Saturday, September 28, 2024
Nancy and John had arranged this morning’s activity before our departure from the U.S., a food tour of Libson organized by Devour Tours. We were eager to participate by walking around several Lisbon neighborhoods and sampling victuals at seven local family-owned eateries while also devouring a bit of Lisbon’s culture and history.
In anticipation of the forthcoming culinary samples, I saved my appetite and went light on Dom Pedro’s breakfast buffet. Afterwards, our group of four Bolted to Fig Tree Plaza (Praca da Figueira) featuring a statue of King John I (Dom Joao I) atop his horse. Helene, our guide, and her 10 enlisted devourers mustered near the mounted king and together walked (sans king and horse) a few blocks to our first stop.
—— Fig Tree Plaza and Surrounds ——
National Confectionary (Confeitaria Nacional) was founded in 1829 and continues to serve sweets made from traditional 19th century recipes. The interior provided a unique ambience for our tasting with a mirrored ceiling and beautiful wood and marble decor. We gathered around a table and, while Helene described the history of the confectionary, we were served coffee and two types of pastries, one similiar to a large creme-filled doughnut and the other cake-like with a powdered sugar topping. Both were scrumptuous.
—— National Confectionery ——
Next, we visited one of the oldest traditional grocery stores in the city, Manteigaria Silva. This store opened in 1890, and is divided into two sections, the balcalhoaria selling salted cod and the manteigaria selling fresh dairy products. The meat-eaters of our group sampled acorn-fed Iberian ham.
—— Manteigaria Silva ——
Before our next devourment, we stopped in front of the Church of Santo Domingo (Igreja de São Domingos). Helene’s flock gathered around her in the plaza as she related some of this church’s history; it has been a victim of two natural catastrophes, the earthquake of 1755 and a fire in 1959. Much of the interior was never restored after the fire and when we entered the church, we witnessed scorched pillars and walls. Also, a baneful human-caused disaster occured at this location in 1506, a massacre of people accused of secretly being Jewish even after they had been forced to convert to Christianity. A memorial to the Jewish victims stands outside the church in the square.
—— Church of Santo Domingo ——
Helene then led us across the square to Ginjinha sem Rival (Ginjinha without Rival).We waited outside the tiny bar (established in 1890) while Helene went inside to retrieve our ginjinha accompanied by samples of cheese and thinly sliced ham. Ginjinha is a sweetish liqueur made from sour cherries. Ours was served in small glasses with a sour cherry in the bottom. It was tasty and paired well with the cheese served. Although we didn’t sample it, this bar also sells a proprietary liqueur, Eduardino, made from herbs, fruit, and anise.
—— Our Ginjinha Stop ——
After our ginjinha sampling, we walked to our next venue. Along the way we passed the National Theater (Teatro Nacional D. Maria II) and the Archealogical Museum (Arquedolocico do Carmo), then ambled downhill along a narrow street with a peek at the Tagus River before arriving.
—— Rambling around Lisbon ——
O Trevo is a popular bustling restaurant known for serving affordable authentic Portuguese cuisine. Our group was seated at various rather stark tables that matched the no-frills ambience. The carnivores were served the restaurant’s famous bifina sandwiches (marinated pork on a soft bun) while the pescatarians received delicious fish cakes. All left satisfied as Anthony Bourdain apparently had before us.
—— O Trevo ——
We continued our downhill stroll toward the river passing along Pink Street. With colorful umbrellas overhead, this street is a center of Lisbon’s nightlife. A few blocks past Pink Street, we arrived at our lunch spot.
—— More Lisbon Rambling ——
O Solar do Kadete is another traditional-cruisine-serving restaurant. Our group was seated outside at a long table under a canopy. The wait staff brought our lunch and drinks: a seafood stew, grouper, rice, meat croquettes, homemade potato chips and white or red wine. All was enjoyable and the group left satisfied with full bellies.
—— Lunch at O Solar do Kadete ——
After lunch, Helene led us to a local Angolian-operated codfish grocery store (Casa do Bacalhau da Ribeira) that specialized in canned fish, a staple of Portuguese cuisine. We marvelled at the variety and colorfulness of the tins on display. Fortunately for our stuffed stomaches, we weren’t asked to eat anything here. Instead, Helene offered to buy each couple a can (worth 4.50 euro) of their choosing. There were many interesting choices, but Jane opted for a conventional can of sardines in olive oil.
—— Canned Fish Shopping ——
Our final stop was Manteigaria where we devoured their famous custard tarts, pasteis de nata. After enjoying the rich creamy pastries, we said good-bye to Helene and our fellow devourers and were free to explore Lisbon on our own.
—— Enjoying Custard Tarts at Manteigaria ——
We were close to the Time Out Market so that the four of us decided to investigate. This turned out to be a large food hall with lots of restaurants and bars but also included a cooking school and a venue for musical performances. The place was super crowded and loud. Because Jane and I don’t like crowds and had just finished engorging ourselves, we exited the business and walked down a peaceful arcade before reconnecting with Nancy and John who had chosen to endure the entire market.
—— Time Out Market ——
We were only a few blocks from the Tagus River and so took a nice stroll along the waterfront. Locals and other tourists were also relaxing and enjoying the nice weather. Along the way, we passed by some colorful cairn-creatures and some amazing sand sculptures. Eventually, we turned away from the river and passed through the large Commerce Plaza (Praca do Comercio) and headed uphill.
—— Waterfront Stroll ——
We weren’t on our ascent long before Nancy & Jane wanted to duck into Montado, an up-scale cork products store. It was an interesting store, but still Jane departed lacking a new purse. After continuing our climb for awhile, we were drawn to a small plaza where a crowd was listening to live traditional music. We listened to quite a few tunes; although we didn’t understand the Portuguese lyrics, the audience seem to be quite familiar with them.
We then moved on and found our way back to Ginjinha sem Rival where Jane purchased a bottle for us. John bought a bottle of ginjinha from one of several rival shops of Ginjinha without Rival. We then walked back to Fig Tree Plaza where the food tour had started and hailed a Bolt ride back to the hotel.
—— Montado Cork Store and Live Traditional Music ——
In our hotel room, we rested our cobblestone-weary feet for awhile then at 6:15 went downstairs (via elevator) to attend the welcome reception for the Smithsonian Journey tour, “Portrait of Portugal: Lisbon, Porto, and Cruising the Douro River.” We mingled with our 40+ co-tourists while enjoying wine and hors d’ouvers. We were welcomed by our Cuban American travel director, Allan Siegelbaum and our trip’s expert, Erik Gustafson, whose specialty is European architectural history. After more mingling and a wine nightcap, we headed back to our rooms to rest up for the commencement of tomorrow’s organized tour.