Brava, Lisboa
If you read the previous post, you know I tacked on 48 hours in Lisbon to the tail end of a week-long Ireland trip. I should have known that would merit its own entry!
Truthfully, I knew very little of Lisbon aside from glowing reviews from each of my family members over the past two years. To give you some baseline of my (lack of) knowledge: I kept reading about places to stay that had amazing river views, and wondered why no one was talking about the sea views as I zoomed in to see where the f--- this river was. Upon studying the map, I quickly learned the “sea” in the photos is in fact the estuary of the Tigus River, the longest in the Iberian Peninsula.
While consuming all the hotel recommendations from the usual round-up of travel sites (I wanted a hotel vs. Airbnb to guarantee a place to stash our bags upon our early arrival), I kept coming back to Memmo Alfama. Located at the end of a quite cobblestone square in Lisbon’s oldest neighborhood, its clean, grey-white-teak decor and sweeping views from the rooftop wine & tapas bar had me sold. And at $111 after taxes, the off-season price was right for this upscale property. Granted, this was for the smallest room category—described by one reviewer as a “shoebox with no place to put a suitcase”—however, upon arrival (early check-in accommodated!) I deduced that particular reviewer had overpacked. With both Jake and my roller carry-ons safely open on the floor, there was plenty of room to enjoy the room with its romantic slanted rooftop and dual balconies. Okay maybe “balcony” isn’t quite an accurate description, but atop steps on either side of the room were doors opening up to city, river (I know it’s a river now!), and sky views. Robes, check. Slippers, check. Rainfall shower in sleek polished concrete bathroom, check. Bright yellow, triple-ply, scented toilet paper…a check I never knew I needed.
After a necessary nap in the comfortable king-size bed (our travels started at 4 a.m. - I’m not a machine people!), we began our tour de Lisboa at the very beginning - the hotel’s rooftop, with Portuguese ham and cheese croquettes and Aperol spritzes above the red tiled roofs of the Alfama neighborhood.
Memmo Alfama rooftop wine & tapas bar
Rested, refreshed, and ready to explore the city, we turned left out of hotel and down the street, past the mossy stone walls of the twelfth-century Lisbon Cathedral, and in ten minutes found ourselves at what I now know is the Mercado da Baixa in the city-center square of Praça da Figueira. Upon initial discovery of the tented food and goods hall, I thought it to be a seasonal pop-up; I’ve since learned that it has, in fact, been the site of a market since 1855. I was way off!
Armed with two glasses of three-euro, fruit-loaded white sangria from the giant glass pitchers conveniently on display at the entrance, we took in the sights and scents of sizzling hams, sausages, and chorizos throughout the rows. At a cheese stall, the woman behind the display presented a sample…and then two more, after which I immediately bought the trio for sale in front of me. Next, a snackable five-euro charcuterie and cheese plate while Jake debated whether to buy a briefcase (he didn’t). All this on the way to dinner!
Which brings me to Ramiro, our dining destination ten minutes’ walk from the market. My mom had recommended, having visited after seeing on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, and I’m so glad she did because Lisbon’s best seafood may not have landed on my radar otherwise! There’s a digital display at the entrance where you’re assigned a number, announced over the speakers in your language of choice when it’s your turn, though there was no wait when we arrived at 5 p.m. (in between the lunch and dinner rushes when wait times can exceed an hour). The experience that awaits through those doors is no nonsense, no frills, paper-table-cloth, order-by-weight seafood glory served with efficiency and a smile. I knew we were in for a treat when the waiter set down a basket of hot bread that was just buttered, therein guaranteeing I’d eat every crumb seafood or no seafood. The oysters were gone mere seconds after appearing in front of us. Next, tiny delectable clams in the world’s best white wine garlic sauce (cue the bread)…I can still taste the parsley! To continue, we ordered four tiger prawns (not knowing how to decipher the price-per-kilo) - minutes later eight rather large halves arrived on a platter, drowning in garlic and butter in the best possible way. Did I mention the fifteen-euro bottle of Portuguese Douro Valley white wine to wash it all down? The entire feast was under $70.
With our early-bird dinner complete and the entire evening still ahead, we explored the Barrio Alto quarter, passing the Elevador de Santa Justa, one of Lisbon’s famous elevators connecting one neighborhood to another while sparing your calves. We had a second-dinner appetite to work up though, so skipped the queue and kept walking. Eventually we came to Taberna da Rua das Flores, another recommendation, and waited ten minutes for a table in the one-room, traditional tapas restaurant. The menu was written on a chalk board that the waitress carried over to each table, detailing each dish one by one. We chose a mussels dish and grilled octopus, both delicious. Making our way down to the water, I smelled the orange blossoms before I saw them - a row of trees in the center of a staircase leading to a street below, and we inhaled their sweet perfume from a bench. Even without having put much planning into this portion of our trip, the draw of Lisbon was becoming clearer by the step. We made sure to explore the Time Out Market, absolutely buzzing with patrons on a Tuesday night in March, and had a glass of port to cap off the day’s exploration.
The next morning, we played a game of “should we or shouldn’t we get out of bed in time for free breakfast” for about six minutes before deciding in the affirmative. Breakfast can (and should!) be enjoyed from the rooftop terrace; luckily Jake went downstairs to the main breakfast room to check for something and discovered free mimosas - what a find! Today’s venture was all about Alfama, the neighborhood we were staying in, so for the first time we turned right out of the hotel and explored uphill. Of course, this is Lisbon, and beautiful sights stop you in your tracks at each turn. In this instance, we had made it all but a quarter-mile before encountering the miradouro (viewpoint) at Portas do Sol, where a refreshment kiosk and bistro chairs beneath pink blossoming branches demanded a pause in our just-begun walk. I had taken with me the sketch book Memmo Alfama leaves in each room (“Let Lisbon inspire you…Make a sketch, write about something that has touched you” the cover reads), so we took turns drawing the scene before us like the two people with no place to be we were. I bought a postcard, wrote a note to my sister, googled what a Lisbon mailbox looks like, and sent it on its way. (It hasn’t arrived yet; I should have looked up how much postage is required to get to Ireland.)
We set out toward Castelo de São Jorge, the imposing hilltop castle that had been watching over us from vantage points throughout. In hindsight we probably should have paid the entry fee to explore the grounds, but instead we continued our theme of skipping the guidebook sites. Instead I enjoyed a one-euro beer, leaning on the castle walls like a photo out of my 1999 Spanish class textbook as Jake spent 1/2 hour in Portuguese tile shop heaven assembling custom masterpieces.
We continued onward, upward, downward, through alleys that led to scenic squares and stairways that opened up to sweeping vistas. In Lisbon, the surprises keep coming. Think that door doesn’t open? Oh it does, into the quiet and spectacular interiors of the thirteenth-century Convento de Nossa Senhora da Graça. Accidentally take a picture with your phone while putting it away in your purse? The photo reveals gorgeous patterns in the ground you didn’t even notice. Not sure you feel like crossing the street to explore the river banks at dark? Here’s some type of gondola depot with a bridge and city lights deceptively resembling Manhattan, until you turn around and see an eleventh-century castle lit in the distance.
Not sure how I’ve made it this far without paying tribute to the mesmerizing tiles, or azulejos, that adorn the facade of so many of Lisbon’s buildings, but they are the gift that keeps on giving. Yellow, purple, teal, orange…never have I seen the likes of this before! Such art, a visual feast. Brava Lisboa. With less than 48 hours to explore a city, you were the perfect choice. Next time, a few weeks around the country should suffice. And for now, I came home with…more than one souvenir:
I absolutely love how “remembered” is misspelled here. Actually clinched the deal for me!
P.S. Yes we went back to Ramiro for dinner the second night.
