework and Tile, Oh My!

Before I get too far, let me talk about what what you see at your feet. Portuguese pavement is a wonder unto itself and really captures the spirit of this city. Basalt and limestone, cut into squares, are used to make mosaic patterns and are painstakingly laid by hand. They can actually be found across Portugal and even into some of the old colonies such as Rio de Janeiro and San Paulo, Brazil. They were a joy to explore. Here’s a sampling…

The waves can actually make you dizzy!

Another lovely aspect to the city is the decorative tile that is everywhere, including on buildings. I think Gary was a little worried I might decide to add tile to the exterior of the new house! Well…maybe? What do you think?

Lots of historical reliefs.

Even maps at vista points were in tile!

All tile. Yellow, red and blue. Who needs paint when you can tile? Although it would be hard to switch if you wanted something different.

Patterns.

How pretty is that?

And even 3-D tile! I could go on but you get the picture.

Lisbon Highlights

We found a lot more to explore on both our Tuk Tuk and walking food tours across the city as well as just our own meanderings. You may be asking “what is a Tuk Tuk?”. Sort of like a golf cart, these are popular for taking tourists around cities where it may be difficult navigating around the streets (think Florence, Lisbon and Porto where we tried this experience!).

Strap in, rain our shine, for a trip through the narrow streets of Lisbon!

Here’s a few highlights from our explorations:

Stumbled across this sand artist and his masterpieces!

Came back here TWICE to eat after watching the Lisbon episode of
“Somebody Feed Phil”. Time Out Market brings vendors from some of the best restaurants and bars around Lisbon into one market space. Had some good food and drink here!

Following our Tuk Tuk guide through some of the meandering, and narrow!, streets in Alfama.

Street murals celebrating Fado culture…Lisbon’s version of the blues.

We took in some amazing vistas!

Drank some lovely port while trying Portuguese snacks. This was followed by the best street pork sandwiches downed with local cider; cod cakes; and the world famous Pasel De Nara pastries with cappuccino.

Dove deep into Lisbon’s love of salted cod with our fabulous food guide.

Also their famous canned fish! We have some in our bags you can try!

Also stopped to try (and buy!) some Ginja, Lisbon’s locally made aperitif made from cherries. Delicious.

In addition to the beautiful Lisbon Cathedral in the Alfama district, we also also visited the stunning Santa Maria de Belem Church.

Arriving to Lisbon Cathedral via Tuk Tuk!

Don’t miss the Santa Maria de Belem Church, where many explorers and Portuguese Kings and Queens are buried. Lovely.

A Day Trip to Cascais and Sintra

On our day trip out of the city center of Lisbon, we made a quick stop in Cascais, a beautiful seaside holiday town. Cascais is a traditional Portuguese fishing town that has developed into a popular resort destination with villas overlooking the coast. It is also the spot where Cristiano Ronaldo is building his new villa and we were lucky enough to be with a private driver who could get us into the gated community to take a peek!

The Villas are extremely varied in architecture and design, making for lovely streetscapes.

Hard to say, but if I had to choose…I thought this one was lovely!

This one, owned by some British aristocrat, was just a little imposing.

On our way to Sintra, we took some time to explore the Quinta (estate) da Regaleira and Gardens, classified as a World Heritage Site along with neighboring Sintra (more about that in a moment!). In addition to the Romantic style palace, the estate includes a luxurious park that features lakes, grottoes, wells, benches, fountains and a vast array of interesting features that relate to the interests of the original owner (alchemy, Masonry, the Knights Templar, and the Rosicrucians). A lot of cult-ish stuff going on which totally fascinates me!

A quick glance at the entrance to the estate.

The entrance is actually through the original, and beautifully appointed, stables! These horses lived in LUXORY.

A view of the actual home.

A small chapel leads you into the entrance of the home.

Our very knowledgeable, informative (and chatty!) guide for the day giving us some background in front of the chapel.

A lot of beautiful tile and wood work in this estate.

Some park views.

The park contains an extensive system of tunnels with multiple entry points, thought to be originally used in initiation ceremonies (creepy!). The most famous feature is the “Initiation Well” that resembles an inverted or underground tower lined with stairs. The spacing of the landings combined with the number of steps are linked to Tarot mysticism. Here’s a few snaps from our journey from the top to the bottom. At the bottom you exit through tunnels to one of the grottos on the estate. Magical!

A view of the Castle of the Moors from the grounds. We, sadly, didn’t have time to visit this site during our excursion, a reason to come back some day!

Before heading to Pena National Palace, we stopped for a quick lunch and SANGRIA break in Sintra! Gary never passed up an opportunity for sangria once we hit Portugal and Spain, and these ones were spectacular!

Here’s a few snaps of the beautiful town of Sintra.

A lot of Moorish influence.

Sintra was definitely a bucket list item and did not disappoint. Above this beautiful town, high on the hilltops, resides Peña National Palace, one of the most beautiful structures in Portugal. Vividly painted terraces, decorative battlements, and mythological statues stand in stark contrast to the beautiful lush green surroundings of the Parque de Peña forest. Just spectacular. Here’s a few snaps approaching the Palace.

Finally (after a long entry line) getting ready to enter. So much detail everywhere it was hard to take it all in!

And here’s some interior shots! Beautiful color and details throughout. Prepare yourself, I have a lot of pics and had a hard time weaning any out!

The master of the house.

An interior Moorish style courtyard.

This space was used for larger dinner parties.

I loved the simple kitchen…look at all of that copper!

Some views from the terraces.

What a fabulous tour and an awesome day!

Goodbye Peña…we’ll be back again someday

The National Tile Museum!

On our final day, we took a foray into the National Tile Museum for a closer look at Portuguese tile. The museum is set in Madge de Deus Convent, founded in 1509, which has its own historical tiles that set the museum up for a fabulous experience! The convent is decorated in full Portuguese baroque splendor, with gilded and carved wood, paintings and tile panels.