Portuguese Visit 2017

We flew into Lisbon, Portugal and took a train to the Alfama district. It was an old district where the cruise ships would land a few hours to take advantage of the tourist offerings. There were many cobblestone streets and upward hills so have your walking shoes. History was felt everywhere and tuk tuks were parked here and there. The train station was near the coffee shops and tourist souvenir places. We passed a bar and still the walk was upward. My husband got an Airbnb to stay in. He texted the woman who rented it to us that we arrived. We had to walk a bit to meet her somewhere where both of us could find each other easily in front of a bank.

It was a sunny day and the hustle and bustle of people coming and going to work was seen. She then led us to our flat in the old part of town and lots of upward walk and stairs. No elevators were present there. We had some more stairs to go up to our space. It was a long flight coming from Atlanta, Georgia, USA so it was a bit of exercise. We finally got into our space and there were many buildings so ancient and close together…it reminded me of Italy a little.

It was the Easter Holiday season and Portuguese are mostly Christian. There were shops in walking distance for the coffee which is so fresh and strong served in little cups not paper but ceramic. Their pastry was an ancient treat that the past monks would make to earn money for their monastery ages and ages of traditions of egg custard tarts. It was so delicious. We walked some more around to get familiar and there was a water way and bridge. My husband found a local to tell us what artsy and place to eat for dinner could be. He recommended an art district that you had to take a taxi and go to and it had a few restaurants and some art here and there. We heard there was live music but we didn't know it started very late into the night. We had a wonderful fish dinner. Portugal is known for their wines and port wines. It was the season of Easter so when you order a glass of wine; they give you a bottle instead every time to share. So be mindful; they will give you a bottle each if you order different wines….They love their olives and peanuts and bread. They have a charcuterie type of assortment that you can order. This was the first time I had charcuterie of their sort of salamis, ham and local cheeses…

We found a restaurant that was very popular in the square of this Alfama district and singers who sang Fado Style which is almost like the Spanish Gaucho performers with stringed instruments of poetic nature. The performer is very proud of this traditional music and performance that he wanted complete silence. An older American woman wondered where the menu was. We had to wait awhile for ours and ordered a traditional meal of sausage, etc. I tried to tell her quietly but she kept talking and the performer asked for silence please when he performed. We also enjoyed the Iberian pork and lechon since it was the season of Easter and that was the delicacy to consume for celebrations. Lechon is a baby pig and very soft. I didn’t know that and found out later. It is also a delicacy in the Philippines on my Mother’s side since her Dad was Portuguese. I found out later as well because my Mother told me 4 to 5 years earlier that her Dad’s real name was Aresgado. I mentioned this to a local and he said that is not from Spain but from Portugal. His name is Portuguese. It was an awakening. The Portuguese conquered the Philippines and so since it is an island with many ports…you will fin many mixtures and variations of Filipinos with Chinese, Japanese, Moors and Spanish and Portuguese and various mixtures of USA soldiers who came as well. So we are a melting pot in itself. No one is pure this or that which alludes to no separatism.

We did walk the areas where a beautiful church was decorated on a hilltop and went inside to the beautiful Virgin Mary statue dressed so ornately and the churches were maybe built when the Portuguese came or Christian Crusaders. Very ancient and ornate called “Church of Saint Roch.”

Portugal has been conquered a few times by the Moors, Romans, Germanic Tribes and also influenced by the Iberian Union with Spain and invaded by Napoleon from France and by port visitations by the Scottish and Celts. We found the people complacent and wanting not to make a scene. This April holiday season; the Spaniards from Spain were coming over and the Portuguese were traveling to Spain as we found out from a waiter. We walked over some bridge elsewhere and there were live drum performers and people just passed by but we sat and enjoyed their drumming on plastic paint buckets. 

 We took a train to see the city and there was live music at one of the cafes. People were talking and eating. Very reserved folks. We found a couple of castles to visit in Sintra by taking another type of train to it. We walked from the train station to Parque de Liberdale to the Pena Palace which is painted a bright marigold and toured the castle rooms. You can take a bus or taxi as well and wear your walking shoes and a light jacket. We then visited the Castelo dos Mouros - Castle of the Moors and it is quite a walk to certain towers and many people were there as well. It was built between the 8th and 12th centuries and was the main castle at the time to protect the people. Then the Christian Crusaders invaded the Castle and left it for ruins. King Ferdinand partially restored the Castle to be a tourist attraction since it was so near the Pena Palacio in 1816-1885 by King Ferdinand II who found it to be a very peaceful place to enjoy surrounded by water and forests.

Below there were shops to eat Portuguese foods and one shop made use of the discarded wine corks. They didn't utilize metal or plastic corks at the time we visited and the shop made jewelry, wallets and purses in cork. I bought a small purse and some jewelry. 

We found out that the Spanish and Portuguese do not agree on how to engage with each other. Spaniards and the Portuguese are aristocratic according to our Portuguese waiter and very serious. We would walk different areas of town by the waters and take a tuk tuk tour of the city. He pointed out a bridge built by the American Bridge Company called “The 25th de Abril bridge renamed during the dictatorship of Antonio Salazar the dictator which was red and was named the Salazar Bridge the via Almada to the Tagus River. Its name changed after the Carnation Revolution April 25, 1974 to what you see as similar to the design of the San Fran Oakland Bridge. You can see many tourist sites of the place and the Pier 7 experience below is wonderful. We continued to see where the garment and factory districts were and the roads winding here and there as a maze that only a savvy resident could know which streets were which. We then found out from the locals that we were going to explore the Duro Valley where there are wineries to see and to take a ship or barco to it. 

The next day we found out when the ship departed from Lisbon to Duro Valley and took a taxi to board with a ticket. There were many tourist cafes and restaurants surrounding this area. We boarded the ship and there was an unusual lock system that lowered the water levels in order to enter the passageway to Duro Valley. It was a marvel to watch the lock open and the ship rose up and then it closed. Then when we arrived after 5 hours; the lock opened up to lower the water level and the boat arrived in the docking bay for  Duro Valley and took a taxi to Porto. We saw many small time vineyards and large vineyards of well known or unknown to the USA wineries. We met a German couple not married but much older in the late 60s and 70s who traveled by their van or camper. They said it was their goal to travel everywhere but unfortunately they couldn’t bring it on this trip as there were no ferries to take them on with their vehicle. It was a breezy sunny day and I enjoyed it. 

Back to arriving in Porto. There was a main section of many restaurants and cafes in Porto and there were many wineries offering tours and tastings. We went into one and they gave us a tour and samples. Believe me; if you are not a drinker; you don’t want to taste everything…Use moderation. We were tipsy and knew not to take anymore. My husband loved Port wines and reminded him of his mother in Tanzania when the doctor prescribed port wine to bring up her blood iron levels lost during childbirth when husband was born. They called her and he said, “Bibi Wine.” Anyway, he was looking at the wines out on the floor and some of them were bottled in the 60s. He found one in his year of birth 1961 and hesitated to buy it. He never spent a lot of money on himself so I asked the sales clerk to package it because his birthday was in February and would open it then. My husband was so flabbergasted and couldn’t believe I went and purchased it. He deserved it for all his giving. And then he wanted to get a bottle of 1963 when I was born but unfortunately there were none left. I said, “It’s okay.” I am not the wine drinker between the two of us. It was April so we made sure we had it packed well for our travels.

At some points we stayed in hotels like one we stayed in Nazare and we came to find out it was a convent and the rooms were simple and provided the basics. We stayed in between our travels to and from different towns like Aveiro which means bird. There were many tourist shops and an ancient hotel where the welcome drink was served in small ornate crystal glasses with local wine. We took a boat tour of the place and enjoyed seeing the sights and coming back to a square where many tourists could enjoy food, drink and walking around. We had the usual because of so much wine and dinners; we thought of tapas which are small little plates of this and that to taste of cheese, olives, bread, etc. and some wine as I had Orangina to drink instead. My husband took one of the small crystal glasses as a souvenir. 

We then made our journey back to Lisbon to take the train to the airport and return to the USA. It was a lovely and memorable trip. On my husband’s birthday, which is his mother’s birthday; we celebrated with his local siblings, nephew, his mother and our children and opened the bottle of wine we bought the year he was born. They did warn us that over time the bottle may get a small air leak and didn’t guarantee the flavor but we took the risk and it was the most memorable birthday he had ever had. It was so nice to see him so happy. I will never forget this trip to Portugal. Although we didn’t go everywhere; we got the taste of Portugal in the arts, music, performance, wines and oh so much, foods and the people and history.