Tag: Porto

No, they don’t say gracias here.

No, they don’t say gracias here.

I hate Portugal. Both Lisbon and Porto has insufferable slopes to climb, uneven cobble pavements and narrow alleys that just killed my legs, butt and lower back.

However, this actually adds to the magic of the cities because once my muscle pain wears out (soon I hope), what’s left in my memory would be the breathtaking viewpoints from the mountains, the hospitable locals who actually speaks English, the affordable and extremely delicious food with variety, the culture and literature that nurtured the cities (Jose Saramango guys!!) and the charming yet safe neighborhoods.

I had high expectation coming here, and unlike Paris (which was voted most disappointing city), both Lisbon and Porto still managed to exceed my imagination somehow and I didn’t even visit during its best season (summer)! So here I present to you the 8 reasons why I fell in love with the underrated country of Portugal! And no, Christiano Ronaldo, you’re not making the list.

   

1)Charm: Quick historical fact, it may be obvious that Athens is the oldest capital in Europe, but did you know which city comes second? If you’re following my logic here, you’re right, it’s Lisbon!

The reason why Lisbon is so well maintained throughout the years, is because they sold their tungsten (some metal for making weapons) very smartly during WWI. They declared neutrality and worked with both the Allies and Axis in supplying metals to make weapons. Or rather, they get paid for “not supplying” metals to one side of the war and get money as well for still selling it under the table. Portugal and Switzerland were the only two countries that came out of the war richer than before. Not to mention they got a lot of gold from Brazil back in the colonial days!

   

Lisbon and Porto held quite different personalities in my opinion though nonetheless equally captivating. Lisbon is more colorful, slightly posh and with shinier tiles; really got this presence of a capital city while still keeping that quaint little Tram 28. Porto on the other hand is more of a rugged and unpolished city with authenticity carved on the stone walls and bricks.

A bit more about my tram28 experience. I was told it gets so crowded and touristy during the day you can never get a seat. Since I was jet lagged anyways, I ventured out at 7am before the sunrise to make sure I get on the empty tram and I succeeded. I held on to my day pass and waited at the first stop bubbling with excitements. When I boarded, there was an old man behind me who’s apparently local as the driver knew him. As we ride up and down the narrow slopes of Lisbon, couples that looked probably as old as the tram came on and off the tram, sharing small chats with one another.

It was a completely different experience than what I’ve expected and even though I am clearly the outsider, the local passengers attempted to include me into their daily routines by nodding and smiling at me. No other gesture or physical movement is as universally kind as a genuine smile. As I stood at the back of the tram watching objects fade out backwards outside the windows, I realized everything I saw was what I have already passed by. The thing about trams is that once started, it can only go forward and such is life as well. Nonetheless, it is always tempting and reassuring to look back once in awhile at that beautiful scenery that you’ve passed by at some point in time. May be it’s a scene so far gone that you can’t be sure if it was real or an illusion anymore, but at the end of the day, does that even matter?

2)The weather: Even though I came in their coldest months, it was still a bearable and even comfortable 5-15 degrees, at least when the wind is not blowing. My friend used to tell me, just follow where grapes flourish, and you’ll get good weather. So no surprise, Portugal made the cut as they’re well known for their Port! Fun fact: The reason why 1)Port is so sweet 2)stronger in alcohol % and 3)different from red wine is that brandy is added to kill the yeasts and stop the leftover sugar from turning into alcohol. Basically putting a halt to the fermentation process, therefore, it is the spirit that spiked up alcohol content, and the leftover sugar gives it that lovely sweetness.

3)The people: I guess it’s not politically correct to stereotype, but I think I can be forgiven for generalizing in the positive direction right? Almost everyone I’ve met here in Portugal are really polite and friendly who love their city and are open to foreigners. I was told that is because they have a history of embracing different religions and people, namely the Moors and the Jews even during the Spanish inquisition. Instead of banishing the jews, they asked them to convert to Catholicism. At least that’s the case until crisis came. That’s why you see Arabian themed rooms in the Bolsa Palace, and also the style to build tiles on houses!

4) Architecture: Need I stay more? Apparently most tiles are traditionally painted blue and white to honor their royal colors (back in the days it wasn’t Red and Green) and they are used everywhere from residential buildings to churches and the vibrant paints just make Portugal that much more special 🙂

So here’s my elevator pitch on Portugal that I’ve practiced with my fluffy friend over breakfast on a warm sunny morning:

Unlike it’s neighboring country that is notorious for theft ahem *Barcelona* ahem, I felt perfectly comfortable roaming the streets at night by myself or venturing out early in the morning just to see the streets at dawn. It is a perfect mesh of old town and urban life. Unlike other ancient cities such as in Central Europe where they have super old metro and escalators, here the airport and public transport are all so modern and well maintained. Points of interests are well within reach, typically 15-30 mins walking distance which makes it the ideal weekend getaway. But let me warn you, Portugal will definitely sneak into a special place in your heart, leaving you wanting for more 🙂

Part 2 is coming soon. 

They also say bo(n)m dia like in Barcelona though :)

Before we dive into the final 4 reasons why Portugal is the absolute best, I’d like to deviate slightly onto a more serious topic that had a massive impact on Lisbon.

There is a church in Lisbon with no roof where you can see right through the sky. It collapsed during one of most fatal earthquake ever recorded in 1755 that ruined 60% of the city. It was Nov 1st, All Saints Day when going to mass was mandatory. In the morning when every good Christian is indoor praying, the strongest earthquake of Europe history, 9 Richter scale (estimated as the system wasn’t in place back then) surprised the region and 50,000 people lost their lives.

Fire burnt for 5 days straight. Most people who survived were the “sinners” who didn’t go to church or happened to be outdoor (i.e. not at church). Since people back then were extremely religious and didn’t have our understandings of science, they must question, why would “God punish the good and spare the guilty”. It did not fit into the whole Noah’s ark bible story so this incident sparked a paradigm shift to logic and reason that perhaps god is not behind everything.

To me though, my takeaway is that if Lisbon can rise from fire and ruins and be great again, we too can certainly overcome any challenges that come in our way. Also, I still believe in the good in religion, whatever form it may be in as long as it gravitates mankind in the kind direction. Now let’s switch gear into the more lighthearted, final 4 reasons of why you should visit Portugal.

5) Literature: Even the national day of Portugal is to commemorate the death of a poet! The influence of literature runs deep in the Portuguese culture. At the very beginning, Latin is the written language and Portugese is merely a spoken dialect on the street until Camões wrote the first book in Portuguese that the people finally has a language that they can identify with!

Speaking of literature, I have grown really fond of the unique Portuguese phrase “saudade”. My local guide translated it as the presence of absence, of emptiness that is created by what is lost. There is also a high level of uncertainty involved, either never reliving the presence of what you long for, or a very slim chance of it happening. Sort of like the emotion that remains after the person or thing is gone. How beautifully melancholic is that? It is the bittersweet flip side of Love, because you can only feel saudade after you had a strong positive feeling towards that place/ person.

    

6) Food: OMG, from steak or other meat dishes to seafood, from tripe (which meant organs) to desserts, even the restaurants not on trip advisor that I just walked in were divine. My most fluent Portugese phrase is no doubt “pastel de nata”. I mean I have had those in Macau obviously, but here they bake the heart of the custard right between that luscious state of solid and liquid and I lost count of how many I’ve had after my 5th.

Anyways, since I’m not very good at describing food, I’ll just share two interesting stories about the local dish of Tripas and Francesinha. Being Chinese, I have no problem eating intestines or organs and what not (ok definitely not bunnies and dogs) but it is always good to see other cultures making the most out of our food source 🙂 Back in the days when Portugal sent all young men to fight the colonial war in Africa, the army called for all supplies from the village and the Porto people were so generous that they gave everything to the soldiers leaving only the intestines/ organs of the animals they slaughtered. That’s where this dish came from, a stew made of tripes and beans and now they also added ham and sausage as we’re no longer at war 🙂

Francesinha is another typical dish, where the locals would debate where they think has the best one and it is a tradition to eat one before their hometown football game. This is a crazy big portion of meat sandwich layering steak ham and sausage poured all over with a golden sauce that is the secret of every chef. It is slightly spicy and was supposed to induce the ladies to take their coats off back in the days 😉

7)Ridiculously good value of money: I am guilty of this having bought 2 pairs of made in Portugal leather shoes, 2 bags (at least I tried bargaining getting 10% discount at the end!), a scarf and a bracelet (that meant reborn 🙂 good quality stuff all for 160USD! Below is actually the street where I did most of my shopping; it is also the most expensive street on Portugal Monopoly 🙂 Rua Augusta.

Not only is shopping cheap, dining out can be as low as 8 Euros for a full course, transportation day passes are reasonable (6.5 Euros a day for all trams/ elevators, metros and buses!) and there are so much free stuff you can do such as the gorgeous viewpoints, gardens and churches. I would like to highlight churches because I have never seen that much Gold in my life. Even a random small chapel in the city is decorated with GOLD, we’re talking about 5-7 hundred kg of GOLD from Brazil in the major cathedrals. Just think about all the wealth Portugal is sitting on all these time!

8)Safe and friendly neighborhood: somehow several people has commented “Are you sure you’re going to Portugal alone?” as if I should know that it is dangerous to do so. Quite the contrary, it wasn’t exactly like the Nordics, but it definitely felt much safer than Paris/ Rome/ Barcelona etc. you name it. There were occasionally beggars or homeless but that’s pretty much all of Europe, at least they won’t bother you. Of course I did stay alert this time, having learnt my lessons in Barcelona, but in general I felt safe walking by myself even at night. My guess is there weren’t that many tourists here so pickpockets couldn’t make a career here.

Now that’s the end of the list from the bottom of my heart. Or as the Portuguese say “I put my heart next to my mouth” basically expressing all that I loved about Portugal. In case I did a poor job and you still need more reasons to visit… well I hope you’re a Harry Potter fan because 😉 JK Rowling was teaching English in Porto when she wrote the first Harry Potter book! Majestic Cafe is where she wrote most of it. Rumors had it that the bookstore and Sirius Black’s house were all inspired here 🙂