Lisboa- Part 1

One Long Weekend.
Two Flights.
Three friends.
Four Seasons Hotel.
Five star accommodation.

And that my friends, in a nutshell, was my fabulous birthday weekend. A few months prior, I was joking around with my friend Roseni whom is Brazilian and works at the Georges V, Four Seasons hotel in Paris. I said jokingly one day, "Hey Roseni, wouldn't it be cool if you, Isabelle, and I go to Lisbon in October- you get free accommodation for 3, it is a long weekend (Thanksgiving), my it's my birthday weekend, you speak Portuguese, and not one of us has been to Portugal." Isabelle comes up to me a few days later at work and says, well, Roseni has booked us in for the Ritz Four Seasons in Lisbon for the long weekend... I was like WHHHHATTTTT?!?!?!? I WAS JUST JOKING!!!!!! But apparently Roseni took it serious!!! So we quickly checked online and booked some cheap tickets. Ohhhh wow :)

We flew out the Friday night right after work and arrived no problem... it was a bit rainy so we took the cab to the hotel which wasn't too far... our crazy speedy driver dropped stopped the car 15 minutes later and we had our doors opened for us by the concierge at the hotel... woowww!!! (There will be an entire separate blog post on the Ritz itself).

We got settled into our room, explored our mini kingdom, took pics, and then decided to take advantage of the bar area of the hotel... Iz and Roseni ordered a beer and I ordered a fruit juice mix was happened to come up to 10 euros.. lol, a little pricey- but it was well worth it just to have the olives, chippies, and salted nuts to snack on!!! The olives were divine.


I slept like a baby in my single bed that night, the pillows were incredibly welcoming!!!!

The next morning- we were off to explore the beautiful city of Lisbon.

Honestly, when we started the day, having walked a down only a few streets, I had already felt the feeling that Lisbon is a city that I need to return to... I felt such an intriguing vibe through this city that I had known already that this was my first, but not my last trip.

I felt like an explorer walking through the streets of Lisbon... we had a map, and did make use of it some of the time, but for the most part, we walked along and went to where the streets took us... as I have said in prior posts... I love getting lost in new cities!!! For a really neat history lesson on Portuguese explorers... please visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Empire

The Portuguese Empire (Portuguese: Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire (Ultramar Português) or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (Império Colonial Português), was the first global empire in history.^{[1] [2][3]}In addition, it was the longest-lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost six centuries, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau in 1999.

I know the Portuguese have left a large mark in Brazil, but it was amazing how much I felt like I was in South America... you will see a picture shortly which made me feel like I was transported (to all those Trekkie fans hehe) to Peru (having been there in May 2009).


Along the main street from our hotel to downtown- there was a serene garden with a statue... so we took a few pics of this tropical masterpiece in the middle of the boulevard.


We found a pair of glasses funky glasses on a mailbox so for kicks I tried them on, WOAH, they were strong... I had a mini head ache for a few minutes after hehe :) but the pic turned out fab :)
We were then on the hunt for something to eat. We wanted something authentic and cheap... and those two words go hand in hand in Lisbon when referring to food. We decided to stop for a bite just to the right of this bar, the second window.
We had snacks called rissois and pastéis de bacalhau, these snacks were typically fried pastries stuffed with all kinds of different meats and fish fillings. YUM!
AND THHEEEEE best sandwich ever, a piece of fish in a Portuguese bun. incredible.
MMmmmm... my lunch for 4.60 euros- insanely cheap and incredibly delicious.

This is the photo I took which I was speaking about in the introduction. It is obviously an ITC because it was internal, but I don't know whether it was the table setup, the ice cream cooler o the right, the advertisements for refreshments, the trees outside, the way the sun was hitting the trees, the way the men were casually chatting beside their cars.... but it was such a fabulous feeling- one which really makes me yearn to go back to South America- it is a culture I have discovered and want to discover so much more.
After a hearty Portuguese breakfast, we were off to explore, no map, no destination, just --> that way (direction ->ocean).
We explored little squares...

Passed by little fruit markets....
Took pictures of monuments...
Inside and outside...

Witnessed masses...

Witnessed weddings...
And then just explored the beautiful streets of the town:
This was the main road/shopping district

The Santa Justa Elevator built in a Gothic Revival Romantic style, and inaugurated in 1902. It has approximately 45 meters, and each of the two cabins have capacity for 45 persons, and you can enjoy a magnificent panoramic view over the city at centre at the elevator’s top. (We didn't go up it as there was a massive line every time)
The ever so famously fabulous tram... a little taste of San Francisco in Europe. Funny story to come.


My favorite fast food back home is Nando's Peri Peri Chicken which I was first introduced to in South Africa. Thankfully they have a Nando's in Vancouver- but it has been incredibly difficult living in France... as there is no Nandos. :( HAHAHAHAHAHa... I just googled nando's to give you their official site and some added info and found there is a "WE WANT NANDO'S IN FRANCE" facebook group... I just joined!!!! hehe

Sorry, back on track:

Nando's the Restaurant:

OH MY GOODNESS, not only do I love their food, but I LOVE their interactive website!!!!!!!

go to www.nandos.com and read their story from there!!!

Less fun: Wiki's info:

Nando's is a casual dining restaurant group originating from South Africa with a Portuguese/Mozambican theme. Nando's operates in 28 countries and on five continents.^[1] Nando's specializes in chicken dishes with either lemon and herb, medium, hot or extra hot Peri-Peri marinades (properly known as Galinha à Africana). In some countries, Nando's has other flavour options like mango and lime, lemon and herb, or Mediterranean. The restaurant began in 1987 when Robert Brozin and Fernando Duarte bought a restaurant called Chickenland in Rosettenville, southern Johannesburg.^[2] They renamed the restaurant Nando's after Duarte.^[3] The restuarant incorporated influences from former Portuguese colonists from Mozambique, many of whom had settled on the south-eastern side of Johannesburg, after their homeland’s independence in 1975.

Peri peri is the name used in the Portuguese language, namely in Portugal and Mozambique, to describe the African bird's-eye chili. Other English language spellings may include Pili pili in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Peri peri, deriving from the various pronunciations of the word in parts of Africa, although "Piri-piri" is the correct spelling in Portuguese.

Quiz question: What is the Scoville scale?

See answer at the end of the post....

Anyways... we passed the peppers themselves....
And were even able to find Lay's flavoured chippies... The real hunt was for the piri piri chicken...not Nando's... the even more authentic stuff.
After our exploration through the streets we decided to take a tramway out to Belém District of Lisbon... so fabulous!!!

The Hieronymites Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Portuguese pronunciation: [muʃˈtɐjɾu duʃ ʒɨˈɾɔnimuʃ]) is located in the Belém district of Lisbon, Portugal. This magnificent monastery can be considered one of the most prominent monuments in Lisbon and is certainly one of the most successful achievements of the Manueline style (Portuguese late-Gothic). In 1983, it was classified by the UNESCO, with nearby Belém Tower, as a World Heritage Site.

Another one of the many great sights was the

Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Portuguese pronunciation: [pɐˈdɾɐ̃w̃ duʃ dɨʃkubɾiˈmẽtuʃ]; lit. Monument to the Discoveries) is a monument that celebrates the Portuguese who took part in the Age of Discovery, or the Age of Exploration, of the 15th and 16th centuries. It is located on the estuary of the Tagus river in the Belém parish of Lisbon, Portugal, where ships departed to their often unknown destinations.

The monument consists of a 52 metre-high slab of concrete, carved into the shape of the prow of a ship. The side that faces away from the river features a carved sword stretching the full height of the monument. It was conceived by Portuguese artists, architect Cottinelli Telmo and sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida as a temporary beacon of the Portuguese World Fair in 1940. The Monument to the Discoveries represents a romantic idealisation of the Portuguese past that was typical during the regime of Salazar.

Ouch, sun in my eyes, way too bright...

The 33 featured Portuguese personalities are:^[1]

• Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra (son of King John I of Portugal)
• Queen Philippa of Lancaster
• Fernão Mendes Pinto (explorer and writer)
• Friar Gonçalo de Carvalho
• Friar Henrique Carvalho
• Luís de Camões (renaissance poet who celebrated the navigations in the epic Lusiads)
• Nuno Gonçalves (painter)
• Gomes Eanes de Zurara (chronicler)
• Pêro da Covilhã (traveller)
• Jácome de Maiorca (cosmographer)
• Pedro Escobar (navigator)
• Pedro Nunes (mathematician)
• Pêro de Alenquer (navigator)
• Gil Eanes (navigator)
• João Gonçalves Zarco (navigator)
• Infante Fernando, the Saint Prince (son of King John I of Portugal)
• Henry the Navigator (sponsor of the Age of Discovery)
• Afonso V of Portugal
• Vasco da Gama (discoverer of the sea route to India)
• Afonso Gonçalves Baldaia (navigator)
• Pedro Álvares Cabral (discoverer of Brazil)
• Ferdinand Magellan (first to circumnavigate the globe)
• Nicolau Coelho (navigator)
• Gaspar Corte-Real (navigator)
• Martim Afonso de Sousa (navigator)
• João de Barros (writer)
• Estêvão da Gama (sea captain)
• Bartolomeu Dias (first to cross over the Cape of Good Hope)
• Diogo Cão (first to arrive to the Congo river)
• António Abreu (navigator)
• Afonso de Albuquerque (second viceroy of Portuguese India)
• Saint Francis Xavier (missionary)
• Cristóvão da Gama (captain)

They forgot to attach the 34th explorer to the statue... Farida Reid (traveller)...

The pavement in front of the monument features a mosaic decoration showing a world map with the routes of various Portuguese explorers and a wind rose. The mosaic was a gift from South Africa in 1960.

Here I am standing on Vancouver!!!
And Roseni pointing to her homeland of Brazil
Further down the way... there's me!
And Roseni with the instrument she longs to have one day...
And even further down the walkway we were graced with the presence of:

Belém Tower (in Portuguese Torre de Belém, pronounced [ˈtoʁ(ɨ) dɨ bɨˈlɐ̃ȷ̃]) or the Tower of St Vincent^[1] is a fortified tower located in the Belém district of Lisbon, Portugal. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site (along with the nearby Jerónimos Monastery)^[2] because of the significant role it played in the Portuguese maritime discoveries of the era of the Age of Discoveries.^[3] The tower was commissioned by King John II^[4] to be both part of a defense system at the mouth of the Tagus River and a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon.^[3]

The tower was built in the early 16th century and is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style,^[5] but it also incorporates hints of other architectural styles.^[6] The structure was built from lioz limestone^[7] and is composed of a bastion and the 30 meter (100 foot),^[1] four story tower. It has incorrectly been stated that the tower was built in the middle of the Tagus and now sits near the shore because the river was redirected after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In fact, the tower was built on a small island in the Tagus River near the Lisbon shore.^[6][8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bel%C3%A9m_Tower

It was so funny, we spent a good 20 minutes people watching as people tried getting to and from the tower... the tide was in that day... hehe I think I took a video!

Then a little more further down we stumbled upon some Aviation Academy I think...




Not only was the food good, prices cheap, city amazing, the males were.... well... look at the expression on my face. These were not the only 2... Must be something in the pastries...
Their ever so famous: Pasteis de Nata:




I thought I would let your mouth water and let you indulge in this ITC a little bit before I give you the history of this divine creation:

A pastel de nata (Portuguese pronunciation: [pɐʃˈtɛɫ dɨ ˈnatɐ]; plural: pastéis de nata), or pastel de Belém ([pɐʃˈtɛɫ dɨ bɨˈlɐ̃ȷ̃]; plural: pastéis de Belém) is a Portuguese egg tart pastry. They are common in Portugal, the Lusosphere — Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, Timor-Leste, Goa, and Macau — and countries with significant Portuguese populations, such as Canada, Australia, Luxembourg, the United States, and France, among others.

History

It is believed that pastéis de natas was created before the 18th century by Catholic nuns at the Jerónimos Monastery^[1] (Portuguese: Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) of Belém, in Lisbon.^[2] The Casa Pastéis de Belém in Lisbon was the first place outside the convent selling the original creamy dessert, after the monastery was closed in 1820s, and there they are called pastéis de Belém, after the name of the area and its famous bakery. Since 1837, locals have gone there to get them warm out of the oven and sprinkled with the cinnamon and powdered sugar. These are very popular, with tourists literally waiting hours for them.^{[citation needed]}

The recipe has, over generations, received some alteration by various pastelarias (cake shops) and padarias (bakeries) throughout Portugal. One of these methods includes making the custard in a bain-marie (a bowl over boiling water) rather than combining all the ingredients at once in a saucepan, although some prefer the cream slightly "curdled" to give it a rustic appearance and an unusual texture.

It was the confection chosen to represent Portugal in the Café Europe initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, on Europe Day 2006.

It has since become available at numerous bakeries and Macau-style restaurants as well as Hong Kong and Mainland China branches of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain. Portuguese-style egg tarts became popular in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in the late 1990s, popularized by franchises such as Lord Stow's bakery.[1]

(Thank you for the suggestion Ms. Almeida!!!)
We indulged in those pastries after having a fabulous fish lunch at a wee little local restaurant. After that, we were caught in a terrential rain storm which got us drenched just walking the street from the pastry shop to the bus stop. But it was fine, we ended up getting off at a random stop in town and mosied our way back to the hotel- through randomly fantastic streets.
All in all, it was a very successful day!!!!!!!!!!

Quiz Answer: The Scoville scale is a measurement of the spicy heat (or piquance) of a chili pepper. Some varieties of piri piri measure up to 175,000 Scoville Heat Units.

So next time you're at the supermarket, feel free to ask the produce boy what the Scoville scale measurement is of a certain pepper you're thinking about buying. Don't forget to share your responses with me :)