Lisbon, in my 1981 memory, was gray and lacked charm. Fast forward to 2016 and I think I now know what the problem was/is.
In 1755, Lisbon was destroyed by a massive earthquake with 30,000-40,000 people killed. It was devastating. What was left of the medieval centre was bulldozed (or the 18th century equivalent perhaps actually using bulls) and rebuilt by an engineer, who naturally went for as efficient and earthquake-proof designs as possible. Who could blame him. But it left the town centre efficient and lacklustre. And since Portugal isn’t the wealthiest of European countries, after 250 years or so it all looks a little worse for wear.
Good news they’re upgrading. Bad news that means renovation. And the building housing our airbnb was shrouded and, at times, it sounded like the ceiling was going to fall in on us.
The stairwell was a work in progress and we were on the 4th floor (5th if you’re in Canada).
But the location was really good – right below the Castelo de Sao Jorge, or the castle of St. George.
Our first morning we climbed up and visited the castle with its fantastic view of the city. Though despite all the red roofs, the city still felt gray.
But once that morning haze wore off the temperature soared to 27 degrees and it proved too hot for a walking tour. So we just wandered around the town, getting some shopping done and discovering the best custard tarts or pastels de nata, a Portuguese specialty.
In the evening, we ate some more, of course. We found a very good restaurant called Da Prata 52 and had some delicious tapas, including ceviche and a flaming sausage!
The following day we hopped on a bus for a one hour and 45 minute trip to Evora, a village that is a Unesco World Heritage site. It has a Roman gate, and a temple.
We also found those custard tarts there and they made a great afternoon coffee break snack.
Our last day in Lisbon we took the subway to the Gulbenkian Museum in a more modern area. Gulbenkian was an Armenian immigrant to Portugal who donated his vast collection of artwork and artefacts which fills the museum. Not much Roman stuff, but some fabulous paintings and interesting Lalique pieces.
Our last evening in Portugal, we wandered the busy area around our airbnb. We ate a cheesy cod coquette, which didn’t taste as good as it looked, with white port from a touristy restaurant with a line-up.
At 6:30 am the next day we left for the airport. Once we navigated through the many line-ups and security checks, our flight was delayed because of fog in London. Time enough for one last pastel de nata. Mmmmm.
Now here it is your moment of mosaic from the Evora archeological museum:
