I am not sure it was such a good idea to submit an abstract for a conference in Lisbon, that was scheduled just 7 weeks before my long service leave and our big European trip, but I did it and it was accepted! So, here we go, on 21 hours worth of flights, to Lisbon for me to attend a 3 day conference, presenting for the tiniest amount of time. To make it worth it, we have added a couple of days before the conference, a couple of weekends and I am meeting up with a student and former colleague, who are both also presenting. The total trip will be 11 days, 2.5 spent travelling but hopefully worth the effort, professionally and personally.
Of course it starts with horrendous long haul flights, one on an A380 (11 hours) leaving Perth at 10pm on Friday, and one on a 777 (8 hours), arriving in Lisbon at midday on Saturday. The first one was not too bad, but I was grateful to get out in Dubai and have a wander. The second flight was far from nice, I felt unwell, we were cramped in, and I was well and truly over it. If I had been able to say “stop the plane, I want to get off” I would have! Finally, we were descending into Lisbon, disembarking and queuing to get through passport control. The only good things about the trips were watching 3 movies (What’s love got to do it it, Puss in boots, A man called Otto) and some episodes of Deadliest catch, and arriving here!
Saturday afternoon
Thanks to some advice from friends who have travelled to Lisbon recently, we were armed with Bolt (an Uber equivalent) and able to get to our little apartment as quickly as possible. Turns out our little “street” is just for feet. Our driver worked it out, dropped us off and we found the correct door. Never judge a book by its cover and this little book has a gritty cover, but once inside we were pleasantly surprised by our little home away from home for the next 9 nights. It is small, but we have spent more than 9 nights at a time in Tas, so it’s actually huge for us. And it has a bathroom! We are going to be comfortable when we are here, and we won’t be here much. After a shower and unpacking some of our gear, I felt loads better and we wandered out to the local square, Praca Martim Moniz to orientate ourselves to where to our little accommodation sits in the grand scheme of Lisbon. Fortunately for us, although we live atop a hill, there is an escalator to bypass the 130 stairs up from the square (only up though!).
The square itself looks a little dodgy and lacks any historical appeal, but I think it is a transport hub. It also has a breakfast cafe (that’ll be handy for coffee tomorrow), a supermarket and the start of the 28e tram. Now we know where we need to get back to, we can get on with exploring over the next week. Tonight we took a lovely walk to a rooftop bar. The plan is to try a different one each evening. Today we found The Park, a bar on the top level of a parking lot. What a great spot! It was busy but we still scored ourselves a pair of seats facing the view and enjoyed a glass of rosé each. Both the bar and the walk to it were a lovely way to build up an appetite. The walk took us high up a hill, past the famous Bica funicular (also called an elevador or ascensor) that ascends and descends the other side, and through some gorgeous streets. I am already very happy to be in such a great city, so different to where we live.
The view at the bar was spectacular, looking out over roof tops to the suspension bridge and the river. I feel as though there are going to be quite a few photos of sights in this city worthy of making into jigsaw puzzles. We shared the bar with people from many places, the mixes of languages and accents making for great eavesdropping. The sun was shining down on us, making us warm and toasty, an experience I have almost forgotten. I think it is rainy and cold all week at home. When it was time to leave the bar we partly reversed our path and chose the restaurant Vista Do Castela (view of the castle) for a BIG dinner and some rosé. The view of the castle and rooftops was amazing for our first night. It made the plane ride worth the effort. The brief for dinner was Portuguese, so we had chorizo (two whole sausages), piri piri chicken, tomato and mozzarella salad and bread. It was so lovely to eat something fresh, after way too many airplane meals.
Our final visit for the day was to the supermarket, which is very close to home, for some bottled water. So far I am loving Lisbon, the fabulous location of our accommodation in the delightful Mouraria area with its tiny streets, colourful buildings and cobbled streets. We have managed to pack loads into our first 5 hours in this new place. It’s now 43hrs since we last slept and its bedtime (8.30pm). I can barely wait for tomorrow.
Sunday
After a lovely twelve hours of sleep in a comfy bed, in a quiet apartment it was great to wake up at coffee time! Fortunately, we are only 130 step stairs from some great coffee, expertly procured by Talulah. The city seems very quiet, so we made a plan to go and explore it. The first thing we did was download GPSmyCity for self-guided walking tours. We choose the City Introduction and the Cathedral To The Castle tours. Our apartment sits in the area below the castle with all roads and stairs appearing to lead there, so we decided to reverse the order of the introduction walk, and off we set. It seems the easiest way to get there is to circle the hill on top of which it sits, wandering through little streets, past more colourful buildings along more cobbled streets. Eventually we entered the castle walls and after a little look around, not entering the castle itself, we turned around and came back straight past the house! That means we have to walk back up there sometime so we can go into the castle!
The next stop on our walking tour took us back to “Man on a Horse Square” (we walked through it last night) also known here as Praça a de Figueira, then ”Man on a Plinth with Two Fountains Square, also known Dom Pedro IV Square, but everyone calls it Rossio. Both of these are actually very pretty, not just the squares themselves, but also the surrounding buildings and people. Man on a Horse is Joao I, called Joao the Good (sometimes Joao the Great) or Joao of Happy Memory (I like that), and more rarely and outside Portugal Joao the Bastard, and was the tenth King of Portugal. Man on a Plinth is King Pedro IV of Portugal. Having said “Hi”, admired the surrounds and enjoyed the artistry of the cobblestones, we headed off up part of the Avenida da Liberdade, starting at the Praça dos Restauradores, containing yet another monument, this time to the Restorers. Once again, the surrounds are very attractive, with interesting architecture.
There was almost no one in this area as we followed the directions and headed part way along the Avenida de Liberdade. Rather than continue to the end, we ducked up a side street, past a cute little park with bars and food trucks, before turning left and bumping into Gloria the Funicular. The best advice is not to queue at the bottom but to climb the street that the funicular is designed to overcome, and then to ride it down. So, counter intuitively we walked up, passed by an ascending and descending funicular and the street art gallery to the park / outdoor eateries / lookout, the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara . The street is a legal street art site, even set up with platforms for artists to comfortably create their art from.
While the lookout certainly has a fabulous view, we choose to avoid the crowds and head through the pretty streets to the highly rated Tanoa Cafe just down the road. After a short wait on the kerb outside the cafe we were given a table for two and a set of chalk makers to leave a message or two for the next diners. Of course our message had a very Australian flavour and it was delightful to leave our first koala in their tender loving care. JJ we are sure you will be well looked after! I did also leave a poignant message in the bathroom – “Now wash your hands!”. Nothing more appropriate I think.
Hoping to ride the Santa Justa Elevator, we needed to get a public transport pass. The way it works as of today (June 2023) is that you buy a pass (€0.50), decide on the package you want and load the pass. We chose the €6.60 package that entitles us to travel for 24hours on the metro, the buses, the funicular and lifts. Back on track we headed down the hill to the Arco da rua Augusta and the Praça do Comércio at the waterfront. The arch was built to commemorate the city’s reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake while the commercial plaza, a massive cobbled square, faces the river and is self-explanatory. Both are impressive busy places, attracting people who all appear to be loving the sunshine and waterfront. Interestingly this area is where survivors of the 1755 earthquake rushed to for safety. When they arrived, they watched the harbour drain, and shipwrecks and other harbour floor detritus become exposed. Goodness knows what they thought, perhaps that the water had drained down some of the 5m wide cracks that opened up as a result of the quake. Of course we now know what happens when the water recedes after an earthquake …
Continuing the self guided tour we arrived at the city’s cathedral which was closed up, with media trucks outside it, setting up to broadcast the mass wedding. The brides of Saint Anthony (16 of them) marry their respective grooms, in a tradition that started so that poor young couples could have a religious wedding with all the trimmings. Now it is a bit of a competition but very popular as events go, and takes place on the eve of St Anthony’s day, the 12th June (tomorrow). It was certainly very busy all around the cathedral and down to the smaller church that marks the birthplace of Saint Anthony. There is a festive feel to the place already.
The next place on our walk is the Santa Justa Elevator, complete with a long queue. Obviously it exists to provide an alternative to hoofing it up the hill with your groceries. Or it did. These days it serves as a tourist attraction, attracting a long queue of tourists. I read somewhere that the smart thing to do was to walk up the hill and ride it down. So we walked past some stores and street vendors before we climbed a few steep steps and arrived at the top. The view across the city is lovely and we spent some time working out where we were in the scheme of things, and where we wanted to go. Spotting a rooftop bar nearby we decided to head there for a quick refreshment and further surveying of the city. The Carmo bar itself has a great view and is quite comfy, with different options for seating, as well as shade and sun. While our drinks were refreshing and cold, the staff attitudes and friendliness left a little to be desired. Still, it was a nice way to spend a while, soaking up Lisbon.
All refreshed we headed back across to the lift, arriving just in time to take it down. There were 5 of us in the lift, which took moments to descend and was indeed very ornate. Given how quick it was, I am very glade we didn’t queue to ride it up! Hearing my accent, the lift operator, a local Lisboan declared his allegiance to the All Blacks, starting a brief conversation about rugby union ending with me gifting him a kangaroo in the hope he might consider changing his team! With our walking tour complete, we headed back to Praça Martim Moniz Square to wait for the 28e tram, however spotting the queue, we abandoned that idea and headed instead for the lookout above the apartment, that we can see from the only window we have.
With no idea what it is called, we just headed towards it, stopping to spot it and then orienteering towards it. We ascended stairs, stairs and more stairs eventually arriving at the top to at the Graça Church and Convent that we having be seeing from all the vantage points, but not the lookout. We can also see the church from the window, so we spent a little time trying to find the red towel I had draped over the window, before moving on to try and find the lookout, around to our left. Our route took us through a huge street party, likely part of the Lisbon festival, with loads of food, alcohol and music. There were also people everywhere, including at the Miradouro da Senhora do Monte when we finally found it! Then starts the quest to find our little apartment window among all the walls, windows and rooftops. The only thing we had to go by was a plain white wall and a wound blue hose on it, with our window alongside. Eventually I found it and confirmed my find through the camera lens! “Where’s our apartment?” is going to be a catch cry from every vantage point in the city.
With sore legs and empty bellies we headed off in search of some dinner, finding a lovely Pizzeria (La Matta) in a busy lane, where we enjoyed a delicious margarita pizza and a glass of rosé. As luck would have it (because we had no map or capability) the 28e tram crossed the end of the street and we were able to jump aboard and take it all the way to the end of the line and back again! It operates as a tourist attraction, hurriedly rattling along the narrow and windy streets of Lisbon. It’s a must do for sure, but definitely not from the beginning, where the queue stretches for up to 200m. It ends in some nondescript residential area, where everyone is required to leave the tram, to queue again to get back on. Other than a couple of people there already, we all got off and straight back on. So, we were able to get some seats by an open window and hold on tight as our driver skilfully navigated us back to Praça Martim Moniz Square! It’s not like any tram I’ve been on before, with the narrow streets, steep hills, other vehicles, and nearby walls and pedestrians presenting any number of obstacles for the driver to contend with. It’s so exciting, I want to ride it again! But for now, it’s been a big day. We walked many steps and climbed many stairs. I’m tired and ready for bed. Maybe tomorrow we’ll get to visit the castle …
Monday (12th June)
It seems as though the adjustment to time zones and recovery from jet lag is still happening. This morning we were both awake early, too early even for coffee! Eventually though it was a reasonable time to venture out for a takeaway and all coffee’d up we were ready to go. The plan for the day was to head down to Belem on the metro and the bus, partly as a reccie for where to go to the conference on Wednesday and partly to be tourists! With our bus passes still valid (they last for 24hours from the first trip) we jumped on the metro from our stop at Praça Martim Moniz to Cais do Sodre, the end of our line, by the Tagus River. The metro is very easy to use, meeting the requirement of suiting the lost common denominator.
There were quite a few crowds around the station but we were fortunate to jump straight into a 15 tram that trundled off along the waterfront. This one is not usually a classic, vintage tram, rather a modern commuter-style tram that happens to be full of tourists headed to the hotspot that is Belem. If you get on a modern one, it doesn’t have the charm of the 28 or the crazy route with hills to traverse, although there is the odd vintage tram car along the route for a lucky few. We passed underneath the 25 Abril Bridge, previously named named Salazar Bridge (Ponte Salazar), after Portuguese Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, who ordered its construction. After the Carnation Revolution, which overthrew the remnants of Salazar’s regime, the bridge was renamed for April 25, the date of the revolution. It is a huge suspension bridge that crosses the Tagus from Lisbon to Almada. For those who need something else to climb, other than the hilly suburbs of Lisbon, it is possible to climb up one of the pylons. Maybe next time …
After passing the conference centre which must have a great view of the bridge, we arrived in Belem and decided to take advantage of the early hour and the minimal number of tourists, to head straight into the famous Pasteis de Belem. This shop has THE secret recipe for the pastel de nata, known in English as a Portuguese tart. Despite being out of peak hours there was a short queue to get in, but we managed to grab an outdoor table and perused the menu, deciding on a tart for me and some orange cake for the lactose intolerant. We also had a savoury bite to eat as well, but the sweets stole the show. The building is of course a nice showroom for the classic tile motifs that seem to be all over the city. The diner can also watch the pastries being prepared. We saw a few trays of tarts being decanted, with evidence that many had already been prepared, with many more to go. So, what of my tart? Well, I can assure you it was delightful and delicious. It has creamy, warm custard in a shallow cup of flaky, buttery pastry. Oh my goodness, I could eat 100 of them. However, it is unlikely that The Piper would like these. He doesn’t believe that custard should be eaten warm!
Having indulged in so much sweet goodness, we needed to get our steps up so we set off for a walk, past the Jeronimos Monastery, then past some interesting remains of a fish factory and it’s associated tanks. No one seemed particularly interested in this other than us, but it was fascinating to see and to imagine how many more tanks there might be underneath what is now a plush hotel. Our next stop was a to admire a very cute piece of street art before heading on to the war memorial that includes an eternal flame and a spooky little chapel with a section that must be underground where the names of the fallen are constantly recited. I was glad to get back into the sun and warmth of the day.
Not far from the war memorial and visible from a fair distance we headed to the famous Belem Tower. We knew before we left home for the day that the tower isn’t open on Monday’s but we decided that a visit to the outside would suffice. It is lovely to look at and perhaps the fact that it is closed explains the relative lack of tourists. Lucky us. The tower was built in the early 1500s (hard to comprehend) and was a ceremonial site for those coming to and leaving Lisbon, including the explorers like Vasco, who I did a project about way back in primary school! It’s built of limestone, which must be a different type to the crumbly stuff we have along the Western Australian coast. It’s hard to image what it’s seen across the 500+ years it has stood in the river. I enjoyed sitting on the river wall looking at and admiring it. I did wonder what it looks like inside … next time.
Not far back along the river towards the city is the fabulous Padrão dos Descobrimentos. This stunning monument was built in the late 1950s to replace an earlier one built in 1940. It is in prime position on the river where ships departed to explore and trade with India and the Orient, celebrating the Portuguese Age of Discovery (or “Age of Exploration”) during the 15th and 16th centuries. Each side has a bunch of men on it ascending to the top where Henry the Navigator looks outward. Vasco is right behind him on the eastern side, and there are all sorts of other navigators, captains, explorers, writers, missionaries, poets, painters, pilots and mathematicians, and the odd Royal. Again, it was great to spend some time admiring this beautiful monument, before we found the world map with Portugal at the centre. I have to admit that I prefer that to many of the maps that put the Americas in the middle (but not as much as the ones that put Australia there). We didn’t go inside or up to the top of the monument … next time.
Thoroughly enamoured with the pretty and engaging little area of Belem we were ready to head back into Lisbon and out of the sun for a while. We were going to catch a tram but the queue and the distance we had to travel meant we opted for a cheap as chips Bolt to take us back. We did try to work out how to hire a scooter, but it’s all too hard in the hot sun. Maybe another day. For something different we decided to go and have a look at the Banksy museum. This is an exhibition of more than 100 pieces by the street artist Banksy. It’s called The World of Banksy: An Immersive Experience. They describe him as a famous but unknown artist. A good description. His most recognisable symbol is the little mouse that appeared all over the exhibit, along with a few other famous mural like the girl with the balloon and the kissing cops. I liked the pieces that he created in Ukraine and the naughty muse in the bathroom were very amusing. While the displays aren’t originals, the little museum is well worth a visit with some interesting videos and information explaining the artworks to keep you there for at least an hour.
As has become our tradition for this trip, we needed to spend some time in a rooftop bar! Fortunately there was one nearby, atop the H10 Duque de Loule (a hotel) called the Terraço Chill-Out Limao. What a superb spot! We had a great seat at the edge of the bar, looking straight down the city to the waterfront. Having watched others order and appear to enjoy sangria, we decided it would be rude not to try it ourselves, so we ordered a litre of rosé sangria and some nachos to nibble on. What a great decision that turned out to be. The sangria came out in a beautiful terracotta jug and tasted divine. They even gave us a long spoon to eat the fruit (fruit is highly recommended in one’s diet). As we indulged in our drink and snack we tried to work out where we live. The orientation of the bar to the city was difficult to work out until … we spotted the lift! Once seen it was hard to ignore, it is so obvious on the skyline after all. With that reference point we could work out roughly where we live, but with the flags at the castle barely visible above the other obstacles between us and it, we realised it would be impossible to see our place.
We sat on the rooftop for ages, watching the pair of cranes working at the adjacent building site. They appeared to be working quite late into the evening, especially as it’s the eve of St Anthony’s day and apparently an evening for much celebration. Having soaked up the evening sun (probably too much of it) we eventually decided to walk home, heading straight down the road we had been looking along. At the end of the road there is a shoe store, and I could hardly resist having a look could I? It would be rude not to, and rude not to buy 2 pairs, and rude not to leave the helpful saleswoman with one of our Koala’s. She was loudly and repeatedly heard to proclaim “oh my heart” as she hugged it, before there were hugs all round. Oh my heart!
After a short rest at home (let’s face it there’s no point being inside when you have a great city to explore) we headed out for a walk to find some dinner. We decided to walk across the hill to do a reccie to find the restaurant recommended by the brunch waitress yesterday. It looks lovely and embedded deep in the busy side streets that surround our place. I am looking forward to trying it out. The streets were heaving with people, all out and about for the celebrations that precede St Anthony’s day. Our walk brought us out at Saint Anthony’s church (seems appropriate) with people throwing coins, attempting to land them on the bible his statue holds. I assume it must be good luck. The streets here were even more full of people and the media crews were still there. There were also stall holders selling potted basil plants with a paper carnation poked into them. Traditionally men offered one of these to their loved ones, with the carnation carrying a love message. Another interpretation is that the pots are given to friends with prayers in the carnation that invoke the Saint.
The other aspect that the day is known for is the feast of St Anthony as part of the festival of sardines (or vice versa). Oh my goodness, everyone was trying to do their best to feast and be festive. Some were so festive they were wearing sardines on their heads (freebies from the beer company) while others were cooking sardines on every available spot. The beer to down the sardines with was free flowing from many kerbside kegs, but no one was being silly (except for the Green Haired Man, flower loving man that seemed to be following me around). There were just loads and loads of happy people having a fun time, on narrow streets crammed and jammed with tourists and locals. What fun, that continued as we walked all the way to Cais do Sodre to try Time Out for dinner.
Time Out market comes highly recommended. It is housed within Mercado da Ribeira, a large warehouse like building, and is operated by a team of journalists from Time Out magazine. They say, “If it’s good, it goes in the magazine, if it’s great, it goes into the market”. Apparently there are 26 restaurants, 8 bars, a dozen shops and a high-end music venue, all with the very best in Lisbon (the best steak, the best hamburger, the best sushi and the best live performances, amongst others). It reminded us of the Taste of Tasmania event we went to a few years ago, only permanent. It took us a while to decide what we wanted to eat but we settled on 3 croquettes each (traditional, Portuguese and goats cheese with caramelised onion), washed down with some rosé, followed by a delicious bowl of tomato soup, and then we shared a hamburger as we finished the wine. Ah-Maz-Ing! It looked like everyone else under the huge roof was also thoroughly enjoying their food and drinks too.
With full bellies and tired legs, we eventually headed out to catch the metro home. When we got there our street was absolutely jammed with people headed down to the local arraiais (street party). There was toe tapping music throbbing through the street, with everyone dancing and singing. We hung out for a little while, stuck in a back corner of the street intersection, loving the feeling of so many people having so much fun, then went inside our house and opened the window to listen a bit more. Lisbon is having a HUGE party. And we still haven’t been to the castle …
St Anthony’s Day (Tuesday 13th June)
Thankfully we managed to sleep a little longer today, likely due to the thousands of steps and stairs we have traversed over the last 2 days. To say Lisbon is hilly is an understatement. But boy oh boy it’s pretty! After some in-house Coffee from our local (look at us, we’ve been here 2 days and we’re locals), we chose a breakfast venue within the first castle wall, and enjoyed a lovely but expensive start to the day. We needed it though, the hike up the hill is not easy.
With a long queue to get into the castle, we decided instead to go to the castles church that has been waiting for us since the 12th century. The church is historically significant as the Holy Cross Church of São Jorge Castle. Over at the bell tower we paid a measly €5 and received our choice of drink. I am glad I refused a ginjinha at the shop last night (not authentic enough) because I was able to carry a little glass of to the top of the bell tower and enjoy it there instead! As the highest tower in old Lisbon, there is a fabulous view of the city and the river. Of course we had to do a 10 second selfie wearing the bell. We would highly recommend a visit here while everyone else is queued for the castle nearby. We even had the tower to ourselves for a while!
The ticket price also includes entry to the permanent art exhibit “Há vida no Bairro do Castelo” (“There is life in Bairro do Castelo”), an homage to the residents of this historic neighbourhood, on show in the church’s choir. From the top of the choir area, we could look down on the church itself. Probably the best value ticket in town! As for the ginjinha, delicious! Ginjinha or simply Ginja, is a uniquely Portuguese liqueur made by infusing ginja berries (the Morello cherry) in alcohol and adding sugar together with other ingredients, like cloves and/or cinnamon sticks. It’s served as a shot. Now I want to try the shot in a chocolate cup we saw on our first night at Rossio.
With the queue, still too long for us to be bothered to go into the castle, we headed off towards the cathedral, where all the action from the media trucks and the mass wedding is finally over. As the door was open, we decided to have a quick look inside (and I mean quick), before we trekked around the back, and a long way into the distance (or just the long way) in search of Lisbon’s own, Pantheon. Unfortunately it was closed so we had to enjoy the view from outside and make a Plan B.
One of the things the Green Hair man is most looking forward to is a trip to estadio nacionale, the national stadium, where his team won the European cup back in some year a long time ago. He knows others who have been there, and they’ve been escorted by the caretaker around the ground and through the dressing sheds, all with an insiders commentary. So off we headed, out of the city in a Bolt to the stadium. Unfortunately, we inadvertently choose to go on the only day there were actually games being played, at what I assumed was an abandoned stadium. We did get to wander through for a while before the security guard politely asked to leave and we found ourselves on the wrong side of the gates. Although not really a consolation, the reason we were turfed out was because a 4 team tournament of under 18s men’s football was in progress. Coincidentally Australia had beaten Norway in the morning, and we were outside as England and Portugal were about to go head-to-head. Oh well, we tried. Time to get another Bolt back to the city.
To compensate for missing out on this trip highlight we decided to ride the Lavra funicular (Plan B), asking the bolt driver to drop us off at the top, hoping there would be fewer people queuing to ride it down. As our luck would have it, the funicular is out of order, so we had to walk carefully down the steep hill! Nothing seems to be going right today.
Fortunately, the Gloria funicular is just across the road, so we wandered over, and queued for a short time before riding it to the top! Well that was fun and I am supremely glad it didn’t suddenly lose traction (or whatever it relies on) and go hurtling back down the hill. I’m not sure it would end well if it did. The lady driving the tram seemed to be having a difficult time managing everyone and looked less than happy, so I gifted her a little koala, that she was surprised but pleased to receive, popping it safely into her bag on the dash. She even gave me a smile and a wave as we stood taking a few pictures. Nice to make someone happy.
The reason we took the funicular up was to arrive at today’s roof top bar, Lumi. Unfortunately, there was no room for us for at least a couple of hours so we needed a Plan B (again). Fortunately, there was another bar just along the road where we were able to secure a table for a drink with my colleague who is also in town for the conference. In fact, we ended up staying at Lost In, not just for our sangria but for a meal. It was lovely to catch up and enjoy the balmy evening and extended daylight. Eventually though we were asked to leave (no reservation) so we said cheerio to the others and headed back to Gloria for a ride to the bottom this time. It was very amusing to see the lamp posts looking all wonky, only to realise they are deliberately like that so they are at 90° to the ground! Despite a couple of hiccups, it was a lovely day, although we still haven’t been to the castle …
Wednesday (Day 1 of the conference)
So the reason I am here is actually to attend and present at the SESAM Conference, which starts today. My presentation is also today. So, it was a much earlier start today to make it to the opening ceremony for 09.00. Green Hair Man came along with me, then scooted off to do his own thing, while I conferenced and presented. I did manage to offload a kangaroo to an Irish lass I met who has been to Perth before and misses it. The day goes a lot slower when you are conferencing but eventually my presentation time came, in the 3.30 to 5pm slot. It went fine and the day was over. Two days to go …
Post conference we bused back to Cais do Sodre to meet Green Hair man. There was a shy little boy on the bus who made eye contact but was cautious about being too friendly. A little koala seemed to break the ice and I managed to get a smile. No words exchanged, so he didn’t “talk to strangers”. An exchange of thumbs up indicated we were friends though. Time to head for tonight’s roof top bar, which was once again pre-chosen. And what a cracker of a bar, atop the Hotel Chiado. The view was directly across to the Castelo, with the river and Sunday night’s bar to our right and last night’s bar somewhere to our left. This is by far the best bar we’ve been to so far. We opted for a fizzy sangria and splurged on a beautifully presented and delicious tasting charcuterie board. Oh lala! We were very reluctant to leave but eventually we needed to walk home, so we could dump my conference stuff and head back out to meet my student and his mate for a drink and dinner.
Now the restaurant we decide to go to is the one recommended by the breakfast cafe Tanoa a couple of mornings ago, O Trigueirhino. It is a couple of minutes’ walk from home and is highly rated on google, as an authentic Portuguese restaurant serving authentic Portuguese food. It is so popular you need to queue (or request a table and then wander off for a drink like we did). Unfortunately, they were out of tuna steaks, Green Hair Man’s choice, so we shared turkey steak and beef steak. They were nice and tender, served with homemade chips, and washed down with a rosé. A nice way to spend the evening, with another koala finding a home with the friendly staff. Still no visit within the Castelo walls …
Thursday (Day 2 of the conference)
Thankfully the conference start time today was a bit later, so we had time to have a coffee at Rossio Square then catch the very slow bus to conference. The disadvantage of the later start is that the bus was fuller, with tourists heads to Belem. My student presented today, then we knocked over a pile of work we needed to get done together before the afternoon sessions. All far less exciting than being out and about, but necessary.
Meanwhile Green Hair man has well and truly worked out the scooter situation. He has been zooming around the city on a Whoosh scooter, which he hired for €5 a day, with a maximum of 80 minutes per ride (you can ride multiple times a day). If you go over your 80 minutes on any specific scooter you are charged €0.23 a minute. So, after the conference we sorted a hire for me and off we went on a bone shaking, teeth rattling ride along the paths and cobbled roads! We headed to the tile museum, to try to work out what all the fuss is about. The museum is housed in what was a convent (built in 1509), which had its own share of tiles, before it became the museum. It’s a nice place to wander around, with some interesting and attractive tile panels and displays. My favourite was the 25m long tile panel of Lisbon pre-the earthquake, the dude injecting the other dudes butt and the display of more modern tile-like artwork at the end. I’m still not sure I understand what all the fuss is about …
Rather than shake, rattle and roll back to town we decided to jump into a Bolt for delivery directly to tonight’s bar. However, it seems the destination is indeed a roof top, but it is indeed not a bar! Oh dear. In lieu of a bar we decided to head to the Castelo which is open until 9pm. All the guidebooks and online information suggest the best time to head there to avoid the crowds is in the evening. The guidebooks are absolutely right! There was almost no one there at all and to our delight they have an outlet where you can buy a wee bevvie! What a fabulous (non) roof top bar this is turning out to be. Across from us is last night’s bar, to its left is Sunday night’s bar, to its right is night Tuesday night’s bar and somewhere in the distance is Monday night’s bar. All we could see from Monday night’s bar was the very top of the flags at the Castelo, so there is no chance of seeing it from here. I think I see tomorrow night’s bar though …
Back to the Castelo. It gets mixed reviews but what are you going to do? You are in Lisbon, which is overlooked by what remains of this Castelo, so of course you are going to go and have a look. You’d be crazy if you didn’t. Every man and their dog have lived on, built on and used the hill and the Castelo. It dates back a long way, in fact BC according to some of the relics. There really isn’t much to see but it’s still a nice place to wander and climb, and from which to view the city. Much of what did remain from centuries of buildings, was destroyed in the earthquake. Much of what is there now has either been so well constructed it survived or has been reconstructed. We walked all the way down the signature wall and stairs that go oh so close to our house, but as we can’t see the Castelo out of our one window, we of course couldn’t see the house from anywhere (or the white wall with the blue hose). We enjoyed the time we spent there before it closed at 9pm and we were politely asked to make our way out.
The long evenings also mean that it’s quite late by the time we are ready to have dinner. Add a walk to the restaurant and it’s even later. We headed not too far away to a nice place called Antu, that was right in the thick of yet another street party. Unfortunately, there was no outdoor seating, but we had a nice table and could hear the festivities just outside. Thankfully they serve sangria, so we naturally ordered a jug, and it was very late by the time we finally left there. Fortunately the 28e ran nearby and we were able to jump on the crazy tram back to Praca Martim Moniz, arriving home from day 2 of the conference well after 11pm! At least today we have finally been to the Castelo!
Friday (Day 3 of the conference)
It’s the last day of the conference today, with my colleague and student both presenting, one in the morning and one in the evening. We started the day with coffee and toast at a cafe at Cai do Sodre before we jumped on a pair of scooters to whizz along to the conference. By the time we got there, I literally had a blister on my left hand, a product of holding on tight, bumpy cobbled paths and streets, and rough hand grips. Hopefully it doesn’t burst. Apart from the presentations I needed to attend, I also chose the attend the 30 minute midday session by Ukrainian simulationists working in Poland. Needless to say, it was shattering to hear that Kyiv was bombed today, after a heart transplant for a long term cardiac patient went ahead yesterday. The presentation was introduced by a Portuguese person who is doing everything they can as part of a SESAM subcommittee to source and provide simulation equipment to healthcare professionals in the war-torn country. The presentation itself was prerecorded by an in-country Ukrainian who told us how the priorities for simulation training have completely changed, as you can well imagine.
After the prerecorded presentation finished, the Ukrainians in the audience were offered the opportunity to speak. They left Ukraine to live in Poland so they can provide supplies back to their country-people. One responded to an audience member question about how to support Ukraine with equipment. Her message was basically that while the provision of equipment is required, they really just want to know that they are not forgotten and she asked people to just indicate that they are thinking about what is happening there (that we haven’t forgotten), and to express support in words, messages and the like. I couldn’t help myself and had to gift a koala to the speaker. Initially she shook my hand which had the koala in it, with me transferring it to her. When I pointed to it, she was emotional and hugged me for an extended length of time. I got the impression that I hit the nail on the head – Ukraine, you have not been forgotten.
With all the requisite presentations attended, and all conference formalities complete, Green Hair Man met me, and we scooted off for a late coffee in Belem, followed by a lovely cool beer at the Doca de Santo Amaro, before boarding the HippoTrip amphibious vehicle, for a tour combining land and river. I’ve seen these in other cities and thought they look like fun, but we’ve never done one before. Onboard we shared the trip with just a few others, our guide Moustache (Hownee) and our driver / captain Passion (Paolo). They were funny from the outset and did their best to be inclusive of everyone, conversing in English and Portuguese, and making sure that others understood what they were saying. They primed us with a catch cry. They yell “‘Ippo ‘Ippo”, we say “‘Ooray!” and punch the air. We started with a trip into town, around Cai do Sodre and back past the starting point, before entering the water. The road trip is fun, seat belted and attracts much attention, including from those who have ‘Ippo’ed before (‘Ippo ‘Ippo, ‘Ooray!). Entering the water is great fun, with a big splash down, and also draws a lot of attention. Boating around is like any other boat, unseatbelted, floating and motoring.
On the river we cruised past the fabulous Padrão dos Descobrimentos monument we saw on Monday, learning there is a woman on there, representing all the women who stayed behind waiting for their sons, husbands and fathers to return. She is on the ocean side, second from the bottom. We also cruised past the Tower, learning that it was once used as a prison. We cruised on down the river past the medical research centre, that was designed to look like a cruise ship from the river (and it does), the on to the coast guard lookout, that is also nautically designed. Here we left the water, did a u-turn and for the benefit of the thrill seekers among us, re-entered the water with a big splash! That’s so much fun! With that our cruising was over and we became a bus again, driving back to the start, all happy, having thoroughly enjoyed a great experience. I of course felt compelled to leave both our host and captain with a small gift, in the form of a kangaroo each, which they loved! We even had to get a selfie with them to commemorate the occasion (I really should get copies!). We would highly recommend this experience at least once somewhere in the world, and Lisbon was a great place to give it a try.
As usual, it was getting late so we caught a Bolt to our selected rooftop bar, on the Avenue, at the Hotel Tivoli. Now I got the sense pretty much straight away that they weren’t thrilled to see us, nor to host us in their bar. The concierge checked us out from head to toe, and even came out from and looked over the desk. Nonetheless he admitted us to the lift and sent us on our way to the bar. Our welcome was short lived though, with another staff member greeting us at the door, telling us in no uncertain terms that our shoes were unacceptable, and denying us entry to the bar! Oh well Old Mate, we can find somewhere else to spend our hard-earned Australian Dollars.
Fortunately Plan B lead us just a few doors down to the Eden Hotel, where we were warmly greeted by a friendly concierge who was only too happy to point us in the direction of their bar, I’m in Eden, that also houses the rooftop pool! Imagine not only allowing us in but sending us to a place where it is best to take your shoes off! We thoroughly enjoyed sitting atop this bar, looking towards the castle from last night, the bars from Sunday and Tuesday, and the river. We had a spot just past the pool, also overlooking the Avenue. If we had had our swimmers with us, we could have easily had a swim, all for the price of a jug of sangria and a bag of potato chips! Eden Hotel, you outdid the Tivoli in every way, and we let your friendly concierge know it on the way out the door!
Not that we were necessarily hungry, but it was time for dinner, so we jumped on the metro from Rossio to Cai do Sodre to take a walk along to ride Bica Funicular. When we finally found it, which wasn’t easy, it wasn’t running, but there was another HUGE street party taking place either side and across the line! What else to do, but join the party, grab a bifana and a passion fruit rum punch and find somewhere to enjoy the atmosphere. All full up we decided to wander home, finding another even livelier street party to hang out at for a while. This one spanned a T intersection, with a scaffolding stage constructed at the junction, with a duo playing music to entertain all the people. It was jammed, once again with happy folk, all just enjoying the music and the atmosphere. Lisbon, you know how to host a party! I haven’t had this many late nights in a row in a very long time!
Saturday
Free time thanks to the finish of the conference, means we can head out a bit further afield and visit a couple of places at the edges of the city. But first, a quick breakfast at Time Out. Of course, we had what is a normal breaky, but I have been thinking about delicious croquettes since we ate them earlier in the week, so I just had to have them while I could. Croquettes are to me, what pastel de nata to other visitors to Portugal. I would come back again just for these! Full of croquette goodness we jumped on to the train (as opposed to the metro) to Cascais. Since seeing this very popular town on tinterweb, I was keen to include it in our trip. Unfortunately I have to say I was underwhelmed. Let me qualify that by saying I have been to and lived in seaside towns in Australia, so the benchmark is high. Very high.
We did spend a while there, wandering the streets and the foreshore, along to the Boca do Inferno and back again to the station. I wish I could say the water looked inviting, but it wasn’t as clean as beaches I’ve swum in elsewhere. In fairness there was actually a water based clean up underway while we were there. It was also very busy, with people everywhere, decreasing the appeal further. Despite it being a very warm (almost hot) day, it was hard to feel enthused about this little town. Anyway, we wouldn’t have known if we didn’t go, and I would always have wondered. So, our day-long plan was cut considerably shorter and we headed back to Lisbon in the afternoon to freshen up a bit before heading to tonight’s rooftop bar.
This time Green Hair Man chose the bar just down the hill at Topo Terraco at Praca Martim Moniz Square. As luck would have it, there was a pride march happening, kicking off from the square as we arrived there, with the rooftop bar giving us a bird’s eye view! The theatre of pride is so engaging, thanks to the colours, music, costumes, and energy of the people participating. We could see that from our vantage point and watched the parade head off around the city. We also got to watch a couple of kids kick the footy in the square, improvising their goalposts with bushes, and no doubt arguing over which one is Ronaldo.
No overseas trip is complete without some shopping for gifts to bring home for those unlucky enough not to visit the city. They didn’t have a “my granny went to Lisbon and all I got was this lousy t shirt” but they did have a sweet dolly with Portugal stamped on her skirt for Evie, and we procured other hopefully appropriate gifts for the big kids, and a tile-based gift for some tile-loving friends. With that out of the way, we wandered across town, choosing a traditional Portuguese restaurant, O’Sophinhas (tuna steak!). The main reason we were over this way was to sample some gelato from a nearby store, Alice Gelato by Meraviglie. I was hoping for the pastel de nata flavour I had seen at Time Out (of course) which they didn’t have, but they did have rice pudding flavour, which would be a very close second choice anyway! Yummo, what a delicious way to wander home on our second last late night in Lisbon.
Sunday
As with yesterday, we are heading out of town for a change of scenery, bound for Sintra. Before getting underway though we tried to order breakfast at a nearby café, using a menu with pictures, with English on one side and Portuguese on the other. So, it should have been relatively easy, but it proved to be insanely ridiculous. In the end we both got our coffee (thankfully) and I got some “scrambled” eggs, while despite ordering eggs and bacon, Green Hair Man got absolutely nothing. Somehow or another our despite pointing to pictures, covering the parts we didn’t want and even adding a bit of interpretive dance, the order was stuffed up completely. The day can only get better …
With no breaky on board we wandered over to Rossio train station (not the metro station that has the same name but is in a different place!), and managed to miss the train by a moment. It literally left the platform as we were scanning our passes at the turnstile. As we watched it head off into the distance, we also realised the next one wasn’t due to leave for an hour. Rather than wait we decided to just call a Bolt and get on with getting out to Sintra. Such a shame we had already purchased train passes (€10 each). Fortunately, the Bolt was quick and we probably beat the train that we missed! The driver considerately dropped us in the main square, right outside a bakery so Green Hair Man could get a pastry and we could both top up the coffee levels (and I could have a tart).
There’s loads to do in Sintra but we already knew that and chose to pre-book for the Peña Palace (at 3.30pm). We also knew about the bus that takes you up to the palace and a couple of other sites, in a loop. Without catching the bus, the walk is up a big hill and takes an hour (by the look of it, it might take longer and would be very tiring, as it’s very steep). However, the “‘op ‘on, ‘op ‘off bus” is expensive at €15 each. It’s actually extortionate, but there is little choice, so we bought the bus ticket, boarded and rode up to the Moorish castle. I have to say that I really enjoyed this site, and wandering around it. It’s a pretty, if somewhat derelict place, leaving a lot to the imagination. The walls are traversable, and while inducing a bit of my fear of heights, the stairs to the top of each corner provide a great view back down to Sintra and up to the Peña Palace. Fortunately for us, it wasn’t incredibly busy, as we arrived in the middle of the day, when I think most people were at the palace. We would recommend a trip to Sintra to see the Moorish Castle, if you can afford to get there.
Back on the bus for a very short distance (it’s important to get your money’s worth out of the ticket) we jumped off again at Peña Palace. There is still a short, steep walk from the entrance to the complex, to the palace proper. Man alive, there are a lot of people at this site! There are at least 2 queues that start for the next two entrance times. They are long queues, with up to 300 people allowed in every 30 minutes. The queue for the time slot before ours was still in place, as our queue was filling up and I already had the feeling there may be a bit of hype feeding the frenzied crowds. By way of understanding, the palace was actually either a chapel or monastery for most of its life, first established way back in the 12th century. It wasn’t until the mid 1800s that it was converted to a palace by King Ferdinand (who was actually a King Consort), essentially as a gift to his Queen who keeled over and died before living there. He remarried, extended the palace and continued to live there. Over the years, his descendants used the palace, with the mother of the last king living there at the time of Portugal becoming a Republic. Naturally she needed to do a runner … apparently off to Brazil.
Anyway, the palace reflects a lot of the wealth that Portuguese people probably found offensive (hence the Republic). Viewing it is a bit of a production line, with the 300 allocated entry each half an hour parading through in a long line, barely stopping to look at anything or read the information. We opted to buy the additional audio tour, that did help to explain what we were seeing. As picture-perfect as it looks and as interesting as the history is, it really is just a rich person’s folly, a rich person whose riches were most likely acquired from their (not so loyal) subjects. Perhaps I am just a bit too cynical, but by the end of our traipse through the site, I felt like there definitely is a lot of hype related to Sintra and the palace, and like yesterday I was a little disappointed. Time to get the bus back down the hill.
There are other sites in Sintra and maybe another time we’ll visit them (maybe not), but for today we were all Sintra’ed out. So Sintr’ed out in fact that we jumped on the first train, even though it wasn’t ours, opting to take a different route, changing from the train to the metro at the Zoo, for the Rossio line. This morning from the Rossio Station, I noticed that we were very close to the place we ate dinner on our first night, which was just up the stairs from a little Ginjinha outlet, A Ginjinha. When we passed it on our first night, we didn’t know what it was, although we did notice a queue. Now I feel we can’t leave Lisbon without trying it. Their signature is the ginjinha served in a chocolate cup. As it turns out, if you get the chocolate cup option you get a refill! Go us! I can confirm that ginjinha, in a chocolate cup, from this outlet is a must do and I could have stayed there for the rest of the evening! But with hungry bellies we opted for some “nachos” which was just a plate full of corn chips and some avocado, washed down with a quick bevvie at Tapas and Friends. In hindsight, that was a silly idea, but our dinner reservation is not until 9.30pm.
To top off our Nine Nights, Nine Roof Top Bars we are booked to have dinner at the Varanda Restaurant in the Hotel Mundial that has one of the most highly rated roof top bars in Lisbon. It will be interesting to see how it stacks up against the other eight we have been to. But first we walked home, enjoying our last evening in Lisbon and reflecting on how we had come to know the city and the way around it, as well as the little lanes and alleyways in our neighbourhood. If only we had a bit more time to be here, maybe even had the opportunity to live here for a while. I have never been anywhere where the density of living is so high, or the neighbourhoods are so established, and the neighbours living in their homes for so many generations. I have loved that about this place.
As for our little apartment, it has been perfect for us. Let’s face it, we can live in the tiniest of campers for weeks, living in a place with a bathroom is palatial! It has everything we could need, although we haven’t even used the kettle or toaster, let alone cooked a meal. We are in a building that obviously has other tenants, but we’ve not seen or heard much of them at all. The lane we live along has a history of fado singers living along it, evidenced by depictions and descriptions on the walls of the buildings. There are small cafes and other food outlets along our lane, that we haven’t had the time to try. We also didn’t get to a fado bar. Both of those are good reasons to come back. And the neighbourhood has been unbelievably lively, safe, and inviting to visit. We couldn’t have chosen better. It’ll be sad to leave in the morning.
But first we headed over the square to the rooftop bar at Hotel Mundial. It’s popularity meant we needed to queue for a little while, then we were given a table at the back of the roof, but it did have a great view of the Castelo, and we couldn’t get a drink in time to enjoy it roof top. When we did get our drinks and were able to take them down to the restaurant.
While we were disappointed, it was lovely to arrive to an almost empty restaurant and receive a window-side table and excellent service. As an appetiser I ate the most divine cheese I have ever tried, arriving in a hard-looking hessian wrap, containing a liquid goat’s cheese! I hope we can find it back home. For dinner, along with the city view and a bottle of rosé, I had osso bucco, which was lovely and tender, just as it should be. By the time we finished the mains, the restaurant was empty, the staff were doing the little jobs, we were wandering around admiring the view from different windows and finishing our wine. It felt like something out of a movie. Our intention was to go back up to the bar, but it closed before we had a chance, so we wandered home for the last time. Like every day here, it’s been a long one, with so many great experiences.
Monday
Unfortunately, all good things must come to end and it turns out this trip is no different. Before leaving we managed to get in a breakfast that was much better than yesterdays, with a view of the Justa Lift (is there anywhere in Lisbon that doesn’t have a view of the lift?). Back home we finished our packing and locked up for the last time, saying goodbye to our little piece of Lisbon, before wandering past the tile motif of St John for the last time onto the street to meet our Bolt, which took us on one last windy journey through the narrow neighbourhood streets. Here’s a tip for new players, the queue for cars to get to the departures area of the international airport is huge every day of the year. Our driver patiently got us there though, all for the measly amount of €11.35 (so I insisted we tip him another €5). Rather than deflate the mood of the trip, I’ll just say that as expected, it was a long and tiring trip home to Perth. But it was worth it to have been to and stayed in the amazing city that is Lisbon. I can see why it is some people’s favourite city in the world. It far exceeded our expectations and I suspect we will be back, even if we use the city as a launching pad for the rest of Portugal which we have added to the travel destinations list. I hope it’s soon …
So, there you have it. We can’t believe how lucky we were to manage this trip around the SESAM conference. We can’t recommend Lisbon highly enough and now we are chomping at the bit to get back to Europe in just 5 short weeks. I leave you with our top 11 things to do if you are lucky enough to be in Lisbon, a list of our favourite (and not so favourite) roof top bars in the city, a reflection on who the adoptive parents of the kangaroos and koalas are, and a breakdown of the trip costs. Enjoy, and do yourself a favour and go to Lisbon!
The Solo Avocado 