Lisbon, with Love

We're leeeaving!

We leave Rome in the early afternoon with our hearts swelling with emotion because Portugal is the first stop of our round-the-world trip (!?) Oh yes, it's a big goal, but our son Tommaso is certainly not scared by the immensity of the goal: he wants to see, he wants to know, he wants to touch with his own hands…not for nothing is he called Tommaso! And then somewhere you have to start, even to reach the most ambitious goals.

We others, me, my husband Paolo and our other son – as well as Tommaso's twin – Francesco, go along with it more than willingly! After a comfortable flight of about 2 and a half hours, during which I read Saramago and Pessoa, just to get into the Lusitanian atmosphere, we land at Lisbon airport, modern, clean and with clear signage, outside of which we hop on a nice yellow bus number 91 that, in no time at all – the city center is about 8 kilometers away – traveling along a very long avenue lined with pretty little houses and plenty of greenery, takes us near our hotel, the Mundial in Praça Martim Muniz, right in the center. Hastily dropped off our bags, we set off for our first exploration on Portuguese soil.

We walk, without a precise itinerary, toward Praça do Commercio, the ancient gate of the city, a true overlook onto the Tagus river, Tejo for the Lusitanians, and we are immediately fascinated by the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere we breathe. Lisbon is a city that cannot leave anyone indifferent: the sounds, the smells, the people, the musical language…everything envelops you in a unique and engaging way. Most of the streets and sidewalks are covered with mosaic cobblestones – sometimes dangerously slippery! – that give a nice feeling of taste and cleanliness. Like the houses and buildings, for the shops too there's a random alternation between the modern-shiny style and the old-dusty one.

We noticed an astonishing quantity of shoe shops: they must have a fixation, these Lisboners! Hmm!? Delightful are the windows of the pastelerias, a touch démodé, but greedily filled with bread, pastries and various sweets that look fabulously good, absolutely to be tasted! We wander around the Chiado, an old and fascinating district where the ruins of the Igreja do Carmo stand, among the few remains bearing witness to the dramatic earthquake of the late 1700s that then gave rise to the urban reorganization of the city, and where there's no shortage of little squares and characteristic corners, like the bar where…Pessoa himself is sitting, ready to have his picture taken with anyone who wants!

Discovering the New Lisbon

After a pantagruelian breakfast at the hotel, we plan our expedition to the Oceanario, in the newest and most modern part of Lisbon. We could take the metro, whose stop is right on the square of the Mundial, Martim Muniz stop, but we opt for bus 708, to have a chance to see other parts of the city, maybe less touristy, but more genuine.

A wonderful thing, and which in my opinion is ingenious!, on the bus the tickets are issued by the drivers themselves, who don't give you as many tickets as there are people getting on, but a sort of summary receipt: you save on paper and you avoid "freeloaders"! In Lisbon everyone drives in a "sporty" way, while respecting the rules and good manners, and this also applies to taxis and buses! We savor the less touristy areas of the city and discover new worlds, full of exotic and interesting faces, in a continuous alternation of scenery from Baia to Posillipo, from EUR to Jamaica, from Primavalle to Brookline. Even the language, so exotically musical, plays an important role in creating this ever-changing atmosphere.

We reach the terminus of the 708, at the foot of a mega bridge over the Tagus: this is the Vasco Da Gama Bridge, built on the occasion of Expo 98. As a kind taxi driver later told us, a certain Silvio Da Silva, it is 17 kilometers long, of which 12 are suspended over the water! It is truly impressive, as is the river too: it's so wide it looks like a lake! We stroll through the Parque das Nações and find ourselves surrounded by very green and well-kept lawns, palm trees, fountains and joggers: a sort of Central Park de' Nos Otros! We are a bit far from the Oceanario, but that's not a bad thing, it allows us to explore at will and to find a…CABLE CAR! And who was expecting that? We hop aboard the cable car and in the blink of an eye we arrive in the area we're interested in! During the ride, just to pass the time while we fly over the Tagus, we greet the occupants of the other cabins and t

hey all answer us!

At the entrance of the Oceanário we are welcomed by a friendly diver, a certain Vasco, who guides visitors to discover the animals and plants that populate this truly remarkable place: there is a huge central tank where a great quantity of fish swims, from the barracuda to the ocean sunfish, from the manta ray to the yellowfin tuna…a true marvel! But there's more: many sections dedicated to the various habitats of the planet with animals that are hard to encounter otherwise, like the Magellanic penguin or the sea otter. This is the ocean sunfish!

An aspect I really liked is that on the walls there are passages from stories and poems by Portuguese authors, men and women: a true balm for sensitive souls, who will find new nourishment in the train and metro stations (!)

This neighborhood designed and built for Expo 98 is truly very beautiful, as well as well-kept! Beautiful the buildings, beautiful the gardens, beautiful the ever-present azulejos, beautiful the shops and shopping centers, beautiful the metro station – where not even a single graffito appears! – Everything modern and functional, but never frantic and anxiety-inducing(!)

Walking toward the Estação De Oriente we run into hordes of kids with unlikely wigs and made-up eyes…TOKIO HOTEL ARE IN CONCERT IN LISBON! Francesco is fascinated by the thing, but we manage to divert his attention by moving to the shopping center where, among other things, we even buy a Benfica ball! A ball that you can't help but test out as soon as we arrive in Praça Martim Muniz, where a little game is improvised with some Lisbon kids, with whom we immediately make friends: the power of soccer!

The evening is in the Alfama, the old – once disreputable – district of fado, with its narrow streets in a succession of breathtaking ups and downs. We reach it aboard the legendary tram 28: a true leap back in time! What style! Que encanto! It's the evening of the final of the European Football Championship (soccer again!...); Portugal, like Italy, has been knocked out, but neighboring Spain is playing – against the icy Germany – and everyone is glued to their televisions, some in the little square, some inside the restaurants, some on their home balcony. We follow with a healthy but curious detachment while we have dinner in a lovely restaurant with fado in the background, sipping exquisite vinho verde, and we rejoice together with the others when in the end victory goes to Mediterranean España!

Castelo Sao Jorge and Alfama

We try to reach Sintra, the nearby and fairy-tale town on the Sierra, but there's a problem on the railway line, so we opt for the Castelo de São Jorge.

The Castle, with its ancient village annexed, is truly very beautiful and particular; it was erected by the Moors, who with daring hydraulic operations, brought a great deal of water there – the wells and fountains present in the park of the castle itself bear witness to this – and they also channeled there the hot water from the springs of the area – it seems that the name Alfama derives precisely from Al-hamma, hot waters in Arabic – in order to enjoy proper thermal baths.

From this height you enjoy a view that is truly, I would dare say, TO DIIIIE FOR! It's also very nice to wander among the alleys of the village, with many delightful little artisan shops, where the Barcelos roosters, symbol of Portugal, swarm, and friendly people, always ready with a smile. We also find a tasty wine bar, where it seems Valentino Rossi is a regular customer, always making a quick stop there when he races at Estoril, and where we let ourselves be captured by the sangria and the Portuguese tapas. Heading down toward Praça Do Comercio, following the rails of the usual 28, we come across the Cathedral, called Sé. It is a solid medieval construction, but not threatening. The interior is majestic and at the same time welcoming. The baptismal font is said to be the one in which Saint Anthony was baptized, the one we call of Padua (…) but who in reality would be "of Lisbon".

Here in Lisbon, and in the Alfama in particular, a big celebration is held for the day dedicated to him, June 13; through the alleys there are traces of the shiny and colorful decorations prepared for the occasion. It seems that this is considered the true feast of lovers, during which people get engaged and exchange promises of eternal love. Dinner is again here, where inviting little family-run spots peek out from every side: tonight we choose a little place where they make sardines assada, roasted, truly exquisite!, without denying ourselves various little tastings and desserts. We have discovered that Lisboners have a truly special care for sweets: they really know how to enjoy life, there's no denying it! Now in the mindset of the pleasure-loving life, we take a taxi to return to the hotel…among other things we discovered that it's even cheaper than public transport!

Belem and Cascais

At Tommaso's insistent request, we set off for BELEM. This time the friendly taxi driver Silvio Da Silva, mentioned above, drives us around, and besides driving us around, as I was saying, he also explains a lot of things to us: where the Docas are, former arsenals on the river today home to luxurious restaurants and noisy discos, that in Praça do Commercio many ministerial offices and offices of the Lisbon City Council overlook, that even here they try shady deals and scams to the detriment of the State. Along the way he also shows us the works at the Cais do Sodrè station, the Ministry of Public Education, with gigantic display panels on reading promotion projects – my bread and butter since I am, alas!, a teacher – and the Residence of the President of the Republic, the Lisbon Quirinale.

We arrive at the foot of the Tower almost without realizing it and we warmly say goodbye to Silvio the taxi driver: we are increasingly picking up Lusitanian habits and attitudes! … From the photos I had seen in the various guides I consulted, I imagined it more imposing, but I must nevertheless say that the Belem Tower is very beautiful, of unusual and particular taste. In this period moreover, though we didn't understand why, it has been adorned with a sort of necklace that also gives it an ethnic touch.

Entering we come across a…RHINOCEROS! Yes, an actual stuffed rhinoceros, which seems to have been somewhat the mascot of the Tower. It seems that, brought to Portugal by one of the countless expeditions to the far Indies, it was saved from a frightening storm right near the Tower. Its profile was also depicted on an external rib of the Tower itself.

The interior of the Tower is a bit bare, but there are many ancient weapons near the arrow slits, which seem really ready to fire and which always hold great fascination for the little ones! I am struck by a school group on a trip following a very good guide intent on explaining the history of the tower from a big colorful book – and for a while I start following along too – these teachers always on duty…, under the puzzled eye of the guide herself.

How many stairs – extremely uncomfortable! – this tower has! But it rewards us with breathtaking views, which make the gaze run all the way to the ocean: what a marvel!

After the Belem tower we can't let the Monument to the Discoveries escape us, the great pride of the Portuguese people, so we head toward another marvel which is the Monasterio Dos Jeronimos, an imposing and composite construction, of which the cloister is especially striking, recently restored and adorned with little arches, marble lace, azulejos, staircases, flowerbeds…truly remarkable.

In a room on the upper floor there is an exhibition with various portraits of Portuguese kings and dignitaries of the past, but above all a large circular panel with a synoptic historical chart that compares the history of the monastery, that of Portugal and that of the world, therefore from 1400 to our days. Going out we witness a demonstration for the Police Day – we understood that the Portuguese are very attached to this place, the monastery, and here they hold big parades and demonstrations: even the signature of accession to the European Union was placed in this place!

At this point our stomach arises which, despite the usual mega breakfast at the hotel, communicates its emptiness and starts grumbling…This time we have to settle for McDonald's – well yes, it's here too!...- But the call of the sea is stronger and stronger: Cascais here we come! At the Belem station we take a very clean and very fast train to the coast and, without any nostalgia for Saba's remembrances, we arrive in the town of Cascais, with its neat little streets, its "Amalfi-style" little shops, its beaches bordered by rocks and washed by transparent water: how we would like to stay a little longer! It has a somewhat Victorian charm, very British, with its beautiful little villas overlooking the sea with pointed roofs that recall so much the English countryside or the outskirts of London: you can see that the British had chosen these Lusitanian shores as their holiday destination and

that they were really happy there, and not only for the Port which, apparently, they themselves "invented"! We set off again aboard the neat and quiet train – there's always so much control! – and in half an hour we are at the Cais Do Sodrè station, on whose walls many White Rabbits from Alice hop about, busy chronic latecomers…, to take the metro, linha verde, which will take us back to our hotel:

we have to dress up for our last evening here – sigh! – To say goodbye to Lisbon we choose a restaurant in the Alfama where the legendary fado is played and sung! We choose La Tasquinha and immediately a friendly rapport sparks with Josè – singer, owner, entertainer – Luisa, singer and their accompanists with guitar! It's a truly special evening: we enjoy a superb bacalau, we taste Porto branco and we enjoy the fado, this music so particular, that you manage to make your own, even if you don't understand all the words of the songs. At the end they even dedicate a song to us – in Italian! – all for us, for our anniversary, and so do the other patrons of the Tasquinha, showering us with good wishes and congratulations! How beautiful Portuguese warmth is! It must also be contagious!

Last day...

Since our plane leaves in the afternoon, the morning is all ours and I don't want to waste a second of it! I get up very early and go out alone, while the others are still dozing. What clean and crisp air! And me, a Lisboner among the Lisboners! Exactly what I like about a trip: blending in with normal, ordinary, everyday life. To begin with I go to a pastelaria and I enjoy a nice garodo, a sort of very good macchiato coffee, together with those who have breakfast before going to work. My gaze ranges over the Praça del Rossio, with its beautiful mosaic pavement, its bar-pastry shops with awnings, its shoeshine men – well yes! -, its stalls with the little men who laminate documents – by hand! – I am surrounded by people who are going to the office, but there isn't the frenzy that one feels at home, when in the morning at eight people are already on the verge of hysteria.

I take the free newspaper from a kind lady and continue wandering, irresistibly attracted by the…SUPERMARKET! How many unknown brands and what particular products: guarana fruit juices, mango jelly, biscuits with Don Quixote figures, the ginginha, the delicious typical liqueur with the flavor of cereja (cherry)… What a shame not to be able to do a mega grocery shopping!

The four of us meet up again at Piazza del Rossio, to capture the last images, to store a few more memories…but it's now time to get back on the road; after all, we already miss Rome a bit – these Romans who can't stay away from their one and only city! – and aboard a speedy taxi we travel back along the great Avenue Almirante Gago Coutinho to reach the airport. Ciao Lisbon, à próxima vez!