(What turned into) Three weeks in Portugal, Pt. 1

I’ve never thought of myself as a particularly spontaneous person.

It’s one of the reasons I put off travelling for so many years: every time I had the money and I sat down to plan a trip, my anxiety and need for control got the best of me. There were just so many factors that I had never been made familiar with – finding the best flight, booking accommodation, creating an itinerary, budgeting, etc. etc…that I quickly became overwhelmed and threw in the towel altogether.

Moving to Budapest and setting myself the goal of finally seeing a bit of the world required me to make “accept that I have no control” my new resolution. And, the truth is, spontaneous travel plans are much more attainable and way less overwhelming when you’re already in Europe.

My trip to Vienna, which I covered in an earlier blog post, was thrown together at the 11th hour (no doubt this came with its own set of consequences). My trip to Italy, also covered in a previous blog post, was planned in advance, although there were some drastic last-minute changes that basically turned it into a whole new trip. My third trip of the year, and my first one without any major mishaps, was also made somewhat on a whim. But I wouldn’t change a thing.

A Spontaneous Flight

It all started when I met my current boyfriend while he was on a Euro tour with his friends, and they made their stop in Budapest (yes, I have a European boyfriend now – just thought I’d drop that in there casually). We spent two days together in Budapest and then just never really stopped talking.

Admittedly, Portugal has never really been high up on my travelling bucket list, only because I didn’t know much about the country and didn’t know anyone from there. Well, now I did, and that was all the convincing I needed. We had been talking for weeks about “when I come to Portugal”, and eventually when the prices looked just right and I was sure I could get the all-clear from work, I booked my ticket. So far, so good. I did a bit of research about the places I wanted to see in Lisbon, but I must give Ricardo credit for making most of the plans, seeing as he knew what would be truly worth the effort and what was merely a tourist trap.

Because of the chaos and drama of previous trips, I kept expecting to receive some email or SMS about a flight cancellation or a delay or some ground-breaking mishap, but the days leading up to my flight came and went and…nothing happened.

Something I experienced for the first time during this trip was a time difference. Not a big one, mind you, but it was still enough to confuse me (I’ve never really been good at geography and admittedly I still don’t really know how or why they work). My flight was due to leave at 19:55 in the evening and, although my research said the flight to Lisbon was three hours and forty minutes, we were somehow due to arrive at 22:35 (because Lisbon is one hour behind). It took a while for my boyfriend to explain this to me and, honestly, I still don’t really get it.

I landed in Lisbon late in the evening and Ricardo met me at Terminal 1. I must say, having someone who knows the city and is familiar with the transport meet you at the airport is a MASSIVE help and made such a difference compared with my previous trips.

Magnificent Lisbon

While I spent a total of three weeks during my first trip to Portugal, it’s no surprise that most of this time was spent in the capital city of Lisbon, as this is where my boyfriend lives. One might think that I would get bored after almost three weeks of vacationing in the same city, but with Lisbon, this was definitely not the case. There is so much to do, so many delicious kinds of food to try, and so much culture and history to explore, that you get the feeling you’ll never have enough time to experience everything it has to offer.

During my first day in the city, we briefly explored the area in which I was staying – sampling the local ice cream parlour, visiting the nearest bar, and visiting two gorgeous parks that were within walking distance. One of the first things I appreciated about this vibrant city is the many picturesque viewpoints, created by the varied gradients and “levels” of the city. The way in which Lisbon is laid out creates levels or layers of the city, which are very unpleasant for walking but are great for creating views of the city that flat cities like Budapest could never achieve. You can use the slider below to see some examples.

I noticed almost immediately that Lisbon is an incredibly vibrant city, with a very diverse populace. Because of Portugal’s history as a major colonial empire, many individuals from South American and African countries have moved here in search of the European lifestyle – especially Brazilians, of which there is a huge community. As a result, the population here is far from the typical “white” Europe, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a much larger community of POC than I’ve become accustomed to in Budapest. The progressive and laid-back nature of Lisbon’s people means that its diverse population live quite well together and they seem to celebrate one another’s differences. There is also a large international community, which helped me feel more at ease.

The people of Lisbon give the impression of being quite an artistic and creative group of people, perhaps owing to their diversity. Music seems to always be playing in the streets, and it's common to see musical groups gathering in parks for an impromptu jamming session. Both Ricardo and his Brazilian housemate, Gustavo, play the piano (Gustavo also plays the guitar and the hand drum), so I felt like the apartment was always filled with music. Comedy nights, open-mic nights, musical gigs and film evenings are also incredibly common and make up a large portion of the social scene here.

In my first few days, we explored historical parts of the city and the typical tourist attractions such as Belem Tower, the Arco da Rua Augusta, and Padrão dos Descobrimentos. I had taken a few days of leave from work and Ricardo hadn’t started his new job yet, so we had quite a bit of time to also explore the surrounding areas

Use the slider below to check out some pictures of tourist attractions and historical sites. (In order from left to right: Belem Tower, the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, Jerónimos Monastery, the Arco da Rua Augusta, and the Monumento aos Restauradores)

A Rich History

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in Western Europe, with its origins dating back to 1200 BC when it was founded by the Phoenicians as a trading station. It is also one of Europe’s oldest capitals, second only to Athens. Archaeological evidence suggests the city has been inhabited since the prehistoric ages.

Since its inception, it has seen multiple rulers, tragedy, and rebuilding, and has been the birthplace of some of the modern world’s most ground-breaking discoveries. While I don’t intend for this blog post to be a history lesson, it is important to mention some of its more recent history and how it has shaped the city as it exists today – namely, the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755.

The earthquake that also resulted in subsequent fires and a tsunami almost completely destroyed the city of Lisbon and adjoining areas on 1 November 1755. The death toll is estimated to be between 12 000 and 50 000 people, making it one of history’s deadliest earthquakes. It also had major philosophical, economic and political repercussions, and remains a dark and tragic period in the country’s history. As a result, despite Portuguese history dating back thousands of years, very little of that history still stands in Lisbon today.

(Image below taken from Hakai magazine, 1 September 2020, article titled The Earthquake that brought enlightenment by Laura Trethewey)

Nearly 70% of Lisbon's dwellings—about 23 000 buildings—were destroyed or substantially damaged by the combined effects of the disasters.

When touring the city, one can still see evidence of the devastation, such as the ruins of Carmo Convent, which stands without a roof.

(Image is taken from Trip.com on Carmo Convent)

Luckily, the rebuilding of the city was rapid. In just over a month, Portuguese architect and chief engineer Manuel de Maia had designed five plans for the rebuilding of Lisbon – including a suggestion to simply abandon the city, as the rebuilding expenses were simply too vast. Today, a statue honouring de Maia stands at the top of the Avenida de Liberdade overlooking the Baixa district, one of his main areas of reconstruction.

One may think that the tragedies of 1755 are merely a distant and painful memory for the people of Lisbon, but touring the city with Ricardo made me realise just how much was lost, and how this memory remains present. Despite Portugal being home to some of the most profound discoveries and important history of the modern world, so much of that time period will never be regained due to nature’s ruthless ways.

Every Style of Tile

Anyone who has visited Portugal will know the important role that tiles play, and how distinctive their unique appearance makes the main cities in this country when compared to other popular European cities. Whether inside the metro stations or on the narrow, stone-covered streets of residential areas, truly unique and beautiful tiles can be spotted lining almost every building.

Portuguese tiles, known as ‘azulejo’, were originally brought here from neighbouring Spain in the 15th century. King Manuel I had seen them in Granada and wanted to decorate his palace in Sintra with the same design. Over time, the designs became more and more intricate, and some told tales from the bible and the Age of Discoveries. While the signature blue and white tiles reflect the fashion of a certain period, the colour variation is actually incredibly vast and doesn’t have to follow a particular style.

The use of tiles on the outside of buildings grew to peak popularity during the 18th and 19th centuries, for aesthetic as well as practical reasons. People realised that the tiles protected against wet conditions, kept homes cooler and reduced noise from the street.

These tiles were absolutely fascinating to me, purely because they make Lisbon so distinct from other European capital cities. They manage to blend even the most modern architectural designs with a fashion long gone, thus incorporating the city’s vast history into its appearance today. They remain an incredibly important aspect of the city’s appeal, and it’s even illegal to remove tiles from their buildings.

Below are some of my favourite ones that we saw.

Unique Cuisine

I’ll admit that I didn’t know much about Portuguese cuisine before my visit, but once I arrived, I was lucky enough to have Ricardo show me the local delicacies enjoyed by everyday Portuguese individuals that I may not have ever tried if I was visiting on my own.

While the iconic Pastel de nata is understandably one of the first things tourists jump to try, there are so many more food staples that simply have to be sampled if you ever wish to get a taste of Portugal.

One of the first things I really appreciated was the exquisite seafood. After living in Budapest in a distinctly inland country where seafood (let alone good seafood) is hard to come by, I could not get enough of their fish. There’s a small, simple, local restaurant on Ricardo’s street where we had lunch almost every day, and the food is really understated and simply delicious. We would indulge in a glass of wine (the type doesn’t matter – almost all the wine here is good) and either pork chops, fried or grilled fish, turkey steaks or small fried mackerel with chips and tomato rice.

It reminded me a lot of Italian cuisine in that the recipes are not complicated, but the fresh ingredients and the simplicity of the food are what make it great.

The desserts are also distinctive and varied. Of course, Pastel de nata is a favourite, and it’s difficult to find a bad one. You pretty much only get good ones, and then the really fantastic ones. Two places seem highly contested for selling “the best Pastel de nata in Lisbon”, and we visited both of them: Manteigaria and Pastéis de Belém. Personally, my favourite ones were from Pastéis de Belém, but Ricardo’s are the ones from Manteigaria. It purely comes down to personal taste.

The wines and beers here are also fantastic, which was a welcome change from Budapest. I have never previously been a beer drinker, but I actually got into it here. Super Bock and Sagres are the two main beer brands, both of which are also internationally popular.

Ginjinha is a very popular liqueur unique to Portugal, that is made by infusing ginja berries in alcohol and adding sugar together with other ingredients, such as cloves and/or cinnamon sticks. Ginjinha is commonly served as a shot with a piece of fruit in the bottom of the cup.

In my next blog post, Three weeks in Portugal Pt. 2, I’ll go into more detail about our exploration of surrounding areas such as Óbidos, Peniche, Berlenga Island, Sintra and Cascais.

Until then, here are a few more pictures that capture the impeccable atmosphere of this dynamic, vibrant city...