Summer Adventures in Portugal
I recently got back from my second trip to Portugal, this time for a full week, and I am so amazed by this beautiful country. The autumnal Dublin climate is accentuating my saudade even more after the return, so I really want to share my experiences and pictures from this trip. Off we go!
We left on a Sunday super early, following the best practice of taking the cheapest Ryanair flight possible (which is usually around 7 am). After a sleepy flight of 2 hours and a half, we finally arrived. It was so warm! I remember I was amazed by the 24 degrees when I visited in October, but this time it was around 38. Luckily, we got slightly prepared the days before as it has reached 28 degrees in Dublin (which is the famous one day of Irish summer, and people tend to do very hazardous things such as jumping naked into the canal, but that is another story).
My boyfriend’s family house is at around 40 minutes driving distance from Lisbon, in a town called Bucelas. Although very sweaty, I was delighted by the peaceful and green countryside, the wine fields, the Mediterranean feels. And of course the wonderful company! We had some great food for lunch, including Queijo Serra da Estrela, which is a goat cheese, with a very strong and specific taste, that you eat by scooping it out with the spoon.
First day: Mouraria, Miradouros, Bairro Alto and cheap lemon beers
The first day we met some friends from Dublin and had a walk around one of Lisbon most historic areas: Mouraria. This neighbourhood, which name means Moorish quarter, is located next to Alfama and the St. Jorge castle. It has a very a multicultural vibe, and in recent time has gone through some renovation projects, as well as starting to attract tourists. Interesting fact: together with Alfama (which is also one of my favourites neighbourhoods) it was the only part of the city that survived the terrible earthquake of 1755 that basically destroyed all Lisbon. This area has a super charming atmosphere, with some slightly rough edges and many cool graffiti. I loved the fact that you can buy a small bear for 1 euro and you can drink it while you roam around. Also, we got some amazing views from the Miradouro da Graça Lisbon is full of this great viewpoints!
Click on the images below to open enlarge them full screen.
Second day: Lisbon walking tour
This day we had a very interesting walking tour around Lisbon in the afternoon, with an organization called “Lisbon Chill Out Tour”. Our guide was super funny and witty and he would often ask questions to my boyfriend (who was the only Portuguese in the group and one of the few boys) to test his knowledge about all things Portugal – for example, we discovered that the patron Saint of Lisbon is actually St. Vincent and not St. Anthony. I think walking tours are an excellent way of getting a real taste of a city, as they are run by locals and they allow you to learn about culture and curiosities. For example, after a walk in Bairro Alto (the nightlife quarter, almost completely desert in the afternoon), we passed near Casa da Misericordia, where we learnt the story of the statue in the square, which represents a guy selling lottery tickets but has also his hands placed in a very naughty position for the girls taking a picture with him.
Also, I loved hearing the song “Cheira bem cheira a Lisboa” (Smells good, smells like Lisbon) which our guide sang for us in Rua Oliveira Ao Carmo. Traditionally, it is said that Lisbon has a good smell because of all the laundry outside the windows. And that is why they put the statue of a nose (yes, a nose) on a wall on this street. But who (k)nows the real reasons… We also saw the Largo do Carmo, where there is a futuristic looking statue of Fernando Pessoa in the house he used to live. Our guide also told us some verses from Pessoa, which was extremely beautiful to hear in such an inspiring location. For example:
“Não sou nada. Nunca serei nada. Não posso querer ser nada. À parte isso, tenho em mim todos os sonhos do mundo”
(I am nothing. I'll never be anything. I couldn't want to be something. Apart from that, I have in me all the dreams in the world.)
Another part that I loved about the tour was visiting the Alfama neighbourhood, the oldest district of Lisbon, located between the São Jorge Castle and the Tejo river. It is such a colourful and vivid maze of little streets, houses, and bars. This part of the city has a very special charm to it, and almost feels like entering a different dimension, where the world moves a bit slower. Also, the St. Anthony festival (where a lot of sardines are eaten) had recently finished, and the colourful decorations were still hanging around making everything looking extra special. I felt very inspired by this place and took so many pictures! We concluded the tour sweaty but happy at the Largo das Portas do Sol and had dinner in a traditional restaurant.
Third day: to the beach in Troia
This day we took the car and went for a road trip to the beach in Troia, which is a peninsula located near Setúbal, it the southern part of the country (curiosity: Mourinho is from there). It was such a big and wild beach compared to what I am used in Bellaria, and the nature was very well preserved. The day was super windy but warm, and I also experienced my first ever swim in the ocean: definitely a refreshing experience!
Fourth day: Óbidos, Ericeira and Alcobaça,
This day we had a road trip. If you have a car to travel around Portugal, I would definitely recommend all of the following destinations.
Óbidos was one of my favourite places in the entire trip. It is a little medieval town, located in the Leira district. It has a very special charm and I was amazed by the incredible amount of flowers that you can see walking around the city, which creates such an esthetically pleasing color mix. I am a lover of flowers and colors, so while walking around the streets of the old part of the town, I could barely keep my camera down! The feeling was like being in a Mediterranean village, although we were technically a bit far from the Mediterranean. Not to be missed are the entrance to the city, which contains a wonderful chapel with blue azulejos (the traditional Portuguese tiles), the castle and a walk around the old walls, for a 360° view of the city over flowers, white houses and terracotta roofs. Also, the church (Igreja de Santa Marta) in front of which is a pillar called Pelourinho de Óbidos, which was used as a sort of stock in the past. Moreover, the main street is lovely to walk in (although a bit touristy as you might expect) and full of nice souvenir shops. I tried some great Portuguese food in Óbidos:
- Bread with chorizo (Pão com chouriço): works great as a snack and as a lunch too! The place we bought it made it fresh in front of your eyes. Plus, it was only 2 euros!
- All sorts of “conventual sweets” (doces conventuais): this term indicates many types of Portuguese sweets, which were traditionally made by monks and nuns. The distinctive mark of these treats is that they are largely based on eggs and sugar, therefore they are very sweet. Some people love them, some people wholeheartedly dislike them . I personally love them! We tried: Pasteis de Tentúgal, Pasteis de Ginja and Pão de Ló, but there’s many more.
Last but not least, if you are in Óbidos you *have* to try ginjinha. I first discovered this sour cherry liquor in Lisbon, and I fell in love. After discovering that it is originally from Óbidos, I knew I had to try it in its birthplace! And boy, it was worth it. It has a really unique taste, sweet and sour and perfectly balanced. One shot is dangerously only one euro. My favourite way to drink ginjinha is in a chocolate cup, which you can eat at the end.
Our next step was the Alcobaça Monastery, a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Alcobaça, in Oeste Subregion. The monastery was founded in the medieval period by the first Portuguese King, Afonso Henriques, in 1153, and maintained a close association with the Kings of Portugal throughout its history. Two interesting facts about this monastery: the church and monastery were the first Gothic buildings in Portugal, and they were listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1989. It is really an impressive monastery, with some amazing architectonic details.
Finally, we spent the evening in Ericeira, a seaside town on the western coast of Portugal, in the municipality of Mafra, about 35 kilometers northwest of Lisbon. Ericeira is regarded as a surf paradise due to the great weather and coast conditions. Plus, it is well known for its seafood. And indeed we went to a marisqueira (a seafood restaurant) called "Marisqueira Furnas". We had arroz de marisco (a fish stew with rice, really good) and I also tried goose barnacles for the first time in my life. I had never seen this (pretty expensive) crustacean before, but it was a fun experience eating it (once you discover how to open them)
Fifth Day: Exploring Lisbon
If you like modern art, you have to see the new MAAT (art, architecture, technology) museum in Lisbon. The view from the outside of the museum is amazing, right in front of the river Tejo. I personally found the museum very interesting: the theme of the exhibition was Utopia/Dystopia and it explored how the technological development and urbanization can collide with the human being. You have to be a bit into modern art though, and some stuff was kind of weird (like some human looking dolls made with computer elements). I really liked one piece called “Paraiso” from Pedro Bandeira, where there was this big photo of a tropical garden inside a pavilion, and you could “enter” the photo using VR glasses. Next to the MAAT is the electricity museum, which I have to say exceeded my expectations and was very cool! You can visit and learn the story of the production of electricity in Lisbon, and learn more about science in general.
Finally, we went to Belém, which is really close to this area. Belem is a neighbourhood in Lisbon which is famous for its tower, its monastery and the pastel de nata, the delicious and traditional custard tart which is a must eat when you go to Portugal. The most famous place to eat them in Lisbon is indeed in Belem, and is the “Pastéis de Belém" bakery. Tip: do not be scared by the massive queue outside, it is actually just for takeaways (or for people that do not know it is for takeaways). We managed to enter immediately, plus the place is huge inside and has a lot of space. I also learnt it is nice to sprinkle cinnamon on top of the pastel, and if the top if slightly burnt, it tastes even better. In terms of taste, they are just an amazing delicacy, so fragrant and crispy with the creamy custard filling... really a must try if you are travelling in Portugal.
Other cool things we did in Belem were: drinking green wine while eating clams and observing the magnificence of the Discoveries Monuments (Padrão dos Descobrimentos in Portuguese) which was built in 1960 to celebrate the discoveries made by Portuguese sailors between the XV and XVI century.
Sixth day: discovering Sintra
Sintra is a charming town located within the Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais, it is easy to reach from Lisbon via train and it is one of the most popular day trips from the capital. For a relatively small town, it has an amazing abundance of historic monuments and tourist attractions. The cultural landscape of Sintra is part of the Unesco World Heritage list since 1995. If had to choose one word to describe this city I would choose “magical”. It was definitely one of my favourite places in Portugal. Walking around you can see so many beautiful palaces, castles and royal retreats built in Romantic style and scattered around the hills surrounding the city. During my previous visit to Sintra last October, I visited one of its must see palaces, the Pena Palace (Palácio da Pena). This castle is absolutely breath-taking, I had never seen something like this. It is a national monument and constitutes one of the major expressions of 19th-century Romanticism in the world. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. What really impressed me is the flamboyant mix of architectural styles (Neo-Gothic, Neo-Manueline, Neo-Islamic and Neo-Renaissance) which creates an exotic and eclectic result that gives to the place an almost magical aura. Also, the Palace of Sintra, or Town Palace (Palácio da Vila), located right in the centre of the city, is definitely a must see as well. It is the best-preserved medieval royal residence in Portugal, being inhabited more or less continuously from at least the early 15th century to the late 19th century.
This time, though, we visited the Quinta da Regaleira. The quinta is a huge palace surrounded by an intricate and large. It was built in the early part of the 19th century and was influenced by gothic style, as well as esoteric beliefs and practices. The palace is amazing and very rich in its architectonic style, but the real magic comes from the park. The park is best enjoyed by taking a relaxed stroll and letting yourself being enchanted by the many surprises along the way. There are so many things to see around, like little towers, fountains, a chapel, statues, lakes, caves and wells. I was particularly impressed by the “Initiation Well”, which lets you go down a spiral ladder for 30 metres below the ground, and at the bottom of which you can see a Templar cross. Also, the waterfall lake where you can cross stones on the water after walking around a cave (we did this a few time as it was very funny). Overall, the Quinta da Regaleira really gave me the impression of walking in an enchanted place, where you can feel a sense of peace and magic around every corner.
To finish the day we had some travesseiros and queijadas de Sintra (traditional desserts made of eggs and almonds) and some delicious porto wine.
Finally, we went to my boyfriend’s sister wedding in the Quinta de Sant’Ana in Gradil, near Lisbon, and it was an amazing day.
Then, our holidays reached the end and we soon had to go back to Dublin.
Thank you so much for the wonderful times and memories Portugal, and I hope to be back very soon!
Serena xx