Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - THINGS TO DO IN AND AROUND LISBON PART II (Inc Portugal)

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L.D.C, the Alfama and Dulce Pontes.

Barbara (Barb65) and her husband Jim became official members of the Lisbon Dining Club last night, (June 2nd 2006) - welcome both of you. Following on from last weekend’s success this latest L.D.C was something a little different as I had secured 6 tickets in advance to the opening concert of Fado at the Castle, a séries of outdoor performances throughout June within Castelo Stº Jorge and we were priveleged to witness a superb concert by Dulce Pontes – but more about that later.

There was no need for my to wear my old Yankees cap this time out, (and in fact I should make enquiries about where are guests are from – perhaps Red Sox fans would see me and go elsewhere ;-)) for João and his wife Gertrude had already met them under the archway at the top of Praça do Commercio.

As well as the meal we wanted to take Barbara and Jim through the Alfama, and they wanted to see whereabouts was the Fado museum en route. So we passed by Campo das Cebolas, with its old buildings and the famous Casa dos Bicos. From there it was a short walk to the Fado museum and then we began winding our way up through the narrow cobbled streets of Alfama. At this time of year everyone is getting ready for Festa Stº António and all of the buildings are decorated with coloured bunting. The sound of fado drifts from doorways and pleasant smells of sardines on the grill fill your noses. It must be noted that at present there is a lot of restoration work underway within Alfama and many building frontages are obscurred by scaffolding. However it is a charming area, washing is hung below windows, you pass by small local restaurants and cafés, and people smile as you pass by – “Boa Tarde”, “Tudo Bem?” you will hear.

After quite a climb which took me back to preparing for Kilimanjaro I took a group photo (less me) with a view to the Tagus:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...gland/jim1.jpg

(Left to right – Jim, Barbara, Lizzy, João and Gertrude.)

It certainly worked up an appetite!

Tonight was somewhat different in that we decided to choose a place to eat as we walked to the castle, and we decided upon Frei Papinhas Restaurante – Bar.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...gland/jim2.jpg

FREI PAPINHAS can be found at Rua de S. Tomé, 13, Alfama, 1100 – 561 Lisboa. (Tel. 21 886 6471). It seemed to be very popular and was almost full when we entered so I would suggest at the weekend perhaps arrive at 7.30 ish in order to be seated immediately.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...gland/jim3.jpg

(Lizzy hás just finished saying – “Will you stop taking my bloody photo!”)

and

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...gland/jim4.jpg

As João jokes with Barbara and Jim.

For starters we had 2 servings of Amêijoas a Bulhão Pato:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...gland/jim5.jpg

Followed by three servings of grilled Sardines:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...gland/jim6.jpg

Barbara needed no prompting and proved to be a real pro at filleting the sardines which are filled with tiny bones:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...gland/jim7.jpg

In fact we were all so impressed we passed all of her plates to her and that was her job for the rest of the evening ;-).

Cheers Lobo, I couldn’t forget the now familiar Lisbon Dining Club toast!

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...gland/jim8.jpg

Okay Jim what wine do you want next?

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...gland/jim9.jpg

In fact we shared two bottles, 1 “Vinho Verde” a chilled sparkling wine perfect with the fish and later a bottle of my favourite Periquita with the grilled cutlets of which we had three servings again.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...land/jim10.jpg

It’s proved a good way of sampling different dishes and we always start with the fish and then move on to the meat. “How am I going to fit all that in?” Barbara thinks…

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...land/jim11.jpg

I was getting a little concerned for the hour was getting late and the concert started at ten so we skipped dessert and just had coffees – the bill came to 15 euros per person inclunding wines and tip which we thought to be excellent value for money. The staff were very attentive but again as the place filled to the brim so the service slowed a little.

The castle was only five minutes walk up fairly steep cobbled streets and no matter that we were late the concert had not yet started. It was held in a large courtyard in which wild pine trees grow, and a fearsome statue of Saint George stands. Behind us was a wonderful view over the Alfama, downtown and Ponte 25 de Abril all light up. Christo Rei on the opposite side of the river looked out over Lisbon and the stars were bright. A cresent moon gave a little light and bats flitted from the trees.

Dulce Pontes mixed a combination of musical styles and she sang beautifully combining tracks from her latest album which has Galizan influences, using typical instruments from that area, percussion and drums, a large string section with violins, cellos and double bass and various guitars, both classical and the Portuguese Guitarra. Dulce is a great performer and encourages the crowd to join in, clapping and singing and for me the highlight of the first set was her fado renditions with just the 2 guitars. At the end of the second set she invited the crowd to close in around her as she sang out her final song.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...land/jim13.jpg

(The image is a little dark, my apologies)

With the excellent accompaniment of her backing band:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...land/jim12.jpg

And receiving our appreciation and applause she left into the darkness of the castle as she had appeared and the concert was over.

Both Barbara and Jim had enjoyed it - for Lizzy and myself it was a real treat to see Dulce in this excellent form. An absolute pleasure and should you ever get the chance to see her live then make sure you do. Also have a look at her website:

http://dulcepontes.net/site.php?lng=en

And so we wound our way down from the castle stopping off at the statue of Stº António himself where Barbara and Jim posed under the old streetlamps:

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...land/jim14.jpg

The evening itself finished sitting at a table in Chiado at the famous coffee shop “Café Brasileira” watching late night people walk past and take note Tamaka, it is just opposite your appartment. We sat next to the statue of Fernando Pessoa – this coffee shop was well patronised by the intellectual crowd and obviously we kept up that tradition last night :-)

Barbara and Jim were most excellent company and it was a true pleasure to host them this evening – obviously it was more than just the meal itself but in total the dinner and concert tickets came to 25 euros per person and was unbelievable value for money. I guess had it rained then the outside performance would have not been as enjoyable but when everything comes together right as it did last night then it was perfect.

Barbara and Jim – thanks for being part of it!

"where are guests are from" should read where our guests are from...

"all of her plates" should read all of our plates...

I'm feeling a little weary having had such a late night and early morning.

Matt when I say that I'm a photography purist I mean that I don't like digital adulteration of the camera's work. For me, photography is, as someone has said, painting with light. There's only two limits - what the camera can do, and what the camera can´t do. But digital masterization has nothing to do with light - there´s only pixels and algorithms there. About using a digital camera, well, film and it's revelation are expensive, and a digital camera of upper quality behaves exactly as film camera does, with one exception: it's less costly.
By the way, I' ve seen the post about steam train in Lisbon - I imagine that goes for the 150 years railway in Portugal celebration. Anyway, you won't be alone taking photographs of it ;-)

Ah yes Vitor, but I was the only Englishman riding on it :-) :-) Oh the photos I have and the experience I had this morning... Comprehensive report to follow, and good news for fans of old steam trains in Portugal...

BTW I still use a pin hole with sheet film ;-)

Matt

Matt, I was thinking steam in lisbon would be happening in the future... news sometimes arrive to the Algarve a bit later. As long as it happened in the past, I'll be waiting for your report.

Lobo and everyone,

Hope this report was worth the wait. Having major technical difficulties with my computer. Wrote 3/4 of this installment and the computer froze.Here goes.
Evora took about 1 1/2 hours from Sintra; the highways are great--empty with very few cars. Once in town, it took about another hour to find the hotel Cartuxa! We kept getting lost and each time we would stop, the directions we received would confuse us more than before, BUT everyone really tried to help us. Finally we saw a sign pointing toward the inside of the wall of the city and voila! we found it. Hotel was nice and people were terrific. The first afternoon, we walked around the city. Visited the Igreja Real de Sao Francisco and the capella do ossos. I found it interestng and not gruesome at all. The only thing that was a bit odd in the chapel was that there were no seats to pray or just sit; it was just a large room with columns. Near the temple Diana there was a small park with very nice views and a few places to sit and relax. The Se was lovely too especially the sculpture of the Blessed Mother. Our dinner that first night was at Fialho. Wonderful! Very small and very popular. We received a menu in english and from the looks of the diners, many have read the guides that recommned this place.
Our second day in Evora we had a private winery tour ( Herdade do Esporao). Beautiful place but again we got lost. ( very lost) We finally stopped and asked someone who was sitting in their car on the road. He did not speak any english, but he got back in his car, gestured to us to follow him and he proceeded to take us to the turn off for the winery -- unbelievable1 These kinds of things happened to us all over Portugal. It bears repeating, the people of Portugal are amazing--friendly, happy to see us and show off their country. Couldn't be nicer.
Becasue we got lost, we never made it to Redondo that day-- we had a cooking lesson waiting for us back at the hotel.
We learned how to make--forgive me I don't remember the portugese names for the dishes-- poached fish with cilantro, oil and garlic; pork cubes marinated in sweet pepper sauce with garlic and bay leaf, then fried in lard and finished in the oven. There was a bread dish made with day old bread and the juice from the pork dish. Dessert was an egg dish that was made with scrambeld eggs dropped into a heated sugar and water syrup sliced with two knives and then finished in the broiler. These were all Alentejo dishes and we ate the finsihed products for our dinner that night. Wonderful, but very rich and I paid for it the next day with the first trouble with my stomach. Hubby was absolutlely fine.
Our time was short in this area but on the way back to Cascais, we first drove to Redondo to find the pottery store, Pirraro which is mentioned in this thread (possibly part one). I was so glad we found it. I bought beautiful pieces for myself ( you know one gift for xxx, one for me--one gift for xxx one for me etc)and everyone I wanted to bring a gift home to.
If anyone should want to go there, just drive along the road to Redondo and continue through town. The store is almost at the road that takes you out of the town. The shop is not big, but a huge selection of items from coffee cups to platters and a million different colors and patterns. We then drove to Villa Vicosa and toured the Paco Ducal. Veey very nice, but we were rushed because they were almost ready to close for lunch. I bought a book to read up on those things I did n't get to see very well. We also tumbled upon a castle, but I don't know very much about this because there was nothing in any of my guidebooks about a castle in Villa Vicosa. Everything is marble and tile and the quarries are huge. There is marble everywhere. The driving in this area was really lovely. My only disapointment was I didn't see any cork trees. Or at least I didn't think I did.
We continued driving toward the coast and made one last stop at Quelez at the Palace. For any of you who have seen Versaille, you will see and feel the comparison. (The only thing missing in Portugal are the garish souvenirs shops outside versialle)this was a good thing. One very good idea was that each room had a diagram that was numbered and each item in the room was listed with the number and there was a corresponding explanation in both portugese and english. Made touring the very large building a bit easier. I also must mention the marvelous gardens--stunning.
Sso that is it for now. Part three Cascais and Lisbon coming up as well as some pictures.

Lyn

Sarasara,

Sixt is right in the airport next to Budget. It is the furthest one on the left ( you get there walking from right to left from the baggeage area). It was busy both when we picked up our car and dropped it off, so i think you shouold find it ok to deal with.

Greg and I are enjoying a gorgeous day here in Coimbra. We are staying at the Hotel Astoria and they have free internet, so I hopped on to check email, etc. We are having a fantastic time in Portugal - I will be sure to post a trip report once we are home in about a week or so. I will also tell you about all of my pottery experiences - I´m trying to be good, but I may take you up on that offer, Matt, of coming home with us :) We found a great factory owned by a husband and wife located between Alcobaca and Batahla yesterday. I enjoyed that shop as well as the one in Redondo - much better prices in these two places than in the towns.

So, just wanted to let you know that we are continuing to have a fantastic time and we will see you Matt and hopefully Lobo once we are back in Lisbon on Friday. Perhaps we could do something in Bairro Alto? Greg and I did not have time to see that area on our first go around. Does that interest you?

Lyn. So glad you posted. Did you like the winery tour? We are thinking of taking one or two when we visit.

Bailey. Have you had the opportunity to have some of the roast pig that the area is famous for? Yummy!

Sher, We loved the winery tour. The winery is located in Reguengos de Monsaraz, about 30 minutes from Evora (if you don't get lost!) I'm not sure, but I think you need to make a reservation for a tour. I don't think you can just show up. It was included in our hotel package. There is a very lovely restaurant at the winery that is only open for lunch where we had lunch. It is a full meal affair, so if you go and decide to have lunch, most likely you will not want a full dinner. Here is the website:

http://www.esporao.com/mwp_index.asp?idbtn=189

One word about directions and street signs-- with all due respect there are none. We really found it difficult to navigate and not because of the language. There are truly no street signs anywhere. If not for the wonderful people, I don't know that we would have found anything. I only mention this not to complain but to advise anyone travelling to try to print as many local maps as possible before you leave home. Perhaps it will help getting around.

Lyn, that's how we keep our "secrets" secret ;-)

I'm enjoying your report so far and it's giving me some ideas of what do do later in the summer - thanks.

Matt

Lyn. I contacted the place where we are staying and they said they will be happy to arrange a visit for one or two wineries in the area during our stay.
I don't think we will have time for more.

Matt. This post is getting to be world renound. So it isn't so "secret" anymore...

Hi Everybody,
This is my first attempt at posting photos, so I hope it works.
Lyn and Lew- our first day...
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...5/6805892d.jpg
view from our room
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...5/DSC_0061.jpg
Our first Palace - Palcaio da Pena
ttp://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h250/ladylyn915/DSC_0076.jpg

I'll stop here since I really don't know if this is going to work.(lol) If successful, I will continue in a bit. If not, I will try to figure out what's wrong.
Lyn

Lyn, the photos are excellent, it looks like a beautiful hotel in which you stayed. Shame we didn't meet personally but at least now I know you and your husband from the photos. Keep posting!

See you soon,

Matt

Success!

Here are a few more from Sintra. since we took over 500 photos overall, I'll try to limit the photos to the highlights.
Palacio da Pena
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...5/DSC_0079.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...5/DSC_0085.jpg

Just to whet your appetites here is a picture from Saturday: am still preparing the full report and photos for publication later this week...

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...ns/steam15.jpg

Yep, looking good Lyn. You just have to love that Pena Palace - it's like soemthing from a fairy tale isn't it? I haven't been there for ages, time to get myself reaquainted I think!

Look foward to seeing more,

Matt

Lyn. Great photos. Don't you wish you were just going?