–Lisbon

Memorable fish

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Os Arcos Composit- ©mariarebelophotography.com

The Portuguese like to eat their fish by the sea. Since Lisbon is located on the Tagus river, its residents have to drive to a nearby beach whenever they want to enjoy a serious fish meal. The Bugio lighthouse conveniently marks the place where the Tagus meets the sea. It is not a coincidence that Paço d’Arcos, the beach town that overlooks the Bugio, has several fish restaurants.

Os Arcos (which means “the arches”) serves some of the best fish we have ever had. The restaurant occupies an ancient building constructed shortly after the 1755 earthquake. The dining room features old wood beams and the brick and mortar arches that inspired the restaurant’s name.

The  specialty of Os Arcos is “robalo no capote” (fish baked in bread). The fish is covered with a thin layer of bread and baked in the oven for about 30 minutes. That is just the right amount of time to enjoy some clams from Algarve and shrimp from Cascais.

When the fish-shaped bread arrives at the table, the experienced waiter gives the guests a couple of minutes to say their oohs and ahs. He then divides the fish, removing all the bones. Everybody eats in silence, for there are no words to describe the taste of the succulent robalo and the delicious bread that envelops it.

Any serious fish lover who visits Lisbon should drive, hike, bike, swim or run to Paço d’Arcos because eating “robalo” baked in bread at Os Arcos is simply unforgettable.

Os Arcos is located on Rua Costa Pinto, 47 in Paço de Arcos, tel. 214-433-374. Click here for their website.

The coolest bar in Lisbon

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“By the wine,” the coolest bar in Lisbon, has a ceiling decorated with 3267 bottles of Periquita, one of the oldest table wines in Portugal. The bar belongs to Periquita’s producer, José Maria da Fonseca. This company has produced wine since 1834, including the famous Setúbal Moscatel.

“By the wine,” is the perfect place to have a few bites: slices of memorable sausages and prosciutto, cheese, and seafood.

José Maria da Fonseca stocks the bar with a great selection of wines, including some that are hard to find because they are produced in small quantities. It is a delight to try these unique wines surrounded by the beautiful people that give this bar a wonderful vibe!

By the Wine is on Rua das Flores, 41/43, near Chiado, tel. 213420319. 

A treasure hunt in Lisbon

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Cpmposot Embaixada“Where did you get that?” people used to ask when they saw someone wearing an interesting piece of clothing or jewelry. This question is now rarely asked. Shopping centers all over the world carry the same goods made by the same brands. In a world of abundance, the thrill of the new has become hard to find.

But you can find it at Embaixada, a new shopping center in Lisbon’s Príncipe Real neighborhood.  Housed in a sumptuous palace built in 1857, it features a collection of unique stores that sell original clothing and decorative pieces. Visiting Embaixada is like going on a treasure hunt. Take home a few prized possessions and people will ask: “where did you get that?”

Embaixada is located on Praça do Príncipe Real, n. 26. Click here for their website.

First impressions of Lisbon

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Composit LisboaFirst impressions are important, so we recommend for your first stop in Lisbon the top of the Rua Augusta arch. More than a century in the making (from 1759 to 1875), the arch is a symbol of the reconstruction of the city after the devastating 1755 earthquake.

The three statues on top of the arch (glory, valor, and genius) remind us of what Portugal at its best can do. The two statues on the sides, which personify the Douro and Tagus rivers, are symbols of the country’s natural beauty. The remaining four statues represent important historical figures: Viriato, a military leader who resisted the Roman invasion, Nuno Alvares Pereira, the hero of a key medieval battle against Castile, Vasco da Gama, the famous navigator, and the Marquis of Pombal, who oversaw the efforts to rebuild Lisbon after the earthquake.

You can reach the top of the arch by elevator. The views are breathtaking. On the North side, you see St. Jorge’s castle, the ancient cathedral, and the spacious, orderly downtown district that replaced, after the earthquake, the narrow, irregular medieval streets. On the South side, you see Terreiro do Paço, the entry hall of the city, adorned by the Tagus river. And so you’ll meet Lisbon, a city that is rich and poor, extroverted and mysterious, an aristocratic old lady full of youthful charm.

Contemporary tiles

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Azulejos PedroIf you’re an art lover, make sure to visit Ratton, a wonderful art gallery in Lisbon that commissions works in azulejo (the Portuguese word for glazed tiles) from contemporary artists.

When Ana Viegas opened the gallery in 1987, tiles were no longer considered an art medium; they were made cheaply for utilitarian purposes. To convince artists to create works for azulejo, Viegas procured the finest clay and searched for artisans who could paint and glaze tiles by hand, using techniques perfected in the 18th century. Soon, she had great artists like Paula Rego, Julio Pomar, and Menez working for Ratton. Today, you can see the gallery’s azulejos all over Portugal and as far away as Russia or Brazil.

The photo shows a piece by Lourdes de Castro inspired by the “invitations figures” that were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. These panels of azulejos with life-size images of footmen, nobleman and aristocratic women were placed in stairs and patios to welcome visitors. Castro used her own silhouette, as if she is inviting us to experience her art.

It is this interplay between inspiration from past and present that makes the work exhibited at Ratton so unique.

Ratton is located on Rua da Academia das Ciências, 2C, tel. 21 346 0948.

Porto de Santa Maria

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Porto de Santa Maria @_

The Portuguese are so obsessed with the freshness of their fish that they prefer to consume it on the coast, to make sure the fish does not need to travel. This obsession is the reason why there are so many restaurants on the “marginal,” the seaside road that connects Lisbon to Cascais. Our favorite is Porto de Santa Maria, which has served outstanding fish and seafood since 1947. Everything on the menu is wonderful: grilled fish, oysters, clams, shrimp, stuffed spider crab, and lobster rice.

Porto de Santa Maria is famous for its fish baked in bread, a technique to cook a whole fish that keeps it moist and succulent. Savoring this culinary delight while enjoying the magnificent ocean view is simply unforgettable.

Porto de Santa Maria is located in Guincho, 30 km from Lisbon. You can make reservations by telephone (351 214 879 450 ) or email (reservas@portosantamaria.com). Click here for the restaurant’s web site, here for a virtual visit to the restaurant, and here for a live camera view of the beach.

Matter and spirit

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Beatriz HC Composit_
Beatriz Horta Correia, Ceramics, 2013.
Graça Peraira Coutinho Composit_
Graça Pereira Coutinho, Ceramics, 2013.

We were invited to meet two artists in a studio on the outskirts of Lisbon. We drove through the city until we turned onto a gravel road surrounded by lush vegetation. An old gate with an inscription that read Quinta de Mil Fontes (Thousand fountains farmstead) opened and we saw an ancient house designed in a mixture of styles, like an architectural compendium built out of stone.

Fountains and brooks whispered all around us as we walked to the art studio adjacent to the house. It is spacious, filled with light, decorated with a large Indian doorway and exotic furniture; the kind of place where Matisse would probably have felt at home.

The two artists were there to greet us. Graça Pereira Coutinho speaks with a contagious enthusiasm. Beatriz Horta Correia has a quiet intensity. They told us that in 2010 the S. Bernardo ceramics factory in Alcobaça was about to close. The owner, Manuel da Bernarda, decided to let artists use the factory while it was still open. So Beatriz, Graça, and four other artists began to spend their weekends at the factory. They would work late into the night, mesmerized by the power of clay, water and fire. Drawing on the knowledge of Manuel da Bernarda, they began to do highly experimental work, pushing the limits of the ceramics technology. They mixed porcelain paste with paper, cloth, and other materials. They cooked the pieces at temperatures so high they almost melted.

The results are poetic, ethereal works with edges so thin, so full of light they do not seem to belong in this world. These pieces found success and acclaim in the world market. As a result, the factory remains open, producing ceramic art instead of tableware.

Graça and Beatriz accomplish a remarkable feat with their ceramic work: they meld the heaviness of matter with the lightness of spirit.

 

Click here to see Graça Pereira Coutinho’s web site and here to see Beatriz Horta Correia’s website. 

 

Heaven in Lisbon

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We dreamed we had died and gone to heaven. And heaven was a large pavilion sparsely furnished with long tables and bathed in white light. To our surprise, paradise was scented with the aromas of Portuguese cuisine: parsley, coriander, olive oil, garlic, codfish, and cinnamon. And there were many great chefs urging us to try their creations. We had a “pastel de massa tenra” cooked by Miguel Castro e Silva, roasted pork cooked at low temperature by Henrique Sá Pessoa, squid “pirolitos” made by Marlene Vieira, and a delicious tomato soup prepared by Alexandre Silva. We loved them all.

When we woke up, we realized we had been dreaming about a real place. The magazine Time Out Lisbon created a space in Mercado da Ribeira, one of the city’s food markets, where many of the best restaurants in Lisbon have stands. For a modest sum you can pick the food you like, pair it with some great Portuguese wine and enjoy the meal at one of the many tables. It is a heavenly way to experience the delights of Portuguese cuisine.

The place to be in Lisbon

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Palácio Valle Flôr compositF©For the price of ordinary accommodations in London or Paris, you can stay in an extraordinary palace in Lisbon. It’s all thanks to José Dias, an entrepreneur who made a fortune producing cocoa to feed Europe’s insatiable appetite for chocolate. After many years of hard work on the island of São Tomé, Dias returned to Lisbon. He received the title of Marquis of Valle Flor and began the construction of a magnificent palace.

The Marquis bought land with breathtaking views of the Tagus river and hired architects to design a building with perfect proportions. He then decorated it with great refinement, commissioning elegant furniture, beautiful paintings, graceful sculptures, and radiant stained-glass windows. After its inauguration in 1915, the palace became a fashionable gathering place for the royal family, celebrities, and nobility.

With the death of the Marquis in 1932, the edifice entered a period of slow decay. To save this work of art from oblivion, Dionísio Pestana, a successful hotelier, bought the building in 1992 to convert it into a luxury hotel.

It took almost ten years to restore the edifice and equip it with modern comforts. The result is the Pestana Palace, a hotel favored by a long list of celebrities that includes Bill Clinton and Madonna. The Marquis of Valle Flor would surely love to see that his palace is, once again, the place to be in Lisbon.

The Pestana Palace is located at Rua Jau, 54, tel. 210401711 , email: guest@pestana.com. Click here for the hotel’s web site and here to see more photos of the palace.

Quinta do Monte d’Oiro

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The name of this wine estate near Lisbon means golden hill farm. It is a fitting designation because this is a place where grapes are treated like gold and wines are made with a jeweler’s precision.

The soil of the farm is similar to that of Côtes du Rhône, so José Bento dos Santos, the farm’s owner, planted the same grape varieties that thrive in that French region: Syrah and Viognier.

Graça Gonçalves, the estate’s enologist, talks about each parcel of the farm as if they are old friends. She knows their qualities and shortcomings and choses cultivation methods that help each of them thrive. We ask which is her favorite parcel and quickly realize it is an impolite question. Graça does not answer, but when she talks about parcel 24 her eyes shine more than usual. This parcel is planted with Syrah grapes that came from old vines in Côtes du Rhône. Each plant is different and it is this variety that creates the quinta’s top wines, such as the aptly named Syrah 24.

When harvest time approaches, Graça walks through the vines, taking samples to analyze in the lab, tasting the grapes, imagining the wines that will be produced. When the time is right, the grapes are picked by hand and carefully selected. There are then numerous decision to make, such as how to press the grapes and whether to stage the wine in French oak barrels or stainless steel vats. Why such meticulous care? Graça explains: “Wine is roughly 14 percent alcohol and 85 percent water, so there is only one percent for the fruits of the vine to create emotion.” It is impossible not to feel this emotion when you open a bottle of Quinta do Monte d’Oiro wine.

Click here for the Quinta do Monte d’Oiro website.