Saturday 16 February 2019

Lisbon!

 Usually I plan trips in advance but sometimes you just want to get away, and not think about it too much.  So off we went to Lisbon, in Portugal, with no planning except an Airbnb, and it was great! The weather was good and we basically just spent a lot of time wandering up and down. Literally up and down - it's a really hilly city!  This street below was typical. 


Or else the streets consisted of great big flights of steps. Our Airbnb was on top of a big hill and I'm sure it was good for us! 


There are a variety of trams in Lisbon, but the old ones are very small and so they're are perfect for the most twisty, turny and hilly streets where the larger trams or buses would get stuck.  If you're lucky enough to get a seat, you can watch life from close up outside the window. My eye was caught by this woman waiting for the tram to move away so she could cross the road.  She had such a presence, and I loved the colours behind her too.  What do you think?


If you've ever been to Portugal you'll know about the fantastic tiles to be found on so many of the houses. It sometimes seems as if you'll never see the same design twice. This old place caught my eye, combining a formal blue and white look (and 1920s decorative frieze at the top) with an abstract design at ground level. 


This 19th century tiled building still housed a tile shop


I like the monkey by the balcony



Lisbon is built around the wide estuary of the River Tagus. This is the view down Rua Augusta, one of the major streets of Lisbon. It was Saturday night and people were strolling around, watching street entertainers and going into the little cafes. And, at the end, beneath the arch, is Commerce Square, which fronts on to the Tagus waterfront.  The statue is of King Dom José I.  

Lisbon has become far more affluent since we last visited, years ago, and this area has changed I think, since I seem to remember a lot of little old shops selling dried codfish around here. There is about the right mix of quirky and traditional now. 

 

Just off Rua Augusta is the famous Elevador Santa Justa,  built over 100 years ago by a pupil of Eiffel.  It is a practical bit of public transport, offering a quick and easy route from ground level up to the Largo do Carmo district at the top of the hill. I didn't want to goto Largo do Carmo, but considered going up to the top in the evening ... but something distracted me.


And here's what it looks like in the daytime - a striking sight, over a hundred years old and still in daily use. 


We spent a lot of time around by the waterfront at the bottom of Rua Augusta.  The waterfront faces directly south at this point, and at most times of the day you'll find people ambling around, or sitting with their friends, watching the sea, looking at other people or having a coffee or a beer in the square.   


Each part of the day had its own character. Below is a photo of the same location as above, but this time in the evening, when the tide was in, little boats were scudding to and fro and the sun was sinking behind us.


At the weekends, the square and waterfront had their share of entertainers, but one person who was on the shore the whole time was a pleasant, benign old man who pottered about creating a curious stone sculpture garden. Actually, he simply balanced rocks from the shore one on top of the other. He had painted some of them with faces or colours to create a quaint little family of characters. These were quietly compelling in their surreal way. Some seemed to represent people, male and female; some were animals, mostly quite lovable; and some were fantastic monsters. We noticed that every time we came back, he'd changed something about the group - since the rocks were only balanced I suppose it was not hard to change them about. In the end they began to seem almost alive, you never quite knew how you were going to find them.   Here they are in the bright morning sun with the tide out, all of them seeming fairly cheerful.  See the little white figure sitting on a large bollard at the far right?


 By the evening, the sea was beating against the shore, and she - or he - was marooned.  To me this pile of stones began to look like a contemplative Indian figure, sitting cross legged and detaching itself from the foaming water surrounding it.  


We also went to some of the important sites and museums, although again in a relaxed way.  I did want to see the wonderful early 16th century fortified tower at Belem, a western suburb of Lisbon.  It is the area from which the Portuguese explorers set out in the 16th century; a golden age in Portugal.     
The tram ride to from central Lisbon to Belem is mundane - a mish-mash of commercial areas, a scruffy railway and an absolutely sensational overhead bridge - but when you reach it, it has the most spectacular monastery.  In fact, the monastery is so good that it really deserves a post to itself, as I don't feel I can do it justice here.  Dating from 1502, it also houses the archaeological museum of Lisbon.  The best way to get an idea of how it looks is to take a look at some of the photos here on Tripadvisor

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g189158-d195318-Reviews-Jeronimos_Monastery-Lisbon_Lisbon_District_Central_Portugal.html

The fortified tower is built in similar style to the monastery, but because it is smaller (even though it's four storeys high) it does have a particularly fantastical air, specially when the tide is in and the water swirls about.   We walked from the monastery- about half a mile - and crossed the dismal railway into a park which surrounds the tower.   Although it was early February, the grass was green and lush and studded with little flowers.  We walked down to the shore.


There are too many spiral stairs to count in the tower and the authorities have installed a rather hokey-pokey traffic lights system so that not too many people are trying to go up and down at the same time. Nobody mentioned the system when we went in, and it was a bit broken anyway, so there was much confusion, but in the end we did manage to get right up to the top and back again. It's beautifully restored and it's a fine experience to be standing within in the fortifications (below) with the water swirling all around outside.  It must be so exciting to be there when it is storming wildly.  



But it was all calm and blue.  The tower is reached by a drawbridge, with a windlass, and its interior is well restored and full of cannon, all strategically placed to set off a bombardment against enemy approach.  I can't imagine how noisy and smoky it must have been when the cannon were in use down there. 


Despite its ethereal appearance, the tower also has a fairly nasty dungeon, although they have done their best not to make it too scary.  I was so glad to have seen it at last.  To me the architecture reflects both the strength and the civilised culture of Portugal in those confident days. 

We had a coffee in a jetty cafe a little further up the shore, sitting on the deck with a good strong coffee and a pastel de nata (those delectable Portuguese custard pies) while the sun blazed down and winter felt a long way away.


I'll finish with a view of the balcony of our Airbnb, which overhung a steep drop, and had a side view of the castle on top of the hill on the left.  And, also I've put in a little video I took of some fado musicians who we came across playing in a little park overlooking the city.  I thought the singer was terrific but have no idea who they were. Fado is still very much alive in Lisbon, and there is actually a fado museum, which we didn't visit.  Ah, well, another time - I am glad that mostly we just wandered around and relaxed. 


71 comments:

  1. Looks like you had a wonderful visit to a very interesting city. I have visited Madeira, and Angola when it was still a Portuguese colony, but never mainland Portugal ironically. Portugual seems to have been a bit of an "in" destination this year, with both of our daughters going there. We stayed in a small town in the Spanish Pyrenees a few years ago where you had to walk up or down to anywhere you wanted to go. Once you got used to it, it seemed perfectly normal!

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    1. Yes, I understand Portugal has become a great deal more popular with tourists recently - I've certainly seen it featured in lists of "most popular cities" recently. It's also clear that a huge amount of money has been spent in some areas of the city, with Commerce Square almost unrecognisable now they have painted up all the buildings and stopped people parking cars in the central plaza.

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  2. Hello Jenny, It looks like Portugal has plenty of everything. I have a 1961 book by Emily Kimbrough, Pleasure by the Busload, about how she hand her friends rented a mini-bus for an extended your of Portugal. Much of the mood in your post, as well as the places, seem about the same as in Kimbrough's book. I am not that fond of hilly terrain, but old castles and fortifications--bring them on!
    --Jim

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    1. Sounds like the kind of book I rather like reading. Our old school slides of Lisbon (taken many years ago) do show it looking considerably less international than today... everything from traffic signs to the kind of shops, and so it must have been a particularly exciting contrast with other places in those days.

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  3. Beautiful photos. Lisbon is an interesting place to make a vacation away.

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  4. What a great winter getaway and so many enticing photos. I really like the Elevador Santa Justa at night shot and the lady with the red coat.

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  5. Lisbon was an amazing place to tour, especially after I read lots of tourist and history books before we left home. What I had not expected were the fantastic tiles on the shop and house walls. Your photo of the vase, flowers and monkey is stunning.

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    1. I was particularly surprised since I had not seen this house in any of the photo books of Lisbon. One of the rather few museums we visited was the marvellous tile museum, which is a little way out of the main part of the city but well worth the trip.

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  6. Thanks for this looks a great city to visit. Have never been to Lisbon so now it's on my list.

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  7. I'd say you had the perfect view from your B&B. And boy, does that monastery/museum look magnificent. Actually, the whole thing does. Portugal has never been "on my itinerary" but you make it look so beautiful. And really interesting. I loved the photos of the tiled buildings particularly -- those are stunners! And also, the woman in red. What a wonderful contrast of colors. Thanks for the fado video. I had heard of fado but didn't know what it was! Welcome back!

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    1. Thanks, Jeanie! I am glad you liked the fado video. I didn't know much about it either, or I might have attemped to visit the Fado museum, but we weren't really in as much of a museum-y mood as usual!

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  8. I love Lisbon, it is a city I could happily return to again and again. I always enjoy visiting Pasteis de Belem for a coffee and some of those delicious Pastel de nata - so yummy.

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    1. Yes, we passed Pasteis de Belem - what a pretty place - but the number of tourists took us by surprise and so we ended up buying elsewhere!

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  9. Lisbon has been on the back burner for me, thank you so much for this beautiful post and a look around! I am inspired. I am so glad that you get around frequently to the most interesting places, Vicarious travel, sorely needed especially in the dead of winter. If the tiles were not so heavy to transport I would go there with an idea in mind- tiling the entire neighborhood! Lisbon looks do=able for a solo traveler, no?

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    1. Yes, I think it's very do-able for a single traveller. You need to be okay with hills though! I felt the same about the tiles. Specially since we are rethinking our bathroom.... !!

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  10. I've never been to Portugal. In fact I've only been in Spain twice. A friend who has family in Spain frequently goes to Portugal and was in Lisbon a couple of weeks ago. She has described it to ma many times but I really didn't get any idea of what it was like until I read you post. I'm so pleased to have read it and learned so much. Thank you.

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    1. Thanks, Graham. Another thing in its favour is that it is pretty affordable, which always helps!

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  11. Oh my, so happy to see and read your post again! I miss going on these adventures with you but so happy when I catch one. Your travels and stories are always so interesting, and these stone people and pets, have such a grand story of their own. Thanks for sharing all of this. Enjoy your weekend and your next adventures.

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    1. Thanks Karen. I was guessing you might like the stone people if you caught that post!

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  12. You didn't plan and just went to Portugal, Jenny. I see your trip was wonderful, I especially loved the tiled houses, your photos of waterfront at the sunny day and at the cloudy one. The fortified tower is made in the Byzantine style, I suppose, am I right? It's beautiful, and it's good that you managed to get out there.

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    1. Dear Nadezda, Thanks for our comment, and in answer to your question, the Belem tower is built in the Manueline style. It's very similar to the amazing convent nearby, both of them I believe World Heritage sites. It is an exceptionally beautiful and exuberant style, or at least I think so, and I would be happy to have a house built in this style myself!

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  13. Often the less planning we put into a travel adventure, the more enjoyable it turns out to be. Thank you for sharing these wonderful glimpses of Portugal. Many years ago I had some close friends who were from Lisbon, but I knew very little about the city. Obviously one has to be in pretty good physical shape to do any walking there!

    I really love the 19th century tiled building, and the Elevador Santa Justa is amazing - but kinda scary (I'm afraid of heights). Great photos and video!

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    1. Thanks, Jon. I am a little iffy about going in elevators that are over 100 years old, although I'm sure Santa Justa is very well maintained, as well as the trams anyhow. But perhaps that is partly why I didn't get around to going up in it! :)

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  14. How absolutely wonderful! So colourful, intriguing and interesting. We don't hear or see a lot about Lisbon...so thank you very much for this most interesting post, Jenny. :)

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  15. If only one of us can travel, I am pleased it is you, with your wonderful pictures and narrative.

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  16. Wow the buildings look fascinating and very beautiful. And yes that woman certainly does have a presence about her. Well done for capturing it! Glad you had a lovely time.

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  17. I'm typing this while listening to the music clip you provided (replaying lol) - thank you.
    Oh, your post is wonderful. All that walking up and down would be beyond us now so its been fabulous to have a little sightseeing through your lens Jenny. The tiled artwork on those houses is marvellous. The elevator - wow - what creative engineering! The foreshore's stone sculptures are fascinating... the before and after tide photos are lovely. You really give us sightseeing treats Jenny and just wandering around and relaxing is exactly how a holiday should be had :D)xx

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    1. Oh, thanks for your comment, Sue, I'm glad you wanted to accompany me on this virtual trip - and I'm glad you enjoyed the music clip!

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  18. Thank you for this very interesting post about a place I did not know much about. I am still sitting in bed with my Sunday morning coffee, reading blogs on my ipad, and showed your post to OK - Lisbon looks the kind of place we'd enjoy.
    The group of stone sculpures remind me of a very personalised nativity scene.

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    1. I hope you and OK do get there, I think you might enjoy walking about - the pace is leisurely and the hills give marvellous views.

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  19. I have never been to Lisbon but after reading the above I wish I had. It was good that you were there in your own time, so to speak, which gave you plenty of things and places to explore.

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    1. Yes, it was very nice not to have things that I needed to do, Valerie!

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  20. PS A friend who read your post (Whom I mentioned travels to Lisbon) asked me to tell you that Lidl does a very creditable pastel de nata.

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    1. I will remember that next time! I didn't check in the Lidl near us in Portugal but many of the bakers do very good ones too it must be said.....I don't think I've seen them in British Lidl, though they do quite a nice pain au raisins! (I have become a modest sort of expert on Lidl in different countries and they tend to make what the local market likes most, it seems. )

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  21. Jenny and I are planning a trip to Lisbon and Porto, which we've never been to before, so your post is most timely and informative! Looks like there are plenty of great sights and attractions. And I love trams! I don't think we'll use airbnb though, as there's a lot of controversy over their lettings squeezing out the locals.

    We're also attracted to Portugal by the new anti-austerity economic policy under socialist Prime Minister António Costa, which seems to be very successful.

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    1. I do suggest the tile museum. I didn't have space or time to post about it but do hope to do so before long, because it deserves a visit. I am getting quite envious about other peoples' governments at the moment, although I wouldn't trade with America or France for sure. I haven't been to Porto for at least 10 years, but remember it as charming - more rainy than Lisbon but living in Northern Ireland I daresay the rain isn't a huge problem, as I seem to remember it rained rather a lot when I lived there.

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  22. Oh wow! There was so much in this post! I felt as if I were right there--very touristly gazing up and about in awe. Love all the tiles and colors everywhere...and the different types of exotic buildings. You even gave us a taste of the sound and flavor. This was wonderful. Thank you. :)

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    1. Thank you too Rita. I nearly forgot to answer this comment because I clicked on your name to take me to your latest post, which was one I had not seen. And then I got so busy reading through your fascinating posts about your life on your other blog, and got quite sidetracked and only just returned to my own blog the following day!

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  23. The view from your Airbnb is fantastic! I always think those last-minute, relaxed vacations end up being the best kind of vacations.

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  24. Clever girl taking time off before Brexit stops such!
    Great photos once again! I used to work with Portuguese, I know all the swear words, and would have loved to visit then.
    Too many hills for me now.
    Lovely tour of the town, great views and wonderful sea shots.
    Takes us right out of ourselves.

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    1. Everyone was so polite and friendly that I don't think the swear words would have come in useful even if I had known them!!

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  25. How lovely, Jenny! So you escaped to Portugal as well. Isn't it delightful? I laughed recently when someone said it was an undiscovered treasure. I don't think that's true these days. An awful lot of northern Europeans seem to have twigged the fact that even in winter, Portugal has loads of sunshine to go along with their delightful people, lovely architecture and wealth of history. We loved it too. I'm still posting about it, as you know! Your photos are gorgeous and I love the idea of trams winding their way through the streets. Lisbon's on my wishlist too, but I wanted to be certain of warmer temperatures so we stuck to the eastern Algarve just in case!

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    1. I think we were very lucky with the weather, for which I am thankful! I don't consider it an undiscovered treasure either :) in fact we were absolutely astonished at the crowds of tourists. Made me wonder what it must be like in the high season. Slides from our long ago trip show it very much less busy and in a way more enchanting, but also clearly much poorer than it is now. I went to the Alentejo a few years ago and found the weather there very nice, but have never yet made it to the Algarve.

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  26. What a gorgeous place Jenny - the first time I have seen such photos of Lisbon. So many things I know I would love too: the tiled buildings, just gorgeous, that fantastical Tower: Wow, what a sight. The woman in red looks stunning against the green building. The little fortification at Belem is amazing, and I wonder how it stands so well and does not become eroded by the sea. It is brilliant. My husband had a great-grandmother from Portugal, which means our children have a little touch of it too; we always say we should visit some day. It looks most rewarding, and thank you for sharing it all.

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    1. Thank you Patricia. I hope you get the chance to visit, I think you might find you enjoyed some of the beautiful traditional architecture, with your love of elegant things. I hope you're not melting too much in the heat - I checked your blog just now and you haven't posted for a while! I guess you have a couple of months to go yet before it becomes significantly cooler.

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  27. Many thanks for such lovely pictures - it’s been years since I was in Lisbon and now I know I have to go back!

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  28. You've found a beautiful spot and brought it home to share...so wonderful. I loved the variety and the woman's red, and the tiles are lovely. You were fortunate for a spur of the moment trip.

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    1. Yes, we were lucky. The weather could have been bad - Portugal does get a fair amount of rain in the winter.

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  29. Great photos. People think I'm daft when I say this, but it always strikes me as mind boggling and uncanny to think of all the things that are going on everywhere beyond the horizon. Every minute of the day is happening somewhere!

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    1. I agree. I sometimes stand in a crowd and watch people rushing about and think that each of them has something they're thinking about - well weird. When we got stuck in a train once people started talking about why they were on the train, and it was fascinating to see how all those anonymous passengers suddenly started seeming like real people!

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  30. Lucky you. I've heard Lisbon is a gorgeous city. :-)

    Greetings from London.

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  31. I’ve had a longing for Portugal probably because of the melancholic sound of Fado, which I like to listen to at the seafront restaurant. The part of Lisbon you showed us here is the most charming, I think. The white fortification looks both ethereal and tough. I’m happy for you that your foot didn’t cause any troubles as you wandered around the part of the hilly city.

    Yoko

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Yoko. I was really pleased that my foot was okay - it certainly was a good test of it. Lisbon is like every city - with some good and bad areas - but a lot of the centre of Lisbon is picturesque and charming, not just a few tourist areas.

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  32. sent here by one of your followers. I spent 3 weeks in Portugal last summer, 2 in the countryside around Porto and one in Lisbon. I walked down those same streets you show in your first few photos! I loved Portugal, so clean and the people are so warm and welcoming.

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    1. Thanks for visiting. How cool it always is to see someone else's blog describing a place you know. I felt a bit like that reading Jeanie Croope's blog "Marmelade Gypsy" about her visit to London last year which we played a small part in!

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  33. That's just gorgeous. It's high on my list and I have a friend who keeps urging me to go there.

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    1. I do recommend it. There are a couple of things I haven't written about in this post and I am wondering whether to put them into my next post. I seem to be taking such a long time between posts these days, and then more stuff happens.....

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  34. That's somewhere I'd really like to visit one day. We get those some sculptures here too (although not painted thankfully) but there's something of a backlash, about disturbing the stones from their natural resting place - or something.

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  35. I have friends who still owns family apartment in northern Portugal and I have never visited with them when they go there, Carlos goes several times a year.Thanks for your great pictures and explanations of the pictures I feel like I got to visit myself

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  36. You made a great trip. I haven't seen such a beautiful tiled house like this.
    Have a nice weekend.

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  37. wow i never knew that Portugal is such a beautiful country dear Jenny!

    THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for sharing the glimpse of wonderful city Lisbon !

    i thoroughly enjoyed the uniquely glorious sites and wonderfully captures views!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    i am learning for you how to visit and how to share the beauty of any place which is an you have as gift :)

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  38. Travel is something which just cannot be described in words. You need to make the most of it wherever you are planning to go. Look for a place which has everything on the go. Look for the best and make it count. Make sure you look for the best and have fun.

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