Wish We Were Here: Portugal
Most visitors to Portugal go south, but we resisted the Algarve’s coast and beaches until we had acquired a young family. Even then we went reluctantly and regretfully, especially after our first encounter with Albufeira. As the children got older we started to head to the cities and into the interior of the country. What we found then, I miss now.
Leaving the southern coast to the crowds we headed one summer north into the Alto Alentejo. En route we stopped to explore the fortress of Badajoz whose stunning battlements look out over the adjacent border into Spain far below. Only a short drive further on is the city of Évora. Sited on a wide, sloping hillside, it is a joy to behold. A well-preserved Roman Temple is a short stroll from the twelfth century cathedral as well as from spacious streets divided by fountains with cafes and shops set in enticing eighteenth century buildings with colonnaded walkways below. Here I had my first taste of Pastéis de Nata, so inadequately translated into English as custard tarts.
Driving further north we savoured the sight of the expansive vineyards folded into the still remote Douro valley before crossing down into Oporto. After walking up the steeply ascending streets on the far side of the river we sampled port wines in small shipping houses resonant with long connections to Britain: Cockburn’s, Taylor’s and Graham’s. These are dangerous stopping places. Even our still young son sneakily grabbed a glass of vintage port and smiled his enjoyment. A good lunch was needed thereafter to soak up some of the damage done and we found the right restaurant on the road to Coimbra, a small and beautiful university town, the Oxbridge of Portugal.
Finally, Lisbon. We have been there so many times now. One of the great small capitals of Europe it stretches across hilltops and alongside the wide Tagus river as if a box of urban beauties had been thrown into the air and they had landed where they will. In a sense that is what happened in 1531 when the city’s ancient foundations were shaken and dispersed in a horrifying earthquake. What remains though is still magnificent. The airy castle enclave set above cobbled streets and reached by intrepid and slow-moving trams clinging to their metal tracks. The cloistered and incomparable beauties of the Jerónimos Monastery down by the river. Innumerable streets which offer so much to satisfy the palate and to please and excite the eye and the ear.
Things to do:
Visit the Gulbenkian Museum
No art lover should miss this extraordinary museum and collection. Calouste Gulbenkian, an Armenian, was briefly a British citizen but took offence at some wartime slight and settled in Portugal. Had he remained in Britain his museum might now be in London. No matter, it is worth going to Lisbon just to see it. The collection ranges from ancient and oriental Islamic art to more recent paintings and sculptures with first class examples of the work of Rembrandt, Turner, La Tour and van Dyck, to name but a few.
Spend a Day in Coimbra
This is an easily manageable as well as a delightful and lively town. Of Roman foundation the town oscillated between Christian and Moslem occupation over several hundred years. Formerly the capital of Portugal (800 years ago, that is), the university buildings are all attractive in themselves. If you visit Coimbra, you should ensure you have lunch at the Restaurante Pedro dos Leitões in Mealhada just a few miles outside the town. It is an eatery no one (other than a vegetarian) should miss. It is a temple to the suckling pig, and I have never tasted better pork nor eaten so much of it as I did then.
Listen to Fado Music
Fado music is a favourite of mine, unique to Portugal. Its origins in the rough world of the local ports; no visitor should leave Portugal without having heard a sample. The place to do this is in Lisbon. There are quite a number of Fado restaurants, though often the food is indifferent and it might be better to arrive late in the evening and buy a drink whilst listening (and the rule is that you must listen; Fado is not background music). One venue often recommended is the Clube de Fado (Rua S. João Praça, 86-94).
