Today we walked through the Alfama district, starting from Pra\u00e7a do Com\u00e9rcio.
Our first stop was the S\u00e9, which is the word for the main cathedral of a city. From there, we walked uphill to the viewpoints of Miradouro Luzia and Miradouro Portas do Sol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From there, we were heading into new territory for us. We found the little restaurant Augusto on a tiny side street where there was a short line waiting for their wonderful brunch. We walked to the Pantheon (Pante\u00e3o Nacional in Portuguese) with its huge dome and vertigo-inducing balconies inside. We enjoyed magnificent views from the roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We continued on to the Museu de Azulejos (Tile Museum). Portugal is famous for its extensive use of painted and patterned tiles in all kinds of public art. There is a tile mural on the upper floor – a panoramic view of Lisboa before the 1755 earthquake. It is quite a treasure and a great historical document. We could recognize a few familiar landmarks in the historic landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We found the Bordalo II Monkey on the next block in a yard that looked like a workshop for creating more recycled sculptures. We have been captivated by these huge sculptures, sometimes standalone and sometimes built on the side of buildings. All are animals, some endangered. The artist Bordalo II builds them of recycled junk. https:\/\/www.bordaloii.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We took a bus back to Pra\u00e7a da Figueira, next to Rossio Square. There was a fair going one with crafts and plenty of stalls with food and drink. We spent some time there as we waited until 8pm for our reservation at Adega Machado, a fado restaurant in Bairro Alto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It turned out that Colette Travel brought a big tour to Adega Machado that evening. We were one of only two parties not part of the tour. The fado and our multi-course tasting menu was very good. I think our food was better than the tour group’s menu. There were several fado singers with three musicians playing Portuguese guitar, Spanish guitar, and bass guitar. Three women and one man sang, but the best happened after the tour group left. An older fado singer arrived and she sang a fabulous set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n