I got off my train to Lisbon at a station called Oriente - just to have a look at it from outside. Built for Expo 98 in a modern style, it's huge, brightly lit arches and elegant design has made it quite a tourist attraction. After admiring it for a few minutes, I went down to its metro station to take the subway to my hostel. Lisbon metro is like an underground art gallery and every station has graffiti with a certain theme painted on tiles. Oriente had an elaborate one too. So far, the going was good. My next stop was the Baixa district in the heart of downtown Lisbon. Baixa is a maze of pedestrian streets lined with small cafes and souvenir shops and just like the streets of Porto, it was brightly lit for Christmas. The spoiler however, was the huge police presence. Even on my way to the hostel, police cars and bikes constantly went past with sirens blaring. This was very unlike Lisbon which is known for its low crime rate. I only found out later that the Lisbon treaty was to be signed the next day.
I have written about almost all my trips in Europe, but this is the first time I’m gonna talk about the hostel I stayed in – the very popular Black & White. Run by a very cool brother-sister duo – Miguel and Ana – and painted entirely in black and white as the name suggests, this is the place to stay in Lisbon for a budget traveler. Miguel was a total dude and could be seen playing poker or sharing a beer with some of the guests in the lobby at night. His sister Ana is no less cool and told me about all the places to see and things to eat in Lisbon. Moreover, breakfast the next day was really awesome – a lot of fiambre ham, freshly brewed coffee – and set me up for the day.
When you are in Lisbon you have to take the tram no. 28. It was brought to Lisbon from San Francisco in the 20’s and takes you through Lisbon’s oldest and most fascinating district – Alfama. Alfama is a pre-medieval district and going through its narrow sloping streets on an old rickety tram takes you back in time. There is a lot to do and see in Alfama and I started at one of the many terraces that offer spectacular views of the old city. The one was called Portas do Sol which means gates of the sun in Portuguese. The name is fitting and it’s altitude along with Lisbon’s weather certainly makes you feel as if the sun has come out to shake hands with you! The view from Portas do Sol was awesome and I couldn’t help noticing that almost every house in Alfama had Orange trees (called Laranjeiras) in the courtyard. I was tempted to walk down from the terrace and pick some but decided against it. I guess I wasn’t prepared enough for an old Portuguese lady chasing me through Alfama’s labyrinth. There was a small café on the terrace and I ordered a ham sandwich, along with a glass of Sagres beer – Lisbon’s answer to Porto’s SuperBock. Ham, chilled beer and an awesome panoramic view of whitewashed housed with tiled roofs – it was the best way to start a day in Lisbon.
After seeing all there was to see in Alfama – The Se Cathedral, St. Anthony’s church and the Saint George’s castle – it was time for lunch and for Portugal’s national dish – the Bachalau. Bachalau is codfish and the Portuguese have so many recipes for it that some restaurants have a different version for every day of the year. I had my Bachalau at a small restaurant just outside Castelo do Sao Jorge. It was the whole codfish, fried and served with a garlic sauce, fried potatoes bread and pieces of Castelo Branco cheese. Have a look!
After Alfama, I headed to Belem – the district of Lisbon which is dedicated to the age of discoveries. The magnificent Jeronimos monastery, the Belem tower, the Monument of Discoveries are just some of Belem’s sights dedicated to Portugal’s medieval explorers. But more importantly, it is home to Lisbon’s signature desert – Pasteis de Belem. These are custard tarts with a crisp exterior and very sweet liquid custard inside. They are served with cinnamon and sugar and are a must have when you are in Lisbon. The best place to have them is a bakery aptly called Antiga Casa do Pasteis de Belem which claims to be in possession of the secret recipe for the tarts.
According to legend the tarts were invented in the nearby Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, a prayer house for departing sailors in medieval times. The recipe was a secret but with the fall of the Portuguese empire, the monastery fell on hard times and one of the monks sold the secret recipe to Antiga Casa. Since then, the small bakery in Belem has guarded the recipe fiercely, so much so that apparently it is kept locked in a vault and only four master bakers have access to it.
Antiga Casa is always crowded, but I managed to find my way to the counter and place an order. I bought four tarts and went straight to Jardim de Belem – magnificent gardens on the riverside. A little cinnamon, a little sugar and the tarts were ready to eat. They were piping hot and I burnt my tongue with the first bite! But they were so good that I finished all four in one go.
The next day was my last in Lisbon and I still had one thing to do – find Pico wine. This is a rare wine grown on Portugal’s Pico island in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. Grown in the crevices between volcanic rock, its vineyards have been given UNESCO World Heritage status. But finding this unique wine proved to be more difficult than I thought and after spending half a day searching for it, I finally had to give up. After a short trip to nearby seaside town of Cascais, it was time to leave Lisbon and Portugal. It was an awesome trip but just before leaving I realized that I completely forgot about a drink I could have found more easily in Lisbon and wanted to try for a long time – Ginjinha, a very sweet liqueur made by fermenting cherries in a mixture of brandy, water, sugar and cinnamon. ‘Never mind’, I said to myself – I have one more reason to come back to Lisbon.
