Let’s get out and see the city!
We’ve been in Portugal for 14 months and in Parede for the last 8. Our lives here have settled into a routine: walks along the coast in the morning, a couple trips to the park with Sox, lunch on the balcony. Some weeks we’ll go to the Mercado da Vila in Cascais to stock up on fruits and vegetables. Other days we’ll have lunch or late afternoon snacks with friends.
But we haven’t done as much exploring as we did earlier. When we were in Porto, we lived in the city and it was easy to get around. A bus or metro ride was all it took to be someplace new. Now we’re in the ‘burbs and It takes longer to get into Lisbon proper. So we haven’t seen as much of the city as we would have liked.
We have visited some of the major neighborhoods, like Belém, with the Monument to the Discoveries and the Tropical Botanical Garden. One day we walked around Alfama and saw the Castelo de São Jorge. Another time we spent several nights on a houseboat in the modern Parque das Nações area and enjoyed touring the Oceanarium.
But it’s been awhile since we “played tourist”, so we recently got out our Rick Steves’ guidebook and picked some new places to visit. On a sunny Tuesday morning, we took the train into Lisbon, rode the metro for a couple stops, and enjoyed walking through Bairro Alto – the high neighborhood.
Here’s a quick look at a couple of the places we saw.
Climbing the Calçada da Glória
Our walk began outside the Restauradores metro station on the Avenida da Liberdade, a major north-south street through central Lisbon. Just to the west is Calçada da Glória, a narrow street that climbs a steep hill. (You might recall we wrote about calçadas – Portuguese cobblestones – in an earlier post.)
At the bottom of the hill, we had two choices. We could ride the funicular, the inclined trolley known as the Elevador da Glória. Or we could walk. The trolley was crowded with other tourists and we didn’t want to wait, so we hiked up the hill.
We had done this same climb last December when we were in Lisbon for the first time and were out looking at Christmas lights. It was a strenuous climb then, but it was easier on this morning.
Looking out over Lisbon
At the top of the hill we turned right and walked to the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcantara. This is a park with a miradouro – an overlook – that provides a panoramic view of Lisbon.
There are two levels to the park. The upper level of the park has symmetrical rows of trees, so there is plenty of shade on a sunny day. The lower level has benches set among planter beds. The lower level looked quieter, without so many people.
In the center of the park is a fountain and at the far end is a quiosque, a kiosk that sells sandwiches, snacks, and drinks. There is a seating area at the quiosque and there are also tables with attached benches near the railing at the edge of the overlook.
On the street side of the park is a plinth with a bust of Eduardo Coelho, who founded Diário de Notícias, the first daily newspaper in Lisbon in 1864. In front of him is a statue of a barefoot paper boy.
We enjoyed standing at the railing, looking out over the city. Most of what we saw was unfamiliar, an indication of how much of Lisbon we have left to explore.
After admiring the view we left the park and joined a line of people walking down the Rua da Misericórdia to see more of the Bairro Alto neighborhood. We’ll share more sights in a future postcard.
Two days later, we came back to the Miradouro for an informal social gathering. It was early evening and for a brief moment the setting sun illuminated some of the buildings on the hill across the way.
Thanks for touring with us today. We’re just getting started exploring Lisbon. There’s so much more to see and we look forward to sharing it with you.
An Invitation
Several weeks ago we wrote about what makes a “memorable meal”. Since then we’ve heard from some of you about your most memorable meals. Two readers, Debbi and John, suggested that we should publish some of those stories.
So next week we have a special post planned – the first reader-submitted memorable meal story.
We’d like to hear your memories and share them with all our readers. Send us an email with your memories to mike@thecookandthewriter.com. Don’t stress about your writing, just tell us what you remember. We’ll publish one or more every month, as long as we keep hearing from you.
Until next week / Até a próxima semana
Mary and Mike
The Cook and The Writer
Earl and I explored a new area in California a week ago. We stayed for a few days in Glen Ellen for a wedding. It’s in Sonoma which is beautiful wine country. The wedding was in a winery. We had breakfast lunches and dinner at a few wonderful restaurants and of course lots of wine.