October 11, 2014
Errata: Yesterday the plaza we hung out in was actually Plaza Rossi, not Dom Fernando. (Unless it’s another plaza with 2 names.) Also, I forgot to mention that a street performer was playing and singing Fado music at the overlook, and by the time we were ready to move on, I was ready to not hear anymore. I know it’s the traditional blues-ish music, and perhaps a real performance night would be much better, but I’m okay taking the risk. ;-)
For me, breakfast this morning was a bit of a let-down after the amazing breakfasts at the Epic Sana. (I was really wanting the fresh mango again and the yummy way they made mueusli.) But as Jenn pointed out, it was a good spread, and we were both able to find more than enough food.
Then we started our morning tour, which was fantastic. Our guide, Laura, or Laurena (her pet name), was really really good - both excellently informative and funny. The first stop was for pictures at the top of the Edward VII park with the giant Portugal flag. Unfortunately, there was a pretty heavy haze and a touch of fog, so we weren’t able to see the Targus River or the Castle. But it was still nice to see. Interestingly, they have both a greenhouse, but also a bamboo sided and roofed garden area to house other plants and trees. (We didn’t get to go in, but it still intrigued me.)
Our next out-of-the-bus stop (with lots of information in between) was a brief walk in the Alfima district - the old town. Though, very little of the city is “truly” old (by European standards). A horrible earthquake (they guess a 9 on the richter scale) occurred in 1755 and destroyed part of the town. But it was the time of candles, so the fires destroyed more. And then 2 tidal waves came in and destroyed almost all of the rest. So most everything (except ruins here and there, as well as the monuments in Belem) are from the late 1700s, early 1800s.
Anyway…. We went for a short walk in Alfima, which was quite pleasant. It’s more of a real part of the city - not full of tourist items, but rather very tiny grocery stalls, bread stalls, a pub with one 2 person table, things like that. The streets and all the shops are small. The old ladies were pretty small too! But interesting little streets, spots with the painted ceramic tiles, real life, etc.
Then we headed for Belem - the monumental section of town. Much of Belem survived the earthquake, so the monuments are older there without reconstruction.
First stop, Belem tower. I had seen a picture of it, but it was much better in person with the back jutting out. It’s the location that a lot of sailors left, most notably Vasco de Gama - the guy who sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and connect Europe to India by sea. Also in the same spot is a new airplane memorial to the 1920s flight from Portugal to Brazil. It wasn’t non-stop; in fact, the trip took months, but it was the first transatlantic flight.
The Henry the Navigator memorial monument was surprisingly good - clean and sleek, but showed a lot of important people. There was also a nifty mosaic map with dates of the Portuguese “discovering” new lands. It was a gift from South Africa.
St. Jeronimo’s Monastery. It turned out that we couldn’t go in since there was a wedding (and then a baptism planned after), but at least we got close enough for pictures from outside. The bride was lovely though, and the ring bearer adorable. PLUS, we got our surprise there - the surprise that we were really hoping for….. Laura (with the driver, Eugene’s help) got us Pasteis de Belem (http://www.pasteisdebelem.pt/en.html). They are these famous custard filled flaky pie crust pastries. The bakery was started when all the monks were expelled briefly from Portugal, but still needed to survive. St. Jeronimo’s Monastary was near a sugar refinery, so they started making these treats. A coworker of Jenn’s told her that we must try them. I didn’t have high expectations, particularly having tried a knockoff version (pasteis de nata). However, the crust was still warm, the crust was buttery and flaky, cinnamon and powdered sugar were freshly sprinkled on it, and it was amazing!
After being dropped back at the hotel at 1pm and switching out some gear, we went down to Restoration Plaza and the gate of St. Anthony (not actually a gate, just a side street) for lunch. One day, Jenn and I will learn to make sure to eat sooner so that we don’t get cranky at each other while trying to decide what to eat. We finally settled on Italian, even though we’re in Portugal. We clearly needed to eat now and it sounded good. My mushroom (fresh mushrooms!) and salami pizza was delicious, and Jenn really enjoyed her carbonara. I’m glad the guide warned us that bread and olives and butter brought to the table cost extra, because we had to wave it away from 4 different waiters.
The weather cleared up and blue skies were above once again, so we changed our plans and took a taxi up to the Castle. I decided that Jenn really needed to see the view. And it was really nice to go back up there for me too. Now I knew some of what I was looking at after the tour in the morning, so it wasn’t just a mess of random buildings. We got to hear a bit of a live concert floating up from the Praca do Figuiera, but we also watched firefighters fighting what seemed to be a very bad fire just a bit beyond that. We climbed up to the castle walls, but while Jenn walked around, I stood in line for the Camera Obscura. It’s a periscope that reflects down on a concave canvas - a concept invented by Leonardo da Vinci, but installed here in 1991. It was very interesting to see the 360 degree view of town displayed like that, even seeing cars and some people (!) moving far away.
We had to hurry a bit to get back to the hotel. I was glad the cab driver was a bit aggressive and took some different roads down to avoid the traffic backup. Also, I feel weird taking cabs this much on a trip, but the hills are very steep and honestly my leg just can’t do more. Traffic was still bad when we left at 6:15pm to head for the optional fish dinner. Jenn and I chose to do it, because it involved a ferry across the river and a view of the city at night on the way back. Plus, we figured it would be nice for Jenn to get all the tasty fish listed. And Daniel (our guide) said they could make me a steak. I must confess the experience was a bit disappointing. The non-fish food options were not all that good, but Jenn enjoyed her shellfish at least.
The ferry across the river was enclosed and we really couldn’t see much (partially because of the weather changing to a light rain, maybe, but I’m not sure it would have been better since it was such a short ride). We got off at Calcilhas and pretty much walked right into the restaurant. I had half a Sargus beer since it was handed to us on the way in. There were some fried fish (and weird pureed meat) appetizers. Jenn said the fish ones were okay, but the prawns were much better. Then she got crab legs (and some odd crab puree thing), which everyone had to open with a small plastic hammer/mallet and small cutting board thing the size of a coaster. It was amusing to watch everyone fighting and squirting and laughing. Then came garlic shrimp, which seemed to be good, but Jenn’s headache (dehydration) was getting to her and she was getting full. There were also clams and finally grilled sea breem, neither of which Jenn enjoyed very much. But the dessert of fresh pineapple and mango with whipped cream was very tasty. And the port was actually pretty good.
It seemed like everyone besides us was drunk on the way back, which … shrugs and sighs. We did get to see the Christ the King statue relatively close from the road, which was nice. I think I like it better than the almost identical (and created first) Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, but mostly because of the base. However, they didn’t stop for photos, which was a bummer. That would have at least made the trip and extra cost seem more worthwhile. The rest of the drive into town was okay and somewhat interesting, but nothing to really write home about.
And now it’s late and we should have been to sleep a while ago. Oops!
For me, breakfast this morning was a bit of a let-down after the amazing breakfasts at the Epic Sana. (I was really wanting the fresh mango again and the yummy way they made mueusli.) But as Jenn pointed out, it was a good spread, and we were both able to find more than enough food.
Then we started our morning tour, which was fantastic. Our guide, Laura, or Laurena (her pet name), was really really good - both excellently informative and funny. The first stop was for pictures at the top of the Edward VII park with the giant Portugal flag. Unfortunately, there was a pretty heavy haze and a touch of fog, so we weren’t able to see the Targus River or the Castle. But it was still nice to see. Interestingly, they have both a greenhouse, but also a bamboo sided and roofed garden area to house other plants and trees. (We didn’t get to go in, but it still intrigued me.)
Our next out-of-the-bus stop (with lots of information in between) was a brief walk in the Alfima district - the old town. Though, very little of the city is “truly” old (by European standards). A horrible earthquake (they guess a 9 on the richter scale) occurred in 1755 and destroyed part of the town. But it was the time of candles, so the fires destroyed more. And then 2 tidal waves came in and destroyed almost all of the rest. So most everything (except ruins here and there, as well as the monuments in Belem) are from the late 1700s, early 1800s.
Anyway…. We went for a short walk in Alfima, which was quite pleasant. It’s more of a real part of the city - not full of tourist items, but rather very tiny grocery stalls, bread stalls, a pub with one 2 person table, things like that. The streets and all the shops are small. The old ladies were pretty small too! But interesting little streets, spots with the painted ceramic tiles, real life, etc.
Then we headed for Belem - the monumental section of town. Much of Belem survived the earthquake, so the monuments are older there without reconstruction.
First stop, Belem tower. I had seen a picture of it, but it was much better in person with the back jutting out. It’s the location that a lot of sailors left, most notably Vasco de Gama - the guy who sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and connect Europe to India by sea. Also in the same spot is a new airplane memorial to the 1920s flight from Portugal to Brazil. It wasn’t non-stop; in fact, the trip took months, but it was the first transatlantic flight.
The Henry the Navigator memorial monument was surprisingly good - clean and sleek, but showed a lot of important people. There was also a nifty mosaic map with dates of the Portuguese “discovering” new lands. It was a gift from South Africa.
St. Jeronimo’s Monastery. It turned out that we couldn’t go in since there was a wedding (and then a baptism planned after), but at least we got close enough for pictures from outside. The bride was lovely though, and the ring bearer adorable. PLUS, we got our surprise there - the surprise that we were really hoping for….. Laura (with the driver, Eugene’s help) got us Pasteis de Belem (http://www.pasteisdebelem.pt/en.html). They are these famous custard filled flaky pie crust pastries. The bakery was started when all the monks were expelled briefly from Portugal, but still needed to survive. St. Jeronimo’s Monastary was near a sugar refinery, so they started making these treats. A coworker of Jenn’s told her that we must try them. I didn’t have high expectations, particularly having tried a knockoff version (pasteis de nata). However, the crust was still warm, the crust was buttery and flaky, cinnamon and powdered sugar were freshly sprinkled on it, and it was amazing!
After being dropped back at the hotel at 1pm and switching out some gear, we went down to Restoration Plaza and the gate of St. Anthony (not actually a gate, just a side street) for lunch. One day, Jenn and I will learn to make sure to eat sooner so that we don’t get cranky at each other while trying to decide what to eat. We finally settled on Italian, even though we’re in Portugal. We clearly needed to eat now and it sounded good. My mushroom (fresh mushrooms!) and salami pizza was delicious, and Jenn really enjoyed her carbonara. I’m glad the guide warned us that bread and olives and butter brought to the table cost extra, because we had to wave it away from 4 different waiters.
The weather cleared up and blue skies were above once again, so we changed our plans and took a taxi up to the Castle. I decided that Jenn really needed to see the view. And it was really nice to go back up there for me too. Now I knew some of what I was looking at after the tour in the morning, so it wasn’t just a mess of random buildings. We got to hear a bit of a live concert floating up from the Praca do Figuiera, but we also watched firefighters fighting what seemed to be a very bad fire just a bit beyond that. We climbed up to the castle walls, but while Jenn walked around, I stood in line for the Camera Obscura. It’s a periscope that reflects down on a concave canvas - a concept invented by Leonardo da Vinci, but installed here in 1991. It was very interesting to see the 360 degree view of town displayed like that, even seeing cars and some people (!) moving far away.
We had to hurry a bit to get back to the hotel. I was glad the cab driver was a bit aggressive and took some different roads down to avoid the traffic backup. Also, I feel weird taking cabs this much on a trip, but the hills are very steep and honestly my leg just can’t do more. Traffic was still bad when we left at 6:15pm to head for the optional fish dinner. Jenn and I chose to do it, because it involved a ferry across the river and a view of the city at night on the way back. Plus, we figured it would be nice for Jenn to get all the tasty fish listed. And Daniel (our guide) said they could make me a steak. I must confess the experience was a bit disappointing. The non-fish food options were not all that good, but Jenn enjoyed her shellfish at least.
The ferry across the river was enclosed and we really couldn’t see much (partially because of the weather changing to a light rain, maybe, but I’m not sure it would have been better since it was such a short ride). We got off at Calcilhas and pretty much walked right into the restaurant. I had half a Sargus beer since it was handed to us on the way in. There were some fried fish (and weird pureed meat) appetizers. Jenn said the fish ones were okay, but the prawns were much better. Then she got crab legs (and some odd crab puree thing), which everyone had to open with a small plastic hammer/mallet and small cutting board thing the size of a coaster. It was amusing to watch everyone fighting and squirting and laughing. Then came garlic shrimp, which seemed to be good, but Jenn’s headache (dehydration) was getting to her and she was getting full. There were also clams and finally grilled sea breem, neither of which Jenn enjoyed very much. But the dessert of fresh pineapple and mango with whipped cream was very tasty. And the port was actually pretty good.
It seemed like everyone besides us was drunk on the way back, which … shrugs and sighs. We did get to see the Christ the King statue relatively close from the road, which was nice. I think I like it better than the almost identical (and created first) Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, but mostly because of the base. However, they didn’t stop for photos, which was a bummer. That would have at least made the trip and extra cost seem more worthwhile. The rest of the drive into town was okay and somewhat interesting, but nothing to really write home about.
And now it’s late and we should have been to sleep a while ago. Oops!