Lisbon

Posted by Anura Samara, 22 February 2015

Theft

We had arrived in Lisbon, dropped our luggage off at the apartment and set out on foot for the Castle.

Just before entering the Castle itself, we were in the queue for tickets and had been separated by another couple of people. Somehow, somewhere, someone managed to unzip Juliane’s handbag and steal her purse without being noticed. Luckily, we realised within 10 minutes but of course by then the purse and it’s contents were long gone. The first priority was to contact banks in both Switzerland and Australia to cancel the various cards. And then we had to find a policeman to report the theft to – our friendly policeman spoke very little English but did call a police car to take us to the special tourist police station – my first ride ever in a police car! There, we waited to file a report – there were quite a few other tourists make similar report.

Unfortunately, this bad start to our trip really coloured the rest of the weekend – it meant we wasted 4-5 hours on our first day, and in an emotional sense Friday was a complete write-off.

Castelo de Sao Jorge

After reporting the theft, we returned to the Castelo de Sao Jorge as we already had the tickets.

The Castle is a remarkably complete set of buildings comprising ruins dating back to the 11th century with more complete structures from 19th century. Set high on a hill above the city, it really dominates the area with views in practically all directions – it’s a great spot to start with, as you can look down on the city to get a sense of its layout.

What I really liked about the Castle it is that you can walk all around and over it. So many old ruins and buildings are blocked off to the public, but I think that by opening the buildings up there’s more opportunities for us to appreciate and enjoy them.

And of course I loved the view – I just need to up high to see where I am.

Walking tour

We had booked an Urban Adventures walking tour. We started in one of the large plazas in the centre of town before heading east to Placa Martin Moniz. We then walked south in the shadow of the Castle before crossing the city to the west to climb the hill above the train station. This is a great spot to see the Castle perched on the top of its hill. From there, we headed down (past the local volunteer fire brigade who seemed to have some sort of open day) to the water to board a ferry across the river. Our final stop was a bustling restaurant where we were able to sample some of the local foods and wines.

Our guide for the walk was a young lady who was knowledgeable and happy to share. As always, the beauty of these walks is not that you see the major sights – we didn’t – but that you can explore the back streets to get a feel for the rhythms of local life. With some history – both ancient and more recent – thrown in, you start to better understand the city and how it developed. It’s amazing how much ground you can cover when you’re absorbed in taking everything in – the ferry ride was particularly good, as it gives yet another perspective on the city.

Belem

Belem is technically outside Lisbon, but it’s really just a short distance away by tram. We actually visited it twice.

On our first visit, we went out to see the Torre de Belem, a fortified tower on a small rocky outcrop just offshore. You access it across some bridges, but we found that the wind and waves meant water was constantly washing over the last bridge – it certainly made getting across interesting!

As with the castle, once inside you can freely explore as much as you want to. There are rooms inside with canons and displays, but as always my aim was to be outside and high. And you can climb to the very top of the tower, where there’s a command view of the river in both directions.

From the tower, we walked along the river as far as the Monument to the Discoveries. This is an very tall, impressive sculpture which recalls Portugal’s history as a nation of explorers. From the side, the prow of a ship juts out with the figures of various explorers and sailors.

Our final stop was a visit to Pasteis de Belem. the famous birthplace of custard tarts. It was really popular – impossible to get a table outside, so we queued with others along the footpath to be able to buy some takeaway tarts. I think I can fairly call myself a connoisseur of custard tarts, sampling them wherever I can, but the texture of the pastry on these ones made them the best I’ve ever had.

We went back to Belem to see the Jerónimos Monastery. There was a fair queue to wait to get in but once we managed to get inside we headed straight for the cloisters. The cloisters are a complete square on two levels, enclosing a central courtyard. It was a bright sunny day, so the light really brought out the colours in the stonework. Dotted around the inside are a series of smaller rooms, including some chapels. Once of the chapels had some relics – and when I say “some” I mean a lot. Arms, thighs, fingers and yes, skulls. I’ll never understand the Catholic fascination with bits of dead bodies.

We also took time to look in the Church of St Maria next door. As it was a Sunday, the main part of the church was closed for tourists so we really only had a chance to look around the entrance area.

Before leaving Belem for the last time, we went back to Pasteis de Belem. We managed to get a table inside so that we could enjoy our custard tarts in a more leisurely fashion.

Sao Roque Church

We set off to find the Sao Roque Church as we’d heard that this church has one of the “world’s most expensive chapels”. It turned out that we had unknowingly walked past it on our walking tour – an easy enough mistake to make, as the exterior is completely plain.

Inside is a Catholic church of very plain design. Like most Catholic churches the sides are lined with separate chapels but these are among the most ornate, overdone chapls I’ve ever seen. They are stuffed full of paintings and sculptures and ornaments. One of them basically seemed to be completely one in gold.

Flanking the main chancel are two reliquary altars that are stuffed full with probably my favourite Catholic ornaments – the assorted remains of various saints. I’m sure these are places of great devotion for the faithful but to my atheist eyes it’s all a bit grisly and sad – why can’t we just leave the poor bastards alone and give them a decent grave?

Alfama

The neighbourhood of Alfama is just around the corner from the apartment we were staying in, so it was a natural spot to explore on our last day. And when we had, we wished that we had spent more time there during out stay.

This neighbourhood is full of old buildings and churches. It rises fairly steeply around the base of the hill on which the Castle stands, with lots of narrow streets. This is where the famous Number 28 tram passes through. The tram itself is well worth the ride – each tram is a single vehicle only, making it’s way through the steep and narrow streets. And when you’re just walking along the streets, the sight of the tram makes you want to just stop and take photos.

We found a great cafe at the top of the hill with a large outdoor deck with views looking eastwards across the river. And on our way back to pick up our luggage, we stopped in one of the cool cafes set inside the arches of an old building. This entire neighbourhood is like that – lots of cool places to explore.

Categories: Portugal

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