Places to visit

Time travel

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A vida Portuguesa

Physicists think that traveling to the past is impossible, but Catarina Portas, a Portuguese entrepreneur, proved them wrong. Through painstaking work, she brought back to life many Portuguese products and brands that had disappeared: beautiful baskets, blankets, ceramics, glassware, pottery, toys, and much more. In her wonderful stores we can be archeologists without dealing with dust and visit the past without giving up our smartphone.

Catarina Porta’s stores are called A Vida Portuguesa (the Portuguese life). There are two in Lisbon, one in Chiado (Rua Anchieta, 11, tel.  213-465-073) and the other in Intendente (Largo do Intendente Pina Manique, 23, tel.  211-974-512). There is also one store in Oporto (Rua Galeria de Paris, 20, tel. 222-0220105). Click here for A Vida Portuguesa’s web site. 

The best “pastel de nata” in Lisbon?

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Pastelaria Aloma, a pastry store in the Campo d’Ourique neighborhood, became famous after winning the competition for the best “pastel de nata” in Lisbon in 2012 and 2013. With so many pastry stores and coffee shops vying for this honor, it is a remarkable achievement.

We set out to investigate, on behalf of our readers, whether Aloma’s pastries are indeed a cut above the rest. Our first two visits were in the afternoon and, by the time we arrived, they had run out of pastries! Why don’t they make more? Were they told by a business guru to use scarcity as a marketing tool?

Our third visit was in the morning. We were so eager to try these little pastries that we ate the first pastel very quickly. By the time we noticed the taste, all that was left was a happy hint of lemony sweetness.

We asked for a second specimen. This time we used a scientific approach, taking small bytes and writing detailed notes. Yes, the dough has the perfect crustiness, flakiness, and flavor. Yes, the sweetness of the filling is perfectly balanced by the taste of lemon and the sprinkle of cinnamon.

It was only when we ordered a third pastel that we realized that these pastries have a major flaw: it is hard to stop eating them!

Pastelaria Aloma is located on Rua Francisco Metrass, 67, Lisbon, tel. 21-396-3797.

A magical hotel

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The new Memmo Alfama hotel in Lisbon is like Ali Baba’s cave. It is located off the beaten path, on a secluded alley in the ancient Alfama neighborhood. And from the simple exterior, it is impossible to guess what’s inside.

When the doors open, you find an elegant space, decorated with great attention to detail. But the real surprise is the spacious terrace with an astonishing view of Lisbon. The Tagus river, the pantheon, the roofs of Alfama, all these treasures are there for the taking.

Memmo Alfama is a magical hotel that will welcome you, even if you forget to say “open sesame.”

Memmo Alfama is at Travessa das Merceeiras, 27, Lisbon, tel 210 495 660, email alfama@memmohotels.com. Click here for the hotel’s web site.

What is Fado?

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Lisboa_890Guitarra PortuguesaFado is a mystery, said the great singer Amália Rodrigues. This musical style emerged in Lisbon’s old neighborhoods in the 19th century. Its unique character comes from the Portuguese guitar, a twelve-string instrument with a haunting, melancholic sound. No one knows who invented it.

Female singers dress in black, as if they are in mourning. When their voices soar, they express ancient sorrows that don’t fit in the 12-tone scale of western music. So, they reach for the microtones of old Arab prayers. How do they remember these sounds?

Fado is Amália Rodrigues, a singer who could express the inexpressible. When she died, in the last year of the 20th century, fado seemed to die with her. But singers like Carminho and Mariza picked up where Amalia left of, singing with voices that have one thousand trills. Where did they learn them?

You can hear Amalia Rodrigues here. Click here and here for Carminho’s and Mariza’s web sites.

Smart dining

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Raposo

Do you want to know a secret?  Do you promise not to tell? Raposo, a neighborhood restaurant in Lisbon, serves wonderful food for a modest price. They use the freshest ingredients prepared with no shortcuts and offer a wine list that perfectly complements the flavors of Portuguese cuisine. You can dine on delicious prosciutto, fragrant clams, cuttlefish with ink, fish rice with monk fish liver, and many other delicacies.

Raposo means fox, an animal with a reputation for being smart. A female fox is the hero of the popular book “The Romance of the Fox,” written by author Aquilino Ribeiro in 1924 as a Christmas gift for his son. It chronicles the adventures of a fox who always ends up feeling happy with her choices. And that’s very much how we feel dining at Raposo.

Raposo is on Rua Passos Manuel, 60, Lisbon, tel. 21-353-1059. It closes on Sundays.

Sea life in Lisbon

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Oceanarium

If you’re visiting Lisbon with kids, don’t forget to go to the Oceanarium. It is a beautiful aquarium where you can see up close the wonders of the sea. You’ll find a large sample of marine sea life: scary sharks, elegant manta rays, cute penguins, fragile sea horses, and much more.

The Oceanarium is located in the Park of Nations, a large public park by the river, in the north of the city. The best way to get there is to take the subway. You’ll arrive at the most elegant subway station in Lisbon, a light, airy structure designed by Santiago Calatrava, an architect who often turns to sea life for inspiration.

The Oceanarium is open every day except for New Year’s and Christmas. Click here for more information.

Belcanto’s philosophy

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Georg Friedrich Hegel described the evolution of human ideas as involving a thesis, followed by an antithesis, and then by a synthesis that reconciles the two. Believe it or not, these concepts are useful to explain the cuisine of Belcanto, a fantastic Lisbon restaurant owned by chef José Avillez.

The modernist cuisine of restaurants like elBulli is the antithesis of traditional Portuguese cooking. Avillez combines the two in a delicious synthesis that is both familiar and surprising. He serves olives bursting with flavor, golden eggs, seafood immersed in the smell of the sea, manta rays transformed into Pollock paintings.

The Michelin inspectors were so impressed with Avillez’s culinary dialectic that they awarded Belcanto a star. We suspect Hegel would agree.

Belcanto is located at Largo do São Carlos in Lisbon, tel. 21-342-0607.

A window over Lisbon

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WindowLisbonIt’s very easy to have fun in Lisbon. But, to have an unforgettable vacation, you have to make this city your own. All it takes is a little effort: choose a window and write a story about it. Suddenly, Lisbon will be more than just another tourist destination. It will become your city, a place where you have a window.

The photo shows our window. Our story is about a couple that can live anywhere in the world, for their talents are many. He and she came to Lisbon for a short stay and rented this apartment in the Campo d’Ourique neighborhood.

One late afternoon, they were enjoying the view of the Tagus river, when he said: I think we should move to Lisbon; this place should be our home. She smiled tenderly at his impractical idea. Then, she noticed that his eyes had the same color as the Tagus river. And, from that day on, she called him river.

She began to notice the same blue color everywhere, in the ancient tiles, in the hydrangeas sold by florists, in the old pottery on the windows of antique shops. And she began to wonder. Isn’t blue the color of heaven? Can you keep a river from flowing to the sea?

In the footsteps of the angels

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If you keep a list of ideas for fun activities, we would like to suggest a new entry: visiting a port-wine cellar.

Port wine is made in the Douro region where Summers can be very hot. So, the wine is shipped to Vila Nova de Gaia, a town adjacent to Oporto, to be stored away from the heat. There, the wine is kept in dark, cool cellars until it trades the brashness of youth for the refinement that comes with maturity.

Most port-wine houses offer tours of their cellars. The tour guides teach you to distinguish between tawny, ruby, late-bottled vintage, and vintage port. They also regale you with interesting stories and facts about port-wine production. You’ll learn, for example, that the “share of the angels” is the fraction of the wine stored that is lost to evaporation. At the end of the tour you are invited to a port-wine tasting, so you’ll also get a share of this precious nectar.

Sandman’s and Taylor’s are two of the most popular cellars to visit. Click here and here for information about their tours.