Lisbon has some very unique features which made it a really fun city to visit. Let's start with cable cars. Some only went up and down steep hills (of which, Lisbon has many- apparently there are 7 major hills upon which the city is built). Others toured throughout the city neighborhoods. The most popular and scenic route is car #28 (write that down if you plan on going to Lisbon). Some of the cars have a single compartment with passenger seats and some have 3 or so separate compartments which are stepped,
to fit the slope of the hill.
I liked how the cable car tracks accentuated the hills and curves of the streets,
especially at night.
The cars provided good people-watching, as well as opportunities to be pick-pocketed, which we luckily managed to avoid.
It's kind of amazing that we didn't get pick-pocketed while doing this (see Dave in the mirror?):
Another feature of the city was the mosaic sidewalks. They are hand-set with chunks of stone- the black are basalt and the white are limestone. The work requires lots of skill (even silky curves are made with the chunks of stone) and it doesn't pay well (surprise!) so there are fewer and fewer people able and willing to do the work. The sidewalks also have a tendency to be slippery in the rain and the stones pop out frequently and cause tripping hazards. Regardless of those negatives, I think they are gorgeous, and so distinctive. I read it's a uniquely Portuguese thing and other Portuguese territories or former colonies (Madeira, Brazil, etc.) have the same sidewalk treatment.
Rio has a pattern like this along Ipanema Beach (haven't been there,
but maybe someday)...
Another really cool thing about Lisbon is that many of the buildings are covered in colorful, patterned ceramic tiles. I've never seen that before. From a distance the buildings just look colorful and shiny...
… but when you get closer you see that the color is from individual tiles. So many colors and designs- I didn't see any repeats. And when the sun shone they glistened. So pretty.
Two very Lison things: tiles and "Pastel de Nata" a delicious creamy, custard-filled pastry. We sampled many of them.
Of course a big draw for us to come to Lisbon was the fact that it's on the water. Not really on the ocean, but on the mouth of the Taugus river which flows into the Atlantic,
a few kilometers to the West.
After one rainy day we were THRILLED to get some SUN.
In Luxembourg we miss the sea, but we miss the sun even more.
The sun was a bit blinding for Alejandra. Her pupils were saying "whaaaa? the sun???"
Fish, especially sardines, are very important to Lisboan cuisine, and iconography.
Thanks to a friend of Alejandra's we found a superb little canned fish shop where you could sample any of the canned fish they had on display. You simply picked out what you wanted and they opened the can and served it with a slice of lemon and delicious bread (seriously, the best bread I've had in Europe- reminded me of the bread that my friend Barak used to make for the restaurant Cafe Uffa in Portland, Maine). You can get sardines, cod, mackerel, and other fish items, in olive oil, with hot peppers, pickles, tomato sauce, without skin and bones, etc.
I also loved the packaging of the canned fishes. Overall I thought the graphic design of Lisbon was top notch- in the restaurant menus, store business cards, food and beverage packaging, signs for museums, brochures, t-shirts, postcards, etc.
One morning (well, not really morning- it was noon) on Sunday we saw a group of people gathering around this doorway. Everyone was drinking something out of a small shot glass.
Turns out it was an after-church shot of Ginjnha, a sour cherry liquor. It was like limoncello, only made with sour cherries. Very sweet and strong. You could get it with or without the cherries. we got the cherries, but in the end none of us ate them because they were very, very strong. Besides, it was 12 noon on a Sunday.
We were told to visit the Alfama neighborhood because as my friend said "it's the soul of Lisbon". Just from strolling through in a couple of hours, I have to agree. Winding streets, packed with modest houses leaning into each other; steep staircases, orange trees, and friendly residents hanging their laundry made it very appealing.
Some street color.
We also went to Barrio Alto which was a bit fancy in parts. Lots of great views here.
