Portugal - Day 2 - Lisbon

 April 14

Our day started with a four hour walking tour.

Rossio Square
The Start of Our Walking Tour

The streets/sidewalks are cobblestone or limestone and wildly uneven. But Rossio Square is smooth and flat. The waves are an optical illusion.

The history of Dom João da Câmara Square is dark. One side of the square is the Church of St. João da Praça. The convent and church were built in 1242. At some point the church burned down and was rebuilt. But when the rebuilt, the just put a new roof on, so you can still see the old charred walls.

When the black plague hit Lisbon in 1506, the friars decided the plague was caused by the Jews. The Jews of the area were rounded up and burned alive. Some 4000 people died that day.

Commemoration of the Murdered Jews

The Alfama is a section of Lisbon with many small windy alleys, steep hills and no cars. Residents who live there, and tourists who stay in Airbnbs, have to carry everything to up narrow cobblestone  alleyways and steps to their homes.

Alfama

The Moors lived in Portugal from 711 AD to 1189 AD and their influence in architecture and the arts is evident. Many buildings have tile walls, inside or out, that are the result of Arab influence. The Arab tiles are identical and symmetric or geometric. When the Portuguese adopted tiles in their architecture, they made pictures from different tiles.

Castelo de São Jorge (St. George Castle)  can be seen from much of Lisbon. It was built on one of Lisbon's 7 hills, and this particular hilltop has been used as a defense point from prehistory (the Celts)   through the Roman era, and then by the Arabs. The current castle was built in 4th century.

Castelo de São Jorge

Fado 

In the evening we went to a fado performance. Fado is a music unique to Portugal. UNESCO has awarded fado the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity status. It is a melancholy or fatalistic music performed in small venues, typically a bar or small restaurant. We enjoyed a dinner with wine pairings for our fado experience. Dinner reservations were 8 pm for everyone seated that night. When the performers arrived, the vocalist, one classical guitarist (6 strings) and 1 12 string guitar player, the lights dimmed, the room fell silent and everyone stopped eating to give the musicians their undivided attention. The vocalist sang without a mic from the middle of the restaurant, turning as she sang. It was beautiful, and so sad, although one song was slightly more upbeat. She did 4 numbers. The lights cam up and we returned to our meals. As a most of the restaurant was finishing dessert, a second fado performer began, this time a male singer. All 4 of his numbers were melancholy. It was a powerful experience, moving some in the restaurant to tears even though they couldn't understand the words.

No pictures or recordings we're allowed, so a picture of our dinner is all I have to show.

Laurel had croaker with razor clams over rice.

Greg had Iberian pork and cockles and corn over a polenta like base.

We decided to walk back to the hotel from the fado performance. It seemed like we descended about 1000 steps on the way. So glad we did not walk to the restaurant.