Lisbon--Belem

Our February half term trip to Lisbon and Porto was, to no surprise, hastily planned.  It started as a Rosa and Jen trip and became a Rosa, Jen and Chuck trip and finally morphed into a Rosa, Jen, Chuck and Sa'adah (Chuck's friend) trip.  The dynamic worked nicely but we honestly had no idea what to expect upon arrival in Portugal.

We were all exhausted as well.  Rosa flew from Latvia and met us at Stansted before boarding and we started having a think about what we might do when we arrived.  We didn't have any guide books or a map.  We knew two things--we needed to eat pastry, we had to get to Porto to fly home.

First looks of Lisbon were tricky.  We arrived late into the evening and went seeking a restaurant.  We found what appeared to be some kind of cafe that looked like a hole in the wall but served a range of fish, soup and Portuguese delicacies at cut rate.  I quickly learned two things: 1. the Portuguese have an obsession with sardines and soups (not necessarily together), particularly some cabbage-based stewy wonder; 2. nondescript restaurants are the norm here: minimal decor=excellent food.  Delicious. 

The next morning, well rested, we made a go at exploration. In a capital city of roughly half a million, it was hard not to feel like Lisbon had been somewhat neglected.  Lots of buildings needed a good scrub and there were lots of abandoned, derelict factories, apartment blocks, etc in the middle of the city.  

It didn't feel dangerous, just a bit sad.  We began our wanders ranging up and down the seven hills of the city.  Trams, funiculars and bikes dominated the transport from hill to hill and we started our wanderings at the furthest point from our accommodation, in Belem.  

Stop One: Belem 

Belem is famous for its gorgeous views and pastry--pasteis de nata--a custard-filled delight that you can opt to top with cinnamon and caster sugar.  We frequented the famous Casa Pasteis de Belem bakery and sat in the sun before heading to a little market selling antiques, crafts and handmade goods.

I fell in love with a 50-year-old man who carved ceramic boxes and waxed lyrical about the history of Lisbon.  Chuck also fell in love with him, thus validating the romance and delicacy this man put into his craft.  

From there we headed riverside where we discovered a group of men in intense remote-control-sailboat battle.  They tacked back and forth several times as I sat transfixed.  It reminded me of my NYC Boat basin days:   

 

 The Golden Gate Bridge (25 April Bridge) and Cristo Rei (Christ the Redeemer's smaller cousin) also made an appearance on the skyline as we climbed Belem Tower to get a better view.

 We spent the rest of the waning daylight wandering through various neighborhoods trying to get back to central Lisbon.  With varying degrees of success, we found some things we were looking for.  For Chuck--a geocache, for Sa'adah--a nap and for Rosa and I--the bus back to the centre.

Our day ended with a wander through the Alfama neighbourhood and a climb up a set of stairs attached to Santa Justa lift.  Hard to explain but hopefully I'll find some pictures at one point or another.