Country #61: I'm on a Portuguese Roll...

Last post, I bragged about reaching the 60 country milestone. A scant 9 days later I got a chance to visit Lisbon, Portugal (a charter member of the "been there but don't really remember a thing" club of countries and now a proud #61). As with Switzerland, it was a short visit, but learning from my mistakes, I did things a bit differently. For one, I did one of my favorite things to do in a new city. I joined an organized walking tour, led by a guide from Inside Lisbon Walks, who not only was able to share with us the history of this lovely city, but who also possessed a truly enviable sense of direction.

It's amazing how much time you can save when you do not have to stop every couple of blocks to pull out a map, argue about who is holding said map upside down or grumble in frustration as you try to refold the infernal thing. Having an actual live guide, as opposed to a book tour, also comes in handy when you have any questions about what you are seeing, hearing or in some cases, tasting (Ginjinha comes to mind). I can't stress enough how much I enjoy good walking tours (almost as much as I hate coach tours, but more on that some other day).

This particular tour began at Rossio Square (the wide open plaza pictured above). The square is actually build on reclaimed land, with the river still flowing underneath. To celebrate this, the ubiquitous black and white paving stones found all over Lisbon here form a wavy pattern representative of flowing water.

From the Square, it is only a short walk to Santa Justa's elevator, a Gothic tower built in the early 20th century, which serves as both a great look-out point to appreciate the layout of the city and as a means to get to the upper areas of town without having to climb many, many, many little steps. From the looks of my fellow elevator riders, I suspect that Sta. Justa was the patron saint of smokers and lazy travellers everywhere. Glory be to her. The elevator ride took us to the area of Bairro Alto, with its winding cobble stoned streets, tiny shops and promise of really great nightlife, which due to our short stay we would not have a chance to appreciate. All along the way, we were all enchanted by the many buildings possessing facades lovingly adorned with hand painted tiles.

It is a beautiful tradition retained from the Moors, one which had me constantly falling behind from the group, as I photographed building after building. After much wandering through the different neighborhoods and a ride on a brightly painted yellow tram, we were at the highlight of the tour, the area known as the Alfama. This village within a city, as our guide so aptly put it, is where we really had a chance to appreciate her navigational abilities.

The Alfama is a medieval labyrinth of tiny streets, still inaccessible to cars, where the residents hang out on their stoops, laundry hangs from wrought iron balconies and delicious smells waft from tiny kitchens. The neighborhood is absolutely charming and quirky while still maintaining its rough edges.

In other words, if the Alfama was a guy, I would be trying to date it ( or at least set it up with one of my funky friends). Left on my own, I am certain I would immediately have gotten lost here, although I don't think I would have minded too much. We finished off the tour by visiting the Se Cathedral and stopping into a little tiny bar which had a grand total of one drink on its menu.

The drink, called Ginjinha, is a liquor made from slightly bitter berries which is served in a shot glass and is said to possess medicinal properties. People from all walks of life stop in for their daily dose, and since it seemed to be working so well for them, I opted to join them. It was very tasty, a fact that made me skeptical about it actually being good for you. But good or not, it made for a nice ending to a great, stress-free walking tour, a tour which left me wanting to return to #61 as soon as possible...