Last day in Lisbon

Last night I planned to coordinate with Yoshiko to do the famous Tram 28 and Castelo Sao Jorge so after getting myself organized and having a so-so breakfast, we headed out to try and find tickets and the tram. 

Tickets are obtained via the Metro station and we get day passes. The start of the tram is a little more challenging because neither of us have good senses of direction so we kept going in circles but we found it. We waited for a couple of trams so we would have a seat with the intention of riding all the way to the end and back. 

This and a few other tramways still use the smaller traditional tram cars because they can fit in the narrow winding streets. We pass close by the tile walls of buildings, trams going the other way and around narrow corners avoiding pedestrians and wayward autos. At Camoes, we are suddenly told to get out. The tram is not continuing. Turns out they are using minibuses for the last half, which is not as fun. The remainder of the journey is in heavily residential areas. When we get kicked off the minibus, we take a minute to gather ourselves and I find a different tram routes that will take us near our hotel. This route goes a slightly different way, along the river. 

When we finally get back to our hotel, we circle the block a few times to try and find a bifana restaurant that Gerardo recommended. It was so simple but delicious, just garlicky pork on a soft roll and a pile of French fries. 

It really hit the spot after our morning excursion. 

Our afternoon adventure will take us to Castelo Sao Jorge which is uphill so we're Ubering. The Uber drops us off at the bottom of the walls surrounding the castle. A short walk takes us to the ticket office and inside the castle itself. The visit consists of a plaza with more great views of the city and river

A museum with artifacts discovered over the years, an archeological site and a walk inside the castle ruins and along the walls for more amazing views.

On the property of the castle is a flock of peafowl: several peacocks, peahens and their chicks. Some of the peafowl have white spots!  And the peacocks are loud! You can hear them screaming bloody murder all over the place! They attract a lot of attention (as they should) for photo ops and they don't seem to care all that much. 

This turned out to be a fun stop and worth a visit. 

Uber takes us back to our hotel where we will have the afternoon to rest before meeting the group for our final dinner. 

 

Dinner with the group is at a restaurant on top of a department store! We were all a little taken aback to walk into a darkened store with no one around. So weird! The restaurant itself is quite nice with a nice balcony, library in back and elegant decor.

 

 The menu is quite nice and they actually have a decent vegetarian section (Jyothi is vegetarian and has had some problems getting a nice meal in some places). I decided on the zucchini lasagna, since I was feeling 'cod-ed' out. The dish consisted of a puree of something with grilled slices of zucchini and what looked like kabocha squash. Quite delicious. A few of us shared a chocolate mousse which was dark, rich and a highlight of my meals in Portugal.

 I'm leaving quite early the next day so goodbyes are said. Some folks are staying in Lisbon for a few days, others are traveling onward. Gerardo has a few days off before picking up his next group tour. I hope to stay in touch with some of these folks but who knows! I've enjoyed this little taste of Portugal. I found the small towns and villages particularly charming and feel like those are the places to spend time in should I return.

Obidos & back to Lisbon

Today started out drizzling but we have a private transfer first to the small town of Obidos and then to Lisbon. It doesn't take long to get to Obidos. It's a small walled town and it's absolutely delightful.

We enter thru this portal which also features fantastic acoustics so there's usually someone performing here. Inside the wall are a couple of small pedestrian streets lined with shops, many of them with interesting handcrafts, or food or the usual tourist trinkets. There are a lot of ginginha shops because the sour cherry liqueur is from here. Every alley, window and doorway is beautifully decorated or has lovely plants around it. 

The town features a church you can visit as well as a couple of stairs to access the wall. There are no railings and the wall drops abruptly off on the town side but features beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. 

After some time to stroll around town, we meet to have a ginginha tasting. The liqueur s typically served in a chocolate cup and is quite delicious. 

After a delightful morning, we hit the road again for Lisbon. The hotel we are staying at is in the Rossio neighbourhood near some busy squares. Unfortunately there was some issues with the hotel regarding rooms for some of us and they handled it poorly. Because of this I didn't have time to take a few minutes breather before we headed out for our orientation walk. Gerardo takes us all over Lisbon, covering some places I had seen already but also many I hadn't and providing history that I wasn't aware of. The walk involves a lot of uphills and steps and is frankly exhausting. We stop off for pastel de nata to revive ourselves a bit.

They are delicious with the traditional cinnamon on top. Then its back to walking and learning. 

In the evening, because it's Gerardo's birthday, we stop at a Mexican restaurant near our hotel and have drinks/snacks. The evening ended up with tequila shots compliments of the restaurant! 

Tomorrow is a free day when most everyone will be doing their own thing so this feels celebratory. 

Nazare

Today's trip had us heading to the bus station in Coimbra to travel to Nazare. It seems like the bus network is pretty extensive here. On our route we passed 2 smaller towns and an area that had been recently devastated by a severe storm. 

We arrived in Nazare and a short walk got us to our hotel, right off the beach! My roommate and I had an ocean view from the end of our balcony.

I've been slightly obsessed with Nazare since watching the HBO documentary series '100 Foot Wave' about surfer Garrett McNamara and his search for the world's largest wave. Due to a series of geographical events happening all in this place the winter waves can reach astronomical heights. The town itself is a small fishing village but exceptionally picturesque. It also used to be a major pilgrimage site until Fatima knocked it off the throne. 

After a quick steak & chimichurri lunch and some time dipping my feet in the water, the group met to do a tour up to the upper part of the village. There is a funicular, thank goodness, because the cliff is steep! 

The upper village has a museum, small chapel that was built for the pilgrimage and the usual tourist booths. A path takes us down to the lighthouse point, past a gate welcoming us to the home of the world's biggest wave

and a statue of a deer-headed surfer

The lighthouse/fort includes a museum of surfer boards, some info on the reason for the big wave formations and stairs to the top for a vide of the ocean. We're at the level of the seagulls here and right now the water is calm and quiet. During big wave season, the waves are higher than the lighthouse!

It's a remarkable place that has a unique energy to it in the off season. It becomes a mad house during surf season. 

I took too many photos so I had to get back to my hotel to recharge, stopping to pick up a souvenir. From the hotel I walked to the dried fish open air museum down the beach. Several fishing boats are pulled up on the sand with a plaque describing what they are. Next to it are racks of fish and octopus being dried, as well as women sitting at tables with dried wares ready to sell. Quite artistic in their display. 

For the rest of the afternoon, I took advantage of our balcony to sit and recharge my phone and self with the cool ocean breeze.

In the evening, we had a group dinner at a restaurant down the street with an ocean view. We were the only ones in the place! I brought the wine that I was given at my Lisbon hotel to share. It turned out to be an amazing wine! 

Melissa and I shared a grilled fresh caught sea bass with salad and potatoes.

Dinner was festive with good conversation, drinking and eating and we finally left, with the wait staff staring us down. 

Coimbra

Today we all met at our hotel lobby to transfer to Coimbra. We are walking to Sao Bento train station to take a short hop to Porto Campanha station. Some of the group take a taxi with the larger baggage. 

We are in 2nd class (I think I got myself a 1st class ticket up to Porto) and it's quite comfy if a little more crowded than 1st class. The ride is smooth and once we get to Coimbra station, there's a short walk to the hotel. The rooms are cramped and the bldg feels a little run down. After we have a chance to settle in, the group meets for a walk and lunch. First we stop at this amazing mural that tells the story of a knight battling a cobra. Snakes used to be worshipped in the old days before Christianity.

Gerardo takes us to a bacalhao restaurant for lunch where I have cod fritters and tomato rice, like one of my Lisbon meals. 

Our Coimbra walk takes us to the lively main plaza, past very old churches, thru stone walls and up a very steep staircase called Backbreak street.

Coimbra is home to one of the world's oldest universities and we pass students in their traditional uniform which includes capes. They give off a bit of Hogwarts air. The University bldgs were mainly built in the time of the dictator Salazar and have a Brutalist look about them. The main University plaza is barren of plants but has a nice view and we saw students gathering for something. 

After the tour we have some time before our fado show. There's a ginginha shop and ice cream so a few of us did a shot in a chocolate cup pre-show.

The fado show was fantastic, two guitarists (one Portuguese and one classic) and two separate singers. The older man was particularly good. They described different songs they were singing and gave us some history along the way. After the show was a port tasting.

I got myself an ice cream after then Jyothi and I stopped at a place for a bite. I left earlier to go back to the hotel and showered then went to the roof terrace to view the sunset. 

Great little town that we only briefly touched on and could definitely see giving another day or so to fully explore. 

Traveling to Porto

Today I'm taking the train to Porto. I find train stations a little confusing (since I don't travel that way often) and the Uber took a bit of time to pick me up but luckily there were people around willing to direct me where to go. 

When I got to the right track, I checked in with a couple who were already there. Turned out they are from Indiana and are world travelers. We spent a few minutes chitchatting about our various travels until the train arrived and we needed to find our respective seats. I'm completely astonished at the volume of luggage that some people carry! 😳 Way more than they can carry! The train is a fast train with only a few stops. We arrive in Porto Campanha station around 1p. An Uber takes me to my hotel which is right next door to Igreja Santo Ildefonso and in a busy square. 

The room isn't ready yet so I left my luggage and wandered out to find some food. I stopped at a small cafe up the street that had brunch dishes. I got the egg, sausage, fruit with what looks like a flatter wider English Muffin. Definitely hit the spot. 

After lunch I wandered a bit but felt super tired so sat near the church to people watch. After 2p, I got into my room. The hotel uses key codes for locks, the hallways are super moody dark and the room is small. If I'm going to be sharing starting tomorrow night, the beds are twins pushed next to each other. 

After getting a bit settled, I went back out once the church reopened. The entire front of the church is decorated with blue and white tiles, a very unique facade. It's 1€ to get in. There are niches with the usual statues, gilded altar and a nice stained glass at the front. In the back, are several rooms set up as museums with church artifacts like paintings, silver objects and the like. 

The street next to the church is a major shopping street which called for a bit of a wander. About 2 or 3 streets up and off to the left is a Mercado that reminds me of a smaller Grand Central market, with vendors selling souvenirs, crafts items, prepared foods and fresh foods. I got a fruit cup for later. 

I slowly made my way back to the hotel and found a lounge area to eat my fruit and do some research on dinner.

Turns out sandwiches are big in Porto. One that I find mentioned a lot is down the street. Tiny little place with barely room for the kitchen and a couple of counters. 

The waiter suggests a steak, ham and cheese sandwich with fries and Super Bock. I'm usually not a beer drinker but this one comes in a small glass and goes down very smoothly. It's brewed right outside Porto and only sold in Europe. The sandwich is the perfect size as well.

There's a lot of chatter in the small place but I can tell that Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" is playing and boy do I wish I could sing! Luckily there is someone behind me who does sing along at the chorus!! She also sings along to 4 Non Blondes "What's Up" that plays next. Love me some 80s/90s era music. After I finished my meal and paid up, I let the girl know that I appreciated her singing and she said it made her day. Which also made me happy. 

Back to the hotel to relax for the rest of the evening.

Michelin star meal

The main activity for today is lunch at Belcanto, a 2 Michelin star restaurant!

I let myself have a later morning, since Lisbon is not an early town. After breakfast I decided to walk to Praca do Commercio, since I heard it had a lot of shopping nearby. The Praca itself I'd seen from the boat cruise but the size is even more impressive on land. There is a giant column topped by a statue of King Jose. There's also the requisite giant letters spelling out the city name that we say everywhere now.

A giant arch leads to the shopping areas which are a combination of int'l chains, kitchsy tourist merch, restaurants, and artisan shops. I stopped in a few and made a mental note about some for later. I found a sardine shop near Praca Rossio where I was a couple of days ago, took a pic for Edie, sat and people watched a bit in a couple of different places before it was time to head to Belcanto. Before I'd even left for Portugal, they had sent me an email asking about allergies, food preferences and a couple of servers discussed with me again in person. They provided a little purse 'stool' and my single person table was right in front not hidden in the back.

At lunch, they offer a la carte (set price for choosing your 3 or 4 course options) or tasting menu. I felt like the tasting menu was a good deal. They started me off with water and I chose a glass of rose. There are also wine pairing and non-alcoholic pairings. 

Every course begins with a painted card with notes on the back. (There is also a welcome card showing the restaurant front door.) The food is then served with detailed information on ingredients and suggestions for eating when called for. Every dish was sublime and so varied. The bread included fresh sourdough, a crusty corn bread, 2 different butters and the most divine olive oil I've ever tasted.

Table was cleared and cleaned each time, water refilled regularly, new utensils as appropriate. There was an amuse bouche to start 

and a total of 6 courses following plus the bread course, then 2 desserts including a savory ham ice cream sandwich 

and a petit four serving to end. 

with tea or coffee (I got green tea). 

Truly a remarkable meal! They then provided in a wax sealed envelope the painting cards and a surprise (I haven't opened it yet) to take home. In my opinion, it was totally worth the price compared to what I would expect in a similar place in the US. 

After that meal, I needed a bit of a stroll so I headed to the Fado Museum in Alfama. It's a small place but with an audio guide and gives a little insight and history of this iconic Portuguese music style. After the museum, I uber'd back to the hotel where I'll be digesting for the rest of the evening.