Week 386 & 485 · Tuk Tuk · Belem · Tapas Crawl · Time Out Market
By not going to Germany, we ended up with 5 days in Lisbon. The translation of Lisbon to English is "like San Francisco but cheaper." Very similar in that the hills are endless. A lot of time in one spot for us — so after a recovery afternoon, we had a quick tour of the city in a Tuk Tuk.
Expensive but a quick way to get oriented — we got to see the highlights and different parts of town and found the Time Out Market and our "go to" restaurant. And our first street performer playing "Wonderwall" — with intoxicated English lasses singing at a great lookout point, Miradouro da Graça. Our tuk tuk driver (who was Scottish) said the COVID restrictions on the UK really cut down on the public drunkenness.
Lisbon is one of Europe's oldest cities, with a history stretching back over 3,000 years. The Great Lisbon Earthquake of November 1, 1755 — estimated at magnitude 8.5–9.0 — struck on All Saints' Day, when most of the population was in church. The earthquake, combined with a tsunami and fires, destroyed 85% of the city. The subsequent rebuild, overseen by the Marquês de Pombal, created the famous Pombaline downtown — a grid of wide streets and earthquake-resistant architecture that was decades ahead of its time. The contrast between the rebuilt grid (Baixa/Chiado) and the ancient winding Moorish alleyways of Alfama — which survived on high ground — defines the city's character. Lisbon is also one of the oldest capitals in the world to have been shaped by both Christian and Muslim (Moorish) cultures, with the Moors occupying from 714 to 1147 AD.
We did find the key points which inform a visit to Lisbon: a combination of cultures with Christians and Muslims (Moors) both having key roles; an earthquake in 1755 re-defined the city; the downtown area was rebuilt to a more modern standard with a grid and wide streets (now 300 years old) versus some parts that survived and are 1,000 years old with narrow winding streets; and pretty much the end of the Portuguese global leadership.
On our second day we visited museums we normally would not have had time for — the António de Medeiros e Almeida Collection (a rich guy who imported cars into the country in the 1900s and was a collector of eclectic items; the audio was told in first person and did not hide his ego) and the City of Lisbon Museum. We hit the major sites on Tuesday and had a "tapas" crawl signed up for on AirBnB experiences — interesting food, German guide, but still a bit hungry afterwards. I got a solid bike ride in during the morning — about 3 hours along the river. Probably the only flat place in Portugal.
First encounter: street performer at Miradouro da Graça playing Wonderwall, intoxicated English lasses singing along. Our Scottish tuk tuk driver said COVID restrictions on the UK really cut down on the public drunkenness.
Second encounter: found a Brazilian place near our AirBnB that served wine and pastries and had street performers — no audience until they played "Wonderwall" then lots of people showed up. No idea why.
On our final day in Lisbon, we went to Belem. The famous site is the Tower of Belem, which we thought was the primary site — it wasn't. Belem is a great place with many interesting places to visit and an upscale neighbourhood. In particular the Jerónimos Monastery was outstanding. We also went to the Carriage Museum (Coach) which is the most visited museum in Lisbon — it was OK but not as good as other places we saw.
We had a quick stopover — only about 24 hours but always a good place to visit. We stayed in the Holiday Inn Express near the Marquês de Pombal — great location near the Metro and walking distance from the centre city sites. November weather was great.
Dropped by Ronaldo's place (CR7 Corner), walked through the pedestrian areas to Praça do Comércio where they have a government-sponsored wine tasting place — nice with good value. Then we walked back toward Príncipe Real — there really wasn't much to see but we did find a great Argentinian steakhouse called "La Paparrucha" with a great deck overlooking the valley. By far our best meal of the trip. On our get-away day we went to Time Out Market — a pretty safe place for a meal.
"Overall, great compact city with cheap food and wine. If you like cities, this would be a very easy place to settle into and retire."