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THINGS TO DO IN AND AROUND LISBON PART II (Inc Portugal)
So welcome to this second instalment of the Lisbon and Portugal thread/blog - the obvious reason for this second thread is the original is now very large and takes forever to get through: it can be found by clicking on the below link.
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34740328 It is incredible just how popular it has become and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed - Lobo and I have made some good friends and are pleased to announce the continuing success of the Lisbon dining club. So I guess without further ado I declare this thread open and look foward to many more posts and dinners and fun. Matt |
Hmnn - HenryandCasper: I'll have to think of some kind of prize to award you for being the 500th poster...
Hello Lobo, Sher, Michi, HenryandCasper, barb65, namaka, nancy1652, sue, robertsmyth, kptravels and everyone else who contributed to the old thread. So I suppose all I have to say now is - <b>"Let's get this party started!"</b> ;-) Matt |
Lisbon Dining Club report to follow in the morning, I really am tired now but as a taster I can say that it was a complete success. Lobo made an excellent choice, the food was wonderful, company perfect - thankyou Patrick and Les from San Diego for joining us, and being the first foreign members, and we look foward to the next get together.
I'll see you all later - get posting and together let's make this thread a continuing success. Matt |
Matt, I think you should cut and paste the useful information from the old thread.
What time do you plan to post the meeting minutes? I ask this to know if I should do my beauty spleep before or after reading it :-) |
Lobo, think in real terms tomorrow - and you need your beauty sleep: whereas Gertrude on the other hand needs none: she looked radiant this evening.
I'll cut and paste a little at a time, otherwise we'll hit 500 posts in the next few days ;-) Thanks for a great evening BTW. |
ok, see you soon! até já!!! :-)
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Congratulations Matt and Lobo!
Party on - may Lisbon be the number one tourist destination thanks to you! I can not wait to arrive. Barbara |
Matt, I'm not worthy of a prize. I'm still mortified that I usurped your moment. Looking forward to your next report.
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HenryandCasper, don't fret; it was just as much my fault as yours. I didn't even think that someone else might me posting while I was and the thing is that I was just bringing to the top and not even posting anything good. Well, what's done, is done and so we move on to a new, and exciting thread!!Can't wait!
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Okay, I've uploaded images to photobucket but have not had time to prepare the report - <i>yet</i>. I'll try and get it up sometime before midnight I promise. And I still haven't packed anything for tomorrow...
Easter with my parents :-( |
Hi Matt: Thanks for the new thread. I'm sure we'll get to 500 in no time!
We have a question I wonder if anyone can help us with. We're renting a car for 3 days in Portugal. We received information from ICEP Portugal Comercio e Turismo that says, among other things, we must have a "green card" that has to do with insurance. We can't find anyone here in the U.S. that knows how to get one of these cards. Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks. |
Unless the green card is something new, we rented last year and did not have one.
Let me know if you find out what it is. We did take International Drivers Licenses just in case we needed them out in the country where we might have difficulty finding people who speak fluent English. It isn't required, though. |
ADEGA DAS GRAVATAS review.
Sunday 9th April 2006 marks an important date in the history of the recently formed “Lisbon Dining Club.” Following on from two previous succesful evenings where the membership grew from two to four, (with the addition of Elisabete and Gertrude) we were able to welcome our first foreign members, Patrick and Les from San Diego, California. Having spoken with Patrick on the phone, (so both were asured to some small extent that neither of us were crazed axe murderers) we arranged to meet at Cais do Sodre Metro Station. To get there of course I took the ferry across the Tagus river: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...nd/LDCweb1.jpg And as always lapped up the best view of Lisbon city: Towards Alfama: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...nd/LDCweb2.jpg And Castelo St. Jorge: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...nd/LDCweb3.jpg ‘I’ll be wearing my New York Yankee's cap.’ I told him, and he told me to look out for a tall skinny guy with a goatee. Knowing that there aren't many tall skinny portuguese men with Goatees I felt assured I'd recognise Patrick easily. However the NY emblem has become such a watered down trademark that seemingly everyone owns a Yankees cap, without knowing a thing about baseball or the fact that the interlocked symbol was designed by Tiffany. (Of course I knew both facts having been to the house that Ruth built…) So having probably called out to a few hundred Portuguese Yankee cap wearing people who weren’t me – ‘Hi, I’m Patrick.' - ‘Como?’ with odd looks we eventually hooked up and delved down into the darkened tunnels of Lisbon’s Metro system. Adega Das Gravatas can be found at the following address: Trav. do Pregoeiro, 15 - Carnide, Lisboa (Tel 21 714 36 22). I can assure you that unless with someone who knows the area, or better still João and I you will never find this popular restaurant. The nearest stop is Carnide on the blue line, one stop north from Colegio Militar/Luz. A pleasant walk through the old town square which has retained its 19th century buildings and intimate streets leads you there and as João said to me in some ways it is a little like Alfama though without the hills. Here are Les and Patrick trying to look inconspicuous: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...nd/LDCweb4.jpg After a few minutes in which Lobo talked a little of the area’s history we stopped for photo opp’s at the restaurant’s entrance: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...nd/LDCweb5.jpg (From left to right - Les, Patrick, Gertrude and Lobo.) On entering you pass through a small coffee shop area, then into the smaller dining room which houses a considerable wine cellar and open plan kitchen. Lobo had previously booked a table for six (unfortunately Elisabete couldn't come) so we were seated in the larger dining room: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...nd/LDCweb6.jpg Adega das Gravatas roughly translated means “Wine Cellar of ties.” and you have to look up as you are seated: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...nd/LDCweb7.jpg It is estimated that there are over 1500 different ties which have been donated by patrons, some famous, some not: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...nd/LDCweb8.jpg We arrived early at 7.15 ish and this appears an excellent time to arrive unless you make a prior reservation. Lobo and his wife discuss our guests in Portuguese so they couldn’t understand what was being said about them: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...nd/LDCweb9.jpg Whilst Patrick was convinced to eat the Octopus salad as a starter: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb10.jpg The starters consisted of olives garlic and parsley drizzled in olive oil, fava bean salad, large prawns, the octopus salad and the usual suspects of bread rolls, butter, cheese and pate. Important as the food was more so was the wine and we chose a Periquita 2003: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb17.jpg Which was served at a nice temperature giving it a smooth texture with a very fruity flavour. Of course much toasting took place as we celebrated the third dining club evening. ‘Cheers Lobo!’: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb11.jpg Instead of each ordering a main meal Lobo ordered four different dishes comprising of – Açorda das Gambas, (Alentejanan bread stew with prawns): http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb13.jpg Bacalhau asada, (Codfish grilled over charcoal) which came with small jacketed potatoes and turnip greens in a hot olive oil and garlic dressing: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb14.jpg Plumas de Porco preto (Black pig cutlets) grilled over charcoal served with chips rice and a braized red green and yellow pepper salad: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb15.jpg And Olho de beef (type of steak) again charcoal grilled served with the same accompaniments: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb16.jpg This is med - rarely cooked so to lock in the flavour and moisture. Lobo did a great job in serving us: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb12.jpg As we talked and ate (and perhaps the alcohol began warming my veins) I realised that Les who was sat to my right was in fact a dead ringer for Ernest Hemingway, one of my favourite authors: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb20.jpg With another bottle of Periquita so we went onto deserts which consisted of Quente e frio (hot and cold chocolate pie?) http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb18.jpg and Sericaia http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb19.jpg which is very sweet drizzled in plum syrup/treacle and sprinkled with cinnamon. After bicas, essential so we didn’t all fall asleep at the table I presented a tie to Les so he could offer it to the restaurant manager: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb21.jpg And likewise Lobo did the same for Patrick: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb22.jpg In fact Lobo’s was quite horrendous with its paisley print but I think Patrick liked it so much he thought to take it back to the states: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb23.jpg And when Les put mine on he assumed even more an air of Hemingway: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb24.jpg Ties were offered to the manager in turn: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb25.jpg and http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb26.jpg we thanked the manager, Luís CALEIRO for his fine hospitality: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb27.jpg And likewise with the Patrick handshake: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb28.jpg Obviously so stunned by the fact that two tourists from San Diego had even found his restaurant he asked Patrick: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb30.jpg and Les: http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...d/LDCweb29.jpg to sign the ties. I wanted assurances that he would indeed hang them up and insisted he would though I was suspicious that he would want to keep and wear that which had belonged to Lobo! Next part: over all impressions and ratings and the Lisbon Dining Club’s thumbs up award! |
The info on the Portugal tourist web site says:
Compulsory papers: - Personal ID - Driving licence - Motor insurance certificate - Vehicle registration or equivalent - Vehicle logbook (livrete)or equivalent We do plan to get the international permit. Since US car insurance means nothing out of the country I guess the car rental papers, and credit card agreement are what covers the insurance certificate. That is a whole other thread somewhere! Barbara |
Wow Matt - you snuck in there. great as usual. And good choice in ties to leave there! LOL
Have a wonderful time with your family. You don't sound excited but family is important - enjoy it. Barbara |
ADEGA DAS GRAVATAS - to sum up...
So in total the bill came to 99.90 euros including tip but between us we stumped up an extra five and it can be broken down thus: Açorda – 10 E Bacalhau – 10 E Olho bife – 9.50 E Plumas – 9.60 E 2 bottles Periquita – 18.60 E Olives – 2 E Fava bean salad – 3 E Octopus – 4.95 E Prawns – 10.50 E 3 x Quente e frio – 6.90 E 2 x Sericaia – 5.40 E Water, bread butter coffees etc make up the rest. So an incredible meal at 20 euros a head – indeed could have been less without the prawns and a second bottle of wine. A few notes made at the time: The restaurant is comprised of 1 large open plan dining room which hás a vaulted ceiling and beams from where the 1500 ties hang. Tables are spilt into groups and this is not an intimate place but as Les siad it is authentic, the only foreign voices were ours and conversations circulate and you feel you are a part of the fun. I think being a Sunday and close to a church one mass had finished many families came here for dinner. The large room in which we were felt airy and spacious and though there is no division of smoking non smoking not once did I notice the smell of cigarettes. Like many Portuguese restaurants the kitchen is open plan and there are large displays of the meat and fish which rapidly decline so again another good reason to arrive early. I wouldn't worry about parking but take the metro as previously discussed. This is not a tourists restaurant and therefore is perfect in my opinion. The food served is in large portions for a very resonable price and on this night the clientele was mostly families from the local área. Service was excellent, and the waitress very knowledgable about the fish and meat and spoke English and smiled politely at my poor Portuguese! The wine was served at the right temperature and you will always be allowed to taste the wine before accepting it. So to tally up (out of ten): voted for by all of us… Surroundings - 8 Ambience - 8 Company - 10 Wine – 8.5 Starter - 9 Main – 9 (with Patrick and Les giving the Porco Preto 10 and I have to agree) Dessert - 8 Service - 10 In terms of value for money this was unequalled in my opinion - we paid 20 euros each, and that included two excellent bottles of red wine. Lobo stated that each dining club night gets better in terms of quantity quality and value for money and I heartily agree: I love trying out new places but this (for a great dinner) hás become my favourite so far and I will understand should those who follow in Patrick and Les’s footsteps want to come here with us. So, in summing up Adega das Gravatas receives the Lisbon Dining Club's thumbs up award and I cannot commend it highly enough. Well off the beaten track but worth the effort. Just remember to bring an old tie and call Lobo and myself to accompany you there! (And best of all not listed in the Rick Steeve’s Guidebook ;-)) |
Sorry I meant to say...
<i>1 large open plan dining room</i> and a smaller dining area though I felt the larger one to be better as the smaller was squeezed between the toilets and kitchen. Matt. |
AND I forgot to add...
So, that is me done for the moment. I have to leave the appartment at +/- 6.oo am in the morning to check in for my flight which leaves at 10 am. So it is unlikely for the next two weeks I'll be posting but I'll leave you in the capable hands of Lobo and Sher, (oh all right, you can all be my assistant editors...) and let me wish you all a HAPPY EASTER. I will enjoy my holiday but two weeks with my mother is stressful, I can assure you! Be good and stay safe, Matt |
Each dining club night gets better and Matt's reports are getting better too.
A few notes: 1 - Sunday night is not a good day to go out for dinner, because many restaurants are closed. In fact this finding required a lot of scouting 2 - Adega das Gravatas is closed on Mondays, and Sundays have a smaller number of food choices as assumed by the manager. As an example, the pig feet were not in the menu 3 - I think we did a good selection of food, within the available options, but now I'd ask for a 2nd dose of Plumas of black pig, instead of Olho de beef 4 - For readers who are less familiar with the British sense of humour :-) , I'd like to assure that Matt's comment about Lobo and Loba speaking in Portuguese to avoid being understood is not to be taken literally 5 - Matt, don't worry because we hold the castle for you with a little help of our friends 6 - Have a nice time together with your loved ones. Tell mummy that Big Bad Wolf sends his best regards to her (and she thinks: "What straaaange friends my little Matthew has down there" ;-) |
A final note to Patrick and Les. After a few minutes we were already as family and this was only possible due to the human quality of our guests.
Patrick and Les, have a safe flight home and make sure you return soon. |
And enjoy your pan pipes CD ;-)
Night all! |
I concur. The LDC reports just get better and better. I want to go the tie place! I want to go to the tie place!
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Dear Sher and Barb,
Thanks for your info about required papers for driving. I did find the other thread and posted the question about the "green card" but haven't heard anything yet. I think I'll just forget about it; it can't be important if no one knows anything about it. Wonderful post about the latest LDC adventure. I can't wait to have ours at the end of May! |
SHER:
I rented a car in Portugal a few months ago. Noone asked for a green card. (green cards are only needed in the States!) |
sssteve. Do you know actually what it is? This is the first I have heard of it.
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Compulsory personal papers are:
- Personal ID (passport) - Driving licence Compulsory vehicle papers are: - Carta Verde (motor insurance certificate or green card) - Título de registo de propriedade (vehicle registration stating who owns the car) - Livrete (vehicle logbook with vehicle data such as weight, number of seats, etc) The compulsory vehicle papers couldn't be obtained in advance, because they are related to the vehicle. Car rental company has to handle them in good order when delivering the car to the clients. Motor insurance certificate is known as green card, because it's printed in green paper. |
Thank you for another wonderful LDC review! We will be in Lisbon also at the end of May, Nancy, so we should definitely plan to have another meeting of the LDC at that time. I'm looking forward to it! Maybe we'll try Adega das Gravatas - sounds like an excellent choice!
Thanks again! |
Nancy,
We rented a car from Budget in Lisbon a couple of weeks ago as we were heading out of town. After the paperwork was complete and the car was inspected, the rental agent came out and attached a little square green card to the inside of the windshill - it was a proof of insurance. She said it was mandatory that we display it on the car at all times. So I am wondering if this may be the "green card" you were told about? If this is the case, sounds like the car rental agency will handle it for you - you won't need to do anything special. And on the closing note, I loved loved loved Lisboa. The people, the buildings, the views, the weather. The food! The wine!!! Fantastic. Can't wait to go back. Julia. |
Thanks Julia. I did not notice them doing so at Budget as that is where we picked up our car. It could be something new or I was just unaware.
Have you thought about adding a trip report or reporting on a new post your activities? Sherry |
Sherry,
I've been planning to write a trip report but I am finding it hard to find the time - too many things going on at the moment. I'll get around to it though - it's a great fun to relieve the trip. |
Looks like green card question answered - isn't this a great place with amazing people?!
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Thank you lobo and kasperdoggie for solving the mystery of the green card! And yes, Barb, this is an amazing wealth of information with terrific people. Bailey: Look forward to getting together with you too at end of May. Let's be in touch closer to that time.
Nancy |
looks like meeting people in person that have posted here in Lisbon will be hit and miss for me.
any of you live near Pittsburgh, PA? We also have a house in Florida. |
Matt can you suggest the best way to spend a relaxing week in Portugal. We are planning a week each in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and France in July. I'm looking for a suggested itinerary. Do we do 7 days in Lisbon or 3 days in Lisbon and 4 days in two other spots or....thanks
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Mark, Matt is back on duty in two weeks time. Check the thread by the end of April.
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Okay so I'm at my mother's house and finally sorted the inernet access out. Snow on the ground, clouds in the sky, cold wet miserable and to think we left Lisbon when it was warm: and what an amazing sun rise it was over Lisbon. Whenever flying into England you always seem to descend through a thick cloud layer...
Mark - thanks for the Q - I'll let Lobo make some suggestions: his knowledge is much better than mine. And when I get back we'll get heads together and sort out an itinerary. Julia - I look foward to your trip report: when you get round to it just put it in here if you wish so we can keep all things Lisbon and Portugal tied together. Bailey and Nancy: we'll convene the LDC for your trip and what a wild night that will be. And dear Sher - be assured that Lobo and I will give you such a good night out anyway. Now Lobo - how are things? I'm thinking of what to bring you back from England. Now I know you drink... Matt |
Anyone have any knowledge (first or secondhand) of the Bairro Alto Hotel? It looks sort of great but websites can be misleading...
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Oops, sorry, wrong name; that was the website. The name of the place is
Vivienda Felicidade in Salema. I'm wondering if we should stay in that town at all. Thanks, Nancy |
Dear Folks:
I'm goofing up these posts and I'm sorry. It showed that I had posted one and then it was gone... so here's the correct info, ignore my previous one. We're picking up a car in Faro and have three days in the countryside before we go to Lisbon. I thought we'd spend the first day in Salema and the last in Evora, don't know about the middle one. Had tried to book at Vivienda Felicidade in Salema but they don't respond and I wondered if anyone had stayed there? I guess I'm looking for better ideas for the three days. Thanks for your patience! Nancy |
Hi Nancy,
We plan to stay in Salema for two nights between our stays in Lisbon and Evora. I can't help you with the Vivienda Felicidade, but we're staying at Pension Mare and we've found the owners to be very easy to work with. The rates are also very reasonable. Of course, we haven't stayed there yet, so I can't tell you about it first hand. Hope this helps... Their website is: http://www.algarve.co.uk/ |
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