Music in Lisbon

Fado

When we think of Portuguese music, we think of Fado, the mournful songs of sea and longing, accompanied by the Portuguese 10-string guitar. Elly and I went to the Fado museum in Lisbon for an introduction. We heard recordings by a number of the greats of the Fado world. But Fado is meant to be heard live.

I really wanted to see a Fado performance in Lisbon. The travel guides make it seem an easy thing to do, and, sure enough, Fado performances were everywhere. These take place in little restaurants that charge a cover and serve expensive meals. The hitch was that we couldn't get reservations (we didn't know we would need them). Our hotel called at least four places, with two nights to choose from, and nothing was available.  So, no Fado. I guess I have to plan ahead for my next trip to Portugal.

Other Music

When I was first researching places to eat Lisbon, I came across two videos of local buskers/café musicians both playing "Stand By Me," and not particularly well. Didn't find any other songs by buskers, just "Stand By Me." I deem it Lisbon's theme song. Here is the one busker we saw in Lisbon:

 

There was better music to be heard in the streets, though, like this trio in a restaurant patio, the sound echoing around the neighbourhood. Seeing this short clip now, I realize I should have let the camera run longer -- not used to what I can get away with on Youtube.

Returning to Lisbon the second time, we went to this restaurant in hopes of having an evening of this brilliant trio, but it was a Monday, and the place only had live music on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Music in Portugal, for us, a bust.

I’ve a feeling we’re not in Alfama anymore

Oct 4 2023 

 Today we went downhill to see an upscale neighbourhood. (Okay, that’s terrible, but I can't bring myself to delete it.)

I don't know, do you?

 

We followed another self-guided walking tour à la Rick Steves (I admit it!), well, two of them back to back. Leaving the twisted Alfama that already feels familiar, we walked down towards the Baixa district, an upscale shopping area stretching from Praça do Comércio at the harbour (really the river) to the central Rossio Square.

On the way, we stopped in the Lisbon Cathedral: Romanesque, very plain, and very old. We had a look at a wooden sliver that purportedly came from the True Cross (because a cathedral needs a relic), and marvelled at the art and the artifacts, reminders of the wealth of the church. Don’t get me started. There were great views from the upper balconies. Always, great views.

The Lisbon Cathedral

The Chapter Room, where the Bishop on his throne presided over meetings

Barrel vault, round arches = Romanesque

Our walk started at Praça do Comercio and took us up the white-limestone-paved Rua Augusta, lined with classy shops and filled with — you guessed it — tourists, these ones fresh off the cruise ship. It was an urban, classic, bustling Lisbon, completely different from the “old Lisbon” we’d explored just yesterday.

The important stuff: chocolate and...

... pastries

 

We stopped into another church, the Igreja de Sao Domingos. This church was the home of the Inquisition and the scene of the massacre of thousands of Jews in 1506. It was completely destroyed then rebuilt after a major earthquake that devastated this city in 1755.  Then, in 1959 the interior was ruined by fire and the church was closed until the 1990s. The surfaces of the columns remain charred and deeply pitted, and I swear the smell of fire still hangs in the air. An American stepped in and said, loudly, “Wow!” a couple of times, until someone shushed her. I had the same reaction, internally.

The chapel in the foreground is that of Our Lady of Fatima, with two of the children she appeared to beside her. The third child was still alive when this chapel was made, so not yet in heaven with Our Lady.

The square outside holds a small memorial to the infamous day of the murders of Jews. There is no acknowledgement that I could find that this was also the site of a busy 16th Century slave market. 

We crossed Rossio Square, paved in the white limestone and black basalt cobblestones that are emblematic of Lisbon, then climbed up a bunch of staircases into the Bairro Alto and Chiado districts. We were getting tired by this time, so we grabbed a Gelato and made a beeline for our hotel. Google found the way, of course, and a long stretch of stairs offered the luxury of escalators the whole way up. Ten minutes, and we were home.

Rossio Square: it doesn't look flat, but it is.

More shots of Lisbon, before leaving for the south in the morning:

Alfama by night

Escalator to Heaven

"Your bra for free shots"

Funicular. We took the stairs.

Somewhere, there's a key for this lock

Megaburl

Kitty across the road from our 3rd-floor room

Elly and Anne in Lisbon

Arrival, Oct 2

Rick Steves and others claim that the cost of a cab from the Lisbon airport to any hotel should cost around €15, but that the airport cabbies will try to gouge arriving travellers. You need to ask the driver to use the meter, then you’ll get a fair price. My driver was having none of it. He claimed the charge was regulated, and the cost is €35. He said I was welcome to try another cab if I wanted, but I figure all these guys are in cahoots, and all I wanted after long hours of travel was to get to the hotel. It’s possible he felt bad about the overcharge, since I was obviously on to him; while he’d said he probably couldn’t get me right to the door of the Alfama Lisbon Lounge Suites, being that it’s on a narrow street on a tram route, he in fact did get me right to the door. Good driver. Maybe even worth the €35.

I had tried to get an Uber, but it required my flight number, and then didn’t recognise my flight number, so I was stuck with taking a cab. Turned out the “regulated rate” for Elly was €38, so I got a good deal, right!?

Elly was at the hotel already, as expected. Great joy and relief to see her. May the adventures begin!

The Alfama area, where we’re located, is a medieval labyrinth of cobbled lanes, with tiny plazas at practically every intersection. In each plaza is a restaurant or three. We wandered about the neighbourhood, looking for the several eateries recommended by the woman at our hotel desk. It was just before 6 pm, and we were hungry, but restaurants here, we discovered, don’t open until 7. We finally found a tapas place, where we got a beautiful salad and some sardine bruschetta, sardines being typical local fare. It was the perfect light meal, after which we had a gelato, of course, then made our way home where we both managed a good night’s sleep.

Bougainvillea and tiled building

One of many narrow lanes

 

Exploring, Oct 3

But first, a mega-breakfast

How did I ever get around without Google Maps?? Today, we needed a proper ATM in a bank, not trusting the independent ATMs situated everywhere, and Google got us there. We wanted to follow a particular self-guided walking route, and Google got us to the start of it and kept us on track. We wanted to get to a little recommended Fado place, preparing for a night out, and Google found it. We then wanted to go back to our hotel, and Google got us home. 

In the past, a paper map, some guesswork, and a lot of backtracking would have been the norm. Now, it’s easier, but I have to wonder if I don’t spend more time looking at the phone than at the surroundings I’m here to explore. I’m not alone; the only tourist I saw who wasn’t using one was asking directions from people who were.

Anyhow, today we saw the castle, but didn’t go inside (apparently an overpriced ruin with a good view, in a city full of good views). We did pay €5 to go up a bell tower for a view, oh, but we got a free bottle of fizzy water to go with it. (Or was it a free view for the price of a fizzy water?) We followed the walking tour, learned a bit of history, wandered narrow lanes, saw tourist upon tourist and tourist shop upon tourist shop. Didn't matter; it's beyond picturesque here, with many signs of local people living their lives.

Castelo de São Jorge on the hill, 25 de Abril Suspension Bridge in the dim background, a view for free

Happy tourists

Elly communing with Brugmansia, the Angel's Trumpet

Tourist and laundry

The €5 view

The narrow lanes...

... don't deter traffic

Alfama with cruise ship

It is!

The most famous trolley, that goes right under our window

Our yellow hotel: clean, simple, and right in the thick of things

 

Temperatures are in the high 20s here, blazing in the sun, but pleasant in the shade. We stopped for a non-alcoholic beer in a café in one of the many small plazas (Delicious! What’s the matter at home, that we can’t make a good non-alcoholic beer?), then a seafood salad lunch in another, serenaded by a guy playing old American pop songs.

We’re resting now, before venturing out for a better-planned meal, and maybe some Fado.