Dateline November 25, 2024, Portugal and Transatlantic Cruising
Our latest adventure took us to another corner of the world. We drove just forty-five minutes from home to Fayetteville Regional Airport in North Carolina, where parking is a breeze and you can leave the car thirty steps from check-in. Our destination was Lisbon, where we would spend three days before boarding a sixteen-day cruise from Lisbon to Puerto Rico, with several stops along the way. A week before we left, Kieran, John's daughter, asked if she could come; we said sure, just book the ship and the planes and you are in. With that challenge in front of her, she made every booking and was ready to go.
A city steeped in history. We had talked about Portugal for years. It is a small country, but its history, its wines, and its landscapes could fill weeks; with only a few days, we gave them to Lisbon, where the cruise would begin. We rented a cozy two-bedroom apartment above the old port, in the Alfama, the oldest neighborhood in the city, spread across the slope between the São Jorge Castle and the Tagus River. The great earthquake of 1755 spared the Alfama, leaving its labyrinth of narrow streets and little squares, and lately the old houses have been lovingly restored. With the trams under repair, we walked everywhere, which turned out to be the best way to know the place.
Down to the waterfront. Our first outing was down the steep hills and winding streets to the Lisbon waterfront. The narrow alleys and endless stairs made for quite a trek, but the views back up toward the top were breathtaking.
Along the water we came to the Praça do Comércio, the Commerce Square, one of Lisbon's most famous public spaces. The grand plaza runs to some thirty-five thousand square meters, with a striking equestrian statue of King José I at its center and elegant arcades of shops and restaurants all around.
We paused at one of the nearby wine-tasting rooms, the perfect spot to sample local wines and gather ourselves for the next stop.
The Time Out Market. The market sits in Cais do Sodré, an old riverside district once bound up with Lisbon's maritime trade and named for the Sodré family, fifteenth-century merchants whose wharf gave the area its name. The market itself is housed in the historic Mercado da Ribeira, and it is more than a food hall; it is a showcase of the city's best cooking. The Time Out team established it in 2014 on a simple rule: if a place is good it gets written up in the magazine, and if it is exceptional it earns a stall here.
Inside, the sheer size and energy of it struck us at once, twenty-six restaurants and eight bars and shops ringing a hall of long communal tables, the buzz and the smells coming from every direction. Our first task was finding three seats, no small feat; John guarded the table while Kieran and Janice worked the stalls, coming back with a fine mix of Portuguese dishes and, of course, a bottle of wine Janice had picked out. The food was fresh and the wine was excellent, and we carried an extra bottle home for the apartment.
Just behind the market lies Rua Nova do Carvalho, Lisbon's old red-light district, once notorious as a haunt of sailors and worse. In 2013, as part of the city's renewal, the whole street was painted pink, which earned it the nickname Pink Street; today it is lined with bars and nightlife that run until dawn, though we were told it is still best avoided late at night.
After twenty-four hours of travel, the long climb back uphill was not an option, so Kieran called an Uber. We were too tired to think much about dinner, so Kieran and Janice picked up eggs, butter, cheese, and some hard bread, and John made cheese omelets, which were perfect. Tomorrow, Sintra.
