Porto #2

We realized we have been on the road a week today, and this morning we were pretty slow getting going. Maybe a little tired, maybe the vihno Verde last night.

We had arranged to switch rooms today to one with a view, so after breakfast we packed our bags, handed over the key and set out, to discover that it was a distinctly cold, drizzley day, we had dressed for the bright summer weather we have come to expect, and that our warm clothes were inaccessible. Nothing to be done about it so we walked briskly up the hill to generate some body heat, then headed across to the Mercado do Bolhao, Porto's version of a produce market. We saw plenty of nice things in the shops on the way there and in the stalls at the market, but perhaps fortunately we have very limited capacity to carry stuff.

To thaw out and revive, we stopped off at the Majestic Cafe, opened 1923, all mirrors, plate glass, carved wood and nice China. A writer at the time observed that "up till now the Cafes in Portugal have been exclusively the hot bed of revolutionaries ... or places where the obstinate aged listlessly​ passed the time." He obviously hoped the Majestic would usher in something different, but there seemed to be quite a few of the obstinate aged listlessly passing the time in there today. Me included.

Warmed and revitalized we headed on over to the Cathedral, then down the steep steps into the narrow streets below. I was pleased to see the yellow arrows of the Camino Portuguese marking the way. Anne was less pleased with the number and the steepness of the stairs.

We had lunch in a little restaurant round the corner from the hotel, with a lovely waitress singing along happily to a random selection of hits from the sixties and seventies as she worked.

When we got back to the hotel we had a new room with a view across to the Cathedral, a bit noisier but much nicer than our last. So we can now loll about taking in the fine Vista of the historic centre of the city, a designated World Heritage Site.

After lying low for a couple of hours, we headed out for dinner in a lovely Italian restaurant nearby, A Despensa. It was best meal so far, highly recommend. It seemed a little disloyal to resort to another cuisine, bit I am afraid that the traditional dishes of Porto, which consist of either tripe or bacalhau​, dried salted cod with a pervasive,pungent odour, don't really get too far up the list of our favourite foods.

On the way over we threaded our way through the student parade, Cortejo da Queirma, an annual letting off of steam for the University students of Porto. The streets have been thronged with young people in different coloured top hats, capes, and superwomen outfits. When we were coming home the party was really starting to heat up, with lots of chanting, hooting and hollering, and general high spirited carrying on. All very good humoured and non threatening.

I read that Porto has been designated Europe's Best Destination 2015 and 2017 by none other than the Best European Destinations Agency. I can understand why.

Google photos has been making little slide shows of a selection of the photos I upload each day. Here is today's:

https://goo.gl/photos/oTTePbDWJrcpFXDw7

Porto #1

After my abysmal performance negotiating Lisbon public transport we organized for a car to take us to the train station, which is located on the edge of Lisbon, Senhor Antonio, the same gentleman who drove us from the airport, was waiting for us. A lovely man, and a nice end to our stay in Lisbon. He dropped us in good time at the very fancy Oriente station, lots of concrete arches and steel - an architect's dream.

The trip to Porto takes under three hours, and the train belts along at up to 220 kilometers per hour. Why can't Australia manage high speed rail? Looking out the window at the landscape whizzing by, you could almost think you were in Australia, given the ubiquitous gum trees. But not many farm animals. I counted one burro, eight sheep, and about ten horses the whole way.

Train is a nice way to arrive in any new city, but Porto's Sao Bento station - with it's splendid tiled walls telling the history of Portugal plus lovely observation of normal human life - takes that to a whole new level.

Our hotel is a few minutes walk down the hill. We had plenty of time to get settled and explore, starting with a walk down to Ribiera and the splendid old houses overlooking a lively waterfront packed with bars and restaurants. After a refreshing cerveja watching the river and the people flow by, we walked back up the hill, and enjoyed dinner, eventually, as the restaurants don't start serving till after 7. Lots of entertainment, from the buskers, a guy playing saxophone who sounded pretty good to us, a huge gull trying to raid tables, standoffs between pushy tourists and the phlegmatic waiting staff, a little girl about 3 dancing to the music completely unselfconsciously. All good fun, capped off with a walk back through steep narrow streets.

I think we are going to really like Porto.

Lisbon​ #5

Woke up at 5.30 and after admiring another splendid sunrise I headed off for a walk through the Barrio Alto district, but soon wished I had chosen a different destination, as the littered graffitied streets seemed particularly squalid this morning. It is like a different country to Baixa and Chiado only a few blocks away. Needs a darn good clean up I reckon.

We struggled with another blockbuster breakfast - maybe we have reached our pastry quota for now. But filled with breakfast, optimism and plans we set off little knowing that Lisbon's first surprise of the day was waiting for me round the corner in the form of a pigeon with an upset digestion who bombed me from head to foot with precision accuracy. Having seen what the pigeons were eating off the pavement in the Barrio Alto, I am not surprised it was not feeling well.

After a quick scrub and clothes change, we tried again, and made it down to Praca Figura in time to catch the number 12 tram which runs through the steeply sloping Alafama district. The tram is similar to the old green Melbourne trams, but painted bright yellow - this is Portugal after all, no dull green trams here - and about one third the length, so that the tram can get around the sharp bends in the narrow streets. The tram runs in loop and for Euro1.40 has to be one of the best value touristy thing around. Though it has plenty of local passengers as well, mostly older ladies heading up or down the hill to do some shopping.

After this we found what we thought was the stop for the bus to our next destination. After about 15 minutes wait. Bus came along,  right number, but heading in the wrong direction, but after another 15 minutes wait over the opposite side of the square we caught the right one, heading towards the National Azulejos Museum. 

Located in the Madre de Deus convent, which was built in the C15th, flattened in the 1755 earthquake, and restored in the C17th. The gardens are simple but striking, some keen eye behind it I think. 

The museum itself houses tiles from the C15th up to contemporary work. Anne  likes the Moorish, geometric interlocking pattern tiles, I like the more figurative ones.

When our energies began to flag, we had lunch in the peaceful garden - well it was peaceful until a very large group of well dressed people​ swarmed in - perhaps the attendees of the service that had been in progress in the convent's chapel. Whatever, we tend to be crowd averse, and left hurriedly, sowing the seeds of the day's second surprise.

We managed to find the bus stop for the return trip, and after a detour through the metro and some more fun with the stored value cards, we wound up in Chiado for lunch, then a visit to Sao Roc. This church has an almost overwhelming mass of detail, lots to take in. Anne went to put on her glasses, and realized that they must have been left behind, on the table in the garden at the Azulejos Museum. And so, I got to make the trip there and back again. I sure know the way now.

So, this is our last day in Lisbon. Definitely a place we would love to come back to. Tomorrow, with luck, we take the train to Porto.

My two key pieces of advice for Lisbon are, 1: if you want to use public transport,  buy a Via Viagem card, choose the "zapping" option, put 5 Euros on it and top up if you need to, and 2: watch out for pigeons.

Lisbon#4 Sintra

Perhaps one too many copo de vihno tinto, we felt a tad seedy this morning.  The magnificent sunrise view from our window helped get us going though.

We had arranged for a car to take us to Sintra, so we got organized and out the door by 10.  Lovely chap with excellent English drove us down the Coast stopping at Carcais - a pretty beach side town which must have lots of British expats from the number of English bars -  and Cabo da Rica, the most Westerly point of Europe, some 10 kilometers more west than Finisterre. Finisterre feels more like the end of the continent though. After admiring the dramatic views of the coast, we headed off along an impossibly narrow road up to the Pena Palace, perched high on mount Sintra. Sure is a unique creation, monastry meets Disney, a dizzying collection of different styles. Grand Designs on steroids. It was super crowded on a lovely Saturday afternoon, lots of Portuguese and lots of tourists. 

After a squeezy shuttle bus ride, we headed down to explore the pretty village of Sintra. A bit like Ravello, it would probably be a nice place to spend a few days. It was filled with Portuguese people having a relaxed afternoon eating pastry and drinking beer, which seem to be important national customs.

We retreated home after that, and after a rest headed out again to get Via Viagem cards - the stored value travel cards - for tomorrow. These cards have proved to be an intelligence test which so far I have failed abysmally. But hopefully I have finally cracked it and the Lisbon public transport system will be at our disposal.

Lison #3

Another early morning wake up as the body clock slowly adjusts, which is good as I get to go for a walk in the early morning light before the hordes swarm the streets. I walked around Baxia with it's magnificent edifices and swanky shops, down to the bottom of the Santa Justa elevator, back up to Sao Roche. Beautiful light after rain.

We set off early to catch the tram to Belem. Tram was a squeezy experience filled with tourists and a few hapless locals. There are a number of museums located within the Jeronimos Monastery there.  The archaeological museum had some beautiful roman marble statues dug from what was once a wealthy Romans holiday Villa, and a great treasury. The big event at the monastery though is the cloyster of the monastery itself. Never seen anything quite like that before, such an extraordinary profusion of wonderfully carved detail that the eye doesn't know where to look. Gaudi may well have drawn some inspiration from it.

After marvelling at the choir and the refectory we visited the maritime museum, and it's temporary Viking exhibit. Interesting but maybe our wonder nerves had become overloaded.
Got home via another hyper crowded tram, and another visit to the Beer Museum, after which we needed to sit in a darkened room for a while to settle down.
Once we had recovered we visited the top of the Santa Justa elevator tower, enjoyed it's splendid views but not so much the vertiginous spiral staircase, caught the lift down, walked to the waterfront in time to see the QE2 slide massively past, found a nice  restaurant for dinner, then stumbled home via the supermarket. I think Lisbon is right up there in my best European capital rankings.

Lisbon #2

Thanks to the time zone difference and my body's refusal to believe that it was dark outside and the middle of the night, l was wide awake at 3.30 am. I pottered around for a few hours, working out how the coffee machine and the lights operate, the woke up Anne and we went for a walk up the hill to the Gardens then back past the Convent of Sao Pedro de Alcantara, before winding through the Barrio Alto with it's maze of tiny cobbled streets. Lots of bars and lots of empty drink containers and bottles. Party town.  It was rubbish collection morning and we had to squeeze past as the huge rubbish truck and gang of guys came noisesomely past. Rubbish wise the street looked about 85 percent better where they had been.

After breakfast we headed down to Rossio. Lisbon we have found to be a city of surprises, most of them nice ones so far. Without a lot of expectation we visited the church of St James, Sao Domingo, to pay our respects. Walking through the door, expecting just another church, the interior is like nothing I have ever seen. Opened in 1241, the church was damaged in each of the earthquakes in 1531 and 1755, then gutted by fire in 1959 . The restoration has replaced the roof with what looks like pink granite, left completely unadorned, while the walls are blackened chipped stone.  Extraordinarily beautiful and impressive.

Another thing we have noticed about Lisbon is how terrible the available maps are. Every corner seems to have bewildered looking tourists earnestly consulting maps or guide books. Anne's theory is that this is designed the provide some comic relief to the beleaguered locals as compensation for being in undated by hordes of tourists.

Whatever, we joined the ranks of the confused and the lost as we blundered around trying to find the Fado museum. Fado is a unique Portuguese style of music which they are very serious about here.  There are Fado bars everywhere and some of the singers are national heros. Fascinating museum, and almost empty as most people couldn't find it.

After a hot stump back through dusty building works we discovered the Museum of Beer on the Praca Comercio, and sampled some of it's reviving exhibits along with lunch, then threaded our way back home for a jet lag induced nap. And that was about it for us for the day.

Today's pic is a wall of the convent facing a grungy graffitied. Laneway in Barrio Alto, with its 1752 tile work just out there unprotected. It would be in a glass case in a gallery surrounded by security guards in Australia.

Lisbon #1

Around thirty six hours door to door, and we are transplanted to an apartment in the Chiado district of Lisbon, trading the creeping icy grey cold of Melbourne with all its comforting familiarity for the warm sunshine and strangeness of what is for us a whole new place.

Getting here is an epic, a good reminder that the world is a mighty big place. First leg featured an infant who did not enjoy flying and who protested loudly for an extraordinarily long time about it. Second leg got some sleep, enjoyed some great Spanish coffee and boccadillos at Madrid, before climbing into the last plane which creaked, clattered and wheezed it's way to Lisbon. A very dignified older gentleman - who had retired from working on cruise ships and who  knew Melbourne well - drove us in his lovingly  cared for taxi driver to the bottom of the narrow street in which our accommodation is located, and we schleped the last bit past little bars and peeling buildings with balconies festooned with washing and rugs.

While we waited for our place to be ready, we had lunch out one of the outdoor restaurants strategically located on the steep steps leading up to the Bairro Alto, and while we ate off a table sloping down hill at about 10 degrees (which works sort of like a George Foreman grill as all oil runs to one side of the plate) we watched tourists puffing up or creaking down the incline. A lot of arthritic knees in the touring population based on our observations.

Feeling a bit stunned we didn't do much exploring. A swim in the pool, a shuffle down the hill to find a supermarket (don't go near dinner time as it gets really busy in there), a quiet supper of cheese and bread and a nice little bottle of red  watching the swallows swooping across the evening sky, before crashing just as it was getting dark.

Picture shows Anne caught in the act leaving a Pasteleria in a street in Rossio clutching two of the little custard tarts which the Portuguese seem to eat a lot of.  The beginning of the stairs back up the hill are visible at the end of the street. I predict we might be eating a few of those tarts to fuel our hill climbing in the days to come.