Last day in Lisboa

 

Last day in Lisbon, we took a cab down to the riverfront, to see the Mercado da Ribeira 

Time Out's design market with a vast open market and food hall below and a workspace area above.

I loved that it features stalls where you can buy easy street-food from Portugal's best chefs like Henrique Sá Pessoa and Miguel Laffan (whose food we'd eaten at L'and in the Alentejo).

Lisbon's best food and wines are all available at low prices in one space, with big refectory tables to eat at.

as well as artesanal shops like A Vida Portuguesa and others.

We had Sá Pessoa's fancy version of fish and chips with squid (lulas fritas, a childhood favourite of mine) and a nice glass of cold wine.

Afterwards we walked all the way up to the top of Calçada da Gloria, the funicular that connects the high quarter with the Baixa

We decided not to take the tram but walk down, watching it pass by ...

Down in the Baixa there were plenty of colourful Tuk-tuks happy to transport tourists 

But we walked instead, all the way up the beautiful tree-lined, cobble-stoned Avenida da Liberdade ...

We didn't shop here at the designer stores, but instead at an old Spanish favourite, Purificación García!

After an afternoon at the pool in Memmo, it was back up to the Bairro Alto where traffic was heavy down to the river at sunset ...

 

In the Rua Nova da Trinidade we had dinner at yet another of José Avillez's restaurants, at this point hopelessly enamoured by his food - the Páteo 

Atypically Lisboeta indeed - we agreed that Avillez's gift is that he takes traditional Portuguese staples and turns them into something miraculously light, fresh and modern while staying true to their essence and the sense of nostalgia they bring.

At the table next door a Portuguese child was learning young to enjoy good food

We loved the decor at Pateo - a nod to the traditions and culture of the Bairro, like the windows typically seen in the tiny homes of Bairro Alto, artefacts and chalk signs (volto já - back soon)

and the old post boxes under the windows ...

After dinner we walked through the Bairro and stopped for a drink at The Old Pharmacy in Rua Diário de Notícias where the eponymous newspaper began in the 1800s

and then on to By The Wine in Rua das Flores, José Maria Fonseca's bar in Misericórdia

Late night by now, the street restaurants of Bairro Alto were still packed with diners

Lisbon, Portugal

Day 14, Iberian road trip, June 2017

A day of comida Portuguesa

 

Descending in the tram from Memmo in the morning, the Sé was in bright sunshine, and the heat already high ...

... and the views like this ...

Up in the Bairro Alto, after exploring bookshops, we had a welcome cold beer in the rooftop bar of the Bairro Alto hotel where they were spraying guests with fine mists of cold water and serving ice-cold drinks. These views over the Tejo make this bar one of the best little spots in the city ...

From here it was a 5 minute walk to José Avillez's Bairro de Avillez for lunch, and what a treat that was ...

Sitting under the huge tiled mural with excellent and friendly service, we had corn-bread, charcuterie and cheese with a good Alvarinho 

then tuna steak with grilled polenta

 

While we ate we entertained ourselves watching the preparation in the open kitchen in front of us ...

After lunch, walking back through the Bairro Alto ...

... we passed rival restaurant Cevicheria and peeped in inquisitively to catch a glimpse of the food and decor. These two sweet waiters immediately offered to jump into my photograph underneath the giant hanging octopus and we promised them we'd return another day for lunch.

In next-door Principe Real it was a relief to enter the cool interior of Embaixada, the palace that's been transformed into an outlet for small independent Portuguese designers and creators.

We wandered round the open-plan of small open-plan shops connected by this huge central staircase with painted murals  - 19th century traditional Portuguese architecture mixed with Moorish style. 

On the way back to Memmo, close to the pretty square with the bust of actor Augusto Rosa ...

and more jarringly, located right opposite the Sé cathedral, we passed the Aljube Museum of Resistance and Freedom. Located in the former, notorious Aljube prison where dissidents were tortured and incarcerated under the dictatorship.

Then it was back to Memmo for a couple of hours of air conditioning and a swim, with these views over the rooftops of Alfama ...

In the evening we walked back down through the Baixa ...

with the last of the sun on the Arco da Augusta 

to yet another of José Avillez's gems, the tiny Pizzaria Lisboa for pasta and the best mousse de chocolate of my life (so sublime I totally forgot to take a picture)

Finally passing the golden lit-up Sé once again at the foot of the steep climb back up to Alfama, this time by taxi, after a long day of walking.

Lisbon, Portugal

Day 13, Iberian road trip, June 2017