Madrid is quite far away from most other European countries, tucked away in the middle of the Iberian Peninsula. Just about the only country nearby is Portugal, but boy is it close! The flight to Lisbon is only an hour and is always cheap. For this reason, I had always thought about going to Portugal, but kept putting it off, because I knew the flights would always be there, and I felt no sense of urgency. Well, finally one of my friends convinced me with stories of how lovely, affordable and amazing Portugal is, and I decided to go in the middle of March.
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| Lisbon's main square, Praça do Comércio, lit up at night |
One of the things Lisbon is famous for, at least amongst young travelers like myself, are its incredibly affordable, high-quality hostels. Hostels in Europe are generally quite cheap, but usually the quality drops in proportion to the price. Not so in Lisbon, where for around 20€ per night I stayed in one of the nicest, homiest hostels I've ever been to in my life. It was definitely quainter and cozier than my apartment in Madrid, and almost even nicer than a real house, with beautiful furniture and moulding in the common areas, a lounge room with floor-to-ceiling bookcases and enormous, cushy couches, and spacious, comfortable beds. But the best part was the social atmosphere: when I checked in, the owner João gave me and everyone who happened to be in the common room a free drink of Port wine, and all the other workers were extremely welcoming and friendly, offering plenty of advice and useful information. I realized for the first time that the ambience of a hostel does not come only from the other people staying there, but that the owners and the people who work there really have a big hand in "setting the mood," so to speak. And João's small gesture worked - the welcome drink sparked a conversation between me and some other Americans who were also in the lounge, which led to them inviting me to a rooftop terrace to drink a beer and watch the sunset. Needless to say, it was a great welcome to the city!
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| Sunset rooftop beer |
But the best part of the hostel were hands down Mama's Dinners. This is actually another common trait in Lisbon's exceptionally good hostels - that a massive, home-cooked meal is offered every night for only 10€. But in Home Hostel, the meal is special: it is actually cooked by the owner's mother, a lovely Portuguese woman who, needless to say, is a fantastic cook. Aside from the deliciousness and copiousness of the food (it's always a 3-course meal with unlimited wine), they really try to set the mood with candles on the tables and other nice touches. Every night they find a guest to make a toast, and the night I was there a Brazilian guy talked about how special his experience in the hostel had been and how it really did feel like a home away from home. It was one of the nicest, most cozy meals I've had in a really long time, and was a beautiful way to end my trip!
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| Mama's dinner |
But we can't already end the trip without even beginning the blog post! So without further ado, let me recount for you my wonderful whirlwind weekend in Lisbon!
Walking Tour
As always, I did a free walking tour my first day to get a sense of the city and also to meet people. I had already had lots of great interactions with cool, friendly people in the hostel, and the walking tour offered even more opportunities. I wound up meeting a group of Brazilians with whom I did a day trip the following day, but I'll cover that later.
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| Some stops on the walking tour |
The walking tour covered most of the standard things: the history of the city and a bit about Portuguese culture. The tour guide Hugo was really friendly and knowledgable, and I enjoyed all of his stories a lot. One particularly interesting thing he told us about was Fado, a traditional Portuguese musical style, the history of which is recounted in the fantastic street art seen below. It was a genre that was born in the early 19th century amongst the lower classes, and particularly popularized by one famous prostitute named Maria Severa, pictured below on the arm of the man who is singing. The street art in itself is also interesting, as it is part of an initiative by the city to designate large public spaces for artists to decorate as they wish.
Another anecdote I enjoyed was about old Portuguese women who gossip from their balconies. According to the guide (and my friend who has been to Portugal many times) you can still sometimes see old Portuguese women who come to their windows to hang out the laundry to dry or to water their plants, or simply to people watch, and shout to their friend across the street all the gossip they've heard lately. It was a great story to me, and one that helps capture the feeling I got of Lisbon being a bit old-fashioned and stuck in the past at the same time that it is also quite modern and exciting. The "nostalgic" streetcars, like the one seen below, are another good example of this.
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| Adorable old trams in Lisbon |
It was cool to me getting to hear the Portuguese language in action, because although I've met many Brazilians in my time in Europe, I've never been to a country where it is spoken. Portuguese is obviously very similar to Spanish, at least when written, and I could understand almost everything perfectly when I was reading signs and menus. Speaking and especially pronunciation, however, are a whole other story. Nevertheless, I once taught myself a bit of Brazilian Portuguese using online resources, and this helped a lot. I found that I understood basic things of what people said, which was pretty cool, even if I couldn't really respond.
Belem
After the walking tour, I took the train to a part of town called "Belem" (the Portuguese version of "Bethlehem") to try the most famous pastry in all of Portugal - pastel de nata. They are little egg tarts that are burnt on top and you can find them everywhere - the first day I had some cheap ones from the grocery store and they were fantastic. But the most famous place to buy them is at the bakery Pastéis de Belem, and with good reason. They were, without exaggeration, maybe the best thing I've ever eaten. The custard was so creamy and smooth, while the crust was crispy, sweet, buttery and flakey. I really don't think I've ever had anything as carefully-crafted and exquisite in my life!
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| Famous Portuguese egg tarts |
Belem is also famous for being the port where the first Portuguese explorers sailed out to explore the "New World" as well as finding new trade routes to Asia. Lisbon is cut in half by the Tajo River, which soon after passing the city empties into the Atlantic, making it a perfect location for sailing and transatlantic exploration. The Torre de Belem, which you can see in the picture below, was built for defense of the strategic port location. The statue on the left is a more modern homage to Portuguese exploration and discovery. Vasco da Gama is probably one of the most famous of these men, being the first sailor to make it to India by sailing around Africa.
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| Torre de Belem and homage to Portuguese explorers |
Speaking of Portuguese exploration, it was also cool to me to learn about Portugal's post-colonial relationship with Brazil, as it seemed very different from Spain's relationship to its former colonies. The general impression I get from Spaniards and Latin Americans alike is a feeling of antagonism and occasionally mild racism. There are many Latin American immigrants living in Spain, but I get the feeling that they do so ruefully rather than willingly, out of necessity (usually for finding a job) rather than out of a love for the people whose ancestors colonized and terrorized their countries for so many years. Understandably, there are few warm, fuzzy feelings between them. However, the case with Brazilians in Portugal seems to be exactly the opposite. At least the Brazilians I met all seemed to feel a fondness and bond with Portugal, like it was a home away from home. This kind of makes sense when considering their history, as the Portuguese crown actually moved the court and the capital to Rio de Janeiro in 1808 and apparently loved it - so much so that one of the princes decided to stay forever! This gave Brazil a much higher status in relation to its "colonizer" than any Spanish colony ever enjoyed, and thus probably has had a hand in creating a more amicable feeling between the two countries now.
Sintra
Unfortunately, I really didn't have a lot of time in Lisbon - only two full days - but even so, I decided to go on a day trip the second day to a nearby town called Sintra. You may have never heard of it, but it's the most popular day trip destination outside of Lisbon. It's famous for being a Romantic place, with a number of castles and palaces all set picturesquely on top of a hill. Lord Byron, one of the best known poets of Romanticism, called it a "glorious Eden." There are even a few sites named after him in memory of this.
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| Homage to Lord Byron |
I went with the three Brazilian friends who I had met the day before on the walking tour. At the end of the tour we all hung around to ask the guide for advice on going to Sintra, and then started talking amongst ourselves and decided to go together. This is always my favorite part about traveling alone: meeting people along the way. It's really awesome to be able to connect with strangers, especially when they are from a seemingly very different culture.
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| My new Brazilian friends |
Our first stop in Sintra was the Castelo dos Mouros, or the Moorish Castle. It dates back to the 8th and 9th centuries, when the Iberian Peninsula (what is now Spain and Portugal) was ruled by Muslim leaders from North Africa. Its privileged position, perched on top of the mountain, along with its stone walls obviously made it a perfect fortress for protection and defense against attackers. Nowadays these aspects make it an incredible place to visit, with stunning views over the crenellated walls that stretch for miles across the surrounding planes, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.
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| The Moorish Castle |
Our next stop in Sintra was the Quinta da Regaleira, a much newer building but no less fascinating. It was commissioned by an eccentric millionaire named António Monteiro in the early 1900's and while the house itself is not particularly interesting, the gardens surrounding it are a wonderland of mystery and intrigue. They are filled with medieval-looking towers, spiral staircases and narrow passageways that seem to be taking you to another world and, in the end, deposit you back where you began, strange chapels with esoteric symbolism relating to alchemy, freemasonry and the Knights Templar, grottos and fountains that hide secret passageways and tunnels behind them.
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| Quinta da Regaleira and gardens |
One of the most famous installations in the Regaleira gardens is the "Well of Initiation," an unexpected spiral staircase that takes you hundreds of feet down into the Earth. Allegedly, this descent is supposed to symbolically mirror Dante's descent into hell in the Divine Comedy. At the bottom of the well are a series of dark tunnels which lead you to other wells, grottos and fountains. One of them opens out onto the pond that you can see in the second picture below, where a path of stones is meant to represent the difficulties and trials of passing through life.
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| Secret wells and passageways in the Regaleira |
After exploring Sintra, we took a bus to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe. The land ends in a series of dramatic, beautiful, rocky cliffs, and the Atlantic Ocean spreads out in front of you in all its immensity.
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| Cabo da Roca |
Although it was very windy and cold, we stayed and watched the sunset over the Atlantic. It was gorgeous, and a lovely ending to an amazing day.
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| Sunset at Cabo da Roca |
