Kellee Tracker: Day 8: Porto to Lisbon

We stopped at a nearby bakery in Porto for breakfast pastries before hitting the road for the last leg of our drive, back to Lisbon. This time, we opted to take the toll road which meant a little less local color, but compared to the winding roads and going through towns on previous legs, it shaved hours off our drive. I’d found the LDS temple was close to the airport, so we stopped by just before returning the car. It’s in a newer neighborhood that seemed quite nice, but I was surprised to see no fence around the grounds and how close it was to the street. It became a little clearer when I saw someone carrying their groceries, as locals apparently use it to cut through on foot when running errands. The roads around the airport felt chaotic, so it felt great to drop off the car.

Lisbon LDS Temple--this is practically the view from our parking spot.

Our taxi driver waited for us to check in and drop off our bags at the hotel before dropping us off at the top of Castelo de São Jorge (mercifully saving me from another hill). While we stood in line on the narrow cobblestone streets outside the grounds, our first glimpse was a splash of color, courtesy of the peacocks that wander the grounds. Inside, this was more about connecting to ancient roots than modern splendor. The site has been inhabited since at least the 2nd century BC, and it seemed like a who’s who of ancient civilizations had occupied it before the Portuguese in the 1100s: Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, and Moors. Archaeological digs and historic interpreters in medieval garb helped to highlight this history, and after climbing a few towers and walking the walls, their museum helped connect the story through the objects they’ve found over the years. Plus, it’s hard to beat the view from this hilltop!

View from Castelo de São Jorge. That bridge in the background is Lisbon's equivalent of the Golden Gate Bridge, and to the left is their giant statue of Christ.

Castelo de São Jorge--you can take a walk on the castle walls.

Archway in Castelo de São Jorge

Archeological dig in Castelo de São Jorge, revealing the centuries and civilizations who've lived there.

Artifact in the Castelo de São Jorge museum.

We started the Rick Steves walking tour from here and started making our way down the hill and towards the waterfront, stopping along the way for some incredible raspberry and passionfruit sorbets at a place called Alice. Arriving at Praça do Comércio, the town square on the waterfront, we were surprised to see bleachers being set up and the main statue fenced off. It turns out the Lisbon Marathon was that weekend, which would be exciting but we weren’t sure how this would affect our plans. Heading away from the water, we took a brief side trip to visit Sant’Anna, a tile company that’s been using the same hand-painted techniques since 1741. It was fun selecting a small tile to bring home to remind me of the gorgeous mosaics all over the country we’d seen.

Sé de Lisboa, (Lisbon Cathedral). You can get a tour of the city in those antique-style cars.

View from the Baixa neighborhood looking back to Castelo de São Jorge and Sé de Lisboa in the Alfama neighborhood.

Back on the walking tour’s route, the audio commentary helped me appreciate the change from the narrow, winding roads of the older Alfama neighborhood to the Baixa neighborhood’s wide, straight streets. It seems the norm in most places now, but the Baixa was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1755 and this approach to rebuilding (led by a guy named Pombal with a military background) was novel at the time. It’s also where I started to appreciate the stone patterns in the sidewalk, called Calçada, made of black basalt and white limestone. It was a novel and beautiful solution to all the rubble left after the earthquake. A tour stop was Confeitaria Nacional, one of the oldest pastry shops in Lisbon, and it was fun perusing all the cases for a selection of cookies and pastries to sample later.

Our next stops were more somber, including the Igreja de São Domingos church, built in 1241 but rebuilt after a fire in the 1960s, and a small monument outside the church marking the massacre of Jews there in 1506. Just up the block was Rossio train station, only built in the 1800s but in the intricate Neo-Manueline style evoking Portugal’s glory days in the 1500s. On a quiet side street just around the corner from this bustling area, we ate delicious rotisserie chicken with piri-piri sauce for dinner at a place called Bonjardim.

Rossio train station

Bonjardim's rotisserie

After dinner we walked to the nearby funicular with the lofty name Ascensor da Glória, and rode it up to Bairro Alto for the view and to stroll that neighborhood and continue the walking tour. An important stop was Manteigaria to sample their Pastel de Nata and watch how they’re made. Hot, fresh, and with an extra dash of cinnamon it was hard not to be impressed! Back at the hotel, I was delighted to discover their pool also included a sauna and a bade pool (think hot tub with different jets to target different muscles). Such a fat and happy end to the day.