Lisbon: Day Two

Sunday, September 13, 2009

I wake up disoriented in the dark of the hotel room. What time is it – night or day? Glasses on, reading light – it’s 9.30am, not too bad for a 4hour time difference. Next to me Oswaldo sleeps soundly and I dress and slip quietly out the door in search of breakfast. Plan is to eat at a ‘pastelaria’ down the road, but when I get into the street I see everything is closed. Ah – Sunday! Back to the hotel I go, now too late for their breakfast, and I have to settle for a 10 euro ‘tosta’ (toasted cheese sandwich), accompanied by a 5 euro ‘café com leite’, granted, served in a very nice cup. Oswaldo joins me and, stunned, orders only a coffee = 20 euros….
Today we learn to take the metro, grey and cavernous, with wide stairs and escalators with a bump in the middle to reduce the steep angle. We exit in the bright sunlight of the ferry terminal – the Estacao Fluvial - where we learn we can take a 2 hour ride up and down the Tejo, which we plan to do tomorrow. There are extensive road works in the area and we pick our way along the sea front, where the water is whipped up by thousands of little fish, sardines?, which are rapidly snatched out of the water by a cloud of swooping gulls. Further along we see a thronged mass of larger fish (too big for the gulls), all straining mouths open in the same direction near the pier. Can they really be feeding off the sewer? Certainly the smell in the area would suggest this. We manage to find the entrance to the exhibition of African artifacts, which we noticed yesterday. We are in for a treat. It is the most stupendous and awe-inspiring collection of African sculptures we have ever seen – wood, metal, little colored beads – all exquisite, incredible. How lucky to see this – we feel humbled by the evidence of such a rich culture.
Then it’s time to find tram #28, which will take us to Largo das Portas up the hill below the castle, and where we have refreshments and appreciate the gorgeous view of the houses on the hillside and the port area. Across the road lies the Espirito Santo (you see this name everywhere) Museum of Decorative Arts, a charming antique residence smelling pleasantly of beeswax and showing furniture, china, silver and other decorative items in their original setting. Then we struggle uphill to see the view from Largo da Graca and treat ourselves to a nice cold beer before we head down steep alleys through the Mouraria, where the Moors lived after they lost control of the city. It appears we have just missed a colorful folkloric festival when we see brilliantly clad Indian musicians depart wearing gold embroidered slippers with curled up toes. A block away, dancers dressed in national costume (Turkey?) twirl enthusiastically and then stop. We rush into the metro, already late for a Villa Lobos concert at the Palacio de Foz, to which we have been invited. A quick shower and change at the hotel and we are barrelling down Av. Liberdade trying to find the palace. We arrive minutes past 5pm and Joao Carlos Assis Brasil is already playing in a beautiful mirrored hall to a rapt audience, a program ranging from Villa-Lobos, Brazilian children’s song, over jazz to American standards, all played with great force and virtuosity. The ensuing cocktail gives us a chance to look at the details of the palace. The hall is held up by a golden boy in each corner, making us think fondly of Bobby, Erik & Victor…
Another quick change at the hotel and we are off in a cab to have a drink at the Pavilhao Chines – what? Closed! OK, continue to recommended restaurant Pap Acorda, what? Also closed. We venture into its neighbor ‘Louro & Sal’ and luck out. We have a fabulous dinner, Oswaldo has grilled tiger prawns, split open to show the white meat, with purees of garbanzo beans, spinach and something else. I have roasted cod, skin strongly flavored with garlic and cumin, with perfect roast potatoes rolled in coarse salt and a kind of farofa, from which I pick out the bits of bacon, but still eat every single crumb. We share a dessert – amazing – sliced bananas baked in a thin yeast dough crust, served with a ball of sesame ice cream rolled in sesame seeds and a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Divine. We walk down the hill from the Bairro Alto and all the way back to the hotel to stave off the inevitable effects of such a dinner. Check out the pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/schateaubriand/LisbonDayTwo#