impressionist dreamer

I can't remember the number of times I've used the word beautiful to describe Lisbon.

The azulejo-clad buildings are beautiful.
The views from the Miradouros overlooking the terracotta roofs are beautiful.
The calçadas portugesa are beautiful.
The pastel coloured walls of Alfama are beautiful.
The orange trees (was so happy to see one!) are beautiful.

Truly, Lisbon is beautiful. 

In today's walking tour, we visited four neighborhoods in total - Baixa (the low district), Chiado (the shopping district) , Barrio Alto (the upper district) and Alfama (the oldest neighborhood). Four neighborhoods?! I'm surprised we covered that much ground in 3 hours, but then again, Lisbon is compact and very walkable.

Our first stop was Carmo Convent. On first glance, what stands out is a missing roof. Here we learnt of the devastating earthquake that hit Lisbon in 1755 and the ruins are a reminder of the what transpired during that tragedy.

Carmo Convent at night

On 1 November 1755, an earthquake of magnitude 9 hit the city of Lisbon and destroyed many parts of the city. As per tradition on All Saints Day, the citizens lit candles in their house to prepare for the celebrations. As the tremors shook, the roofs fell and walls collapsed, the flames from the candles ignited a fire and soon the city was engulfed in flames. The estimated death toll was about 30,000–40,000.

Quite ironically, the non-Christians (by virtue of them not being church-goers) living in Alfama survived the earthquake. And for that, we must thank God because a part of history is preserved and we get a glimpse of what Lisbon was originally like, before it was rebuilt.

We continued walking from Chiado to Alfama and soon reached in about 10 minutes. Alfama is on a much higher plane and the houses were made of stone, two possible reasons why the neighborhood survived the earthquake.

An old house in Alfama.

Comparing Baixa/Chiado and Alfama by just taking an aerial view of the two settlement plans, you'll come to realise how distinct these two neighbourhoods are.



Baixa is structured, linear and grid-like, (as a result of the rebuilt) while Alfama is has a more clustered plan, like a labyrinth with alleyways. Suffice to say, it's easy to get lost and Google Maps is quite impractical there.

We walked further and we see the houses and get a glimpse of everyday life here in Alfama. Our local guide tells us that the community spirit is strong there - locals do things together like wash their clothes together in a large basin and hang their clothes to dry in the open and talk to neighbours across the streets from their flats. 

Crocheted tree in Alfama

The sights, sounds and smells are so different from the city and the feeling is like that of home. Our guide spontaneously asked us if we'd like to try some Ginjinha, a sour cherry wine and she takes us to a lady selling homemade Ginjinha, which we see her take from the fridge of her house. It's been brewed for 6 months.

Homemade Ginjinha for €1

As I walk past the streets, we see some photographs of locals on the streets outside their houses, in their trade or line of business. Taken by an English photographer, Camilla Watson, they were a tribute to the people of Alfama who make this corner special.





Alfama is a meeting of old and new - with old historic houses and also modern street art as well. Called the Crono Project, the walls were blank canvas for artists to inject colour and energy into the neighbourhood, as well as turn abandoned buildings into art galleries.



Sadly, our guide shared that because of mass tourism and gentrification, some locals in the neighbourhood were vacated or asked to move out. Some of the old houses have been converted into apartments or Airbnb's and I feel is a bit sad now that I think about it. I would imagine it's equivalent to the Peranakan houses along Joo Chiat in Singapore.

In any case, I really enjoyed touring around Alfama. The people there are friendly and will wave at you and say hi to you if you do the same to them.

I ended up really liking Porto much more than I thought I would!

I found it to be a city of unfiltered beauty with gritty medieval streets, enchanting winding alleyways and friendly, hospitable people.

These were some of the places I visited during my two-day stay there:

Sao Bento train station

Adorned by Azulejo tiles by painter Jorge Colaço, Sao Bento train station is quite possibly one of the most beautiful train stations you've been to. The tiles on the train station tell the history of Portugal, from the conquest of Ceuta and the Battle of Arcos de Valdevez.

Igreja de Santo António dos Congregados

Cafe Majestic


A belle epoque style cafe. J.K. Rowling used to scribble stories on the napkin.

McDonalds


Saw one of the most beautiful McDonalds in the world - with a chandelier! 

Clérigos tower and church

I was fortunate to listen to a live organ performance when I went there at noon. It certainly adds to the grandeur and atmosphere of the church. I had a Bacalhau com natas (codfish with cream) for lunch and climbing the Clérigos Tower after lunch was a perfect opportunity to burn those calories. The steps got narrower as we reached the top, and I can't imagine how claustrophobic it must be during summer. bring an oxygen mask in summer cos I think you'll need it.

Livraria Lello


The famous bookstore that J.K. Rowling used to work in. Quite possibly the place where she took inspiration.

Igreja do Carmo and Igreja dos Carmelitas



From afar, it looks like a big church but in fact, these are two churches (and different orders) separated by a narrow (1m wide) house. Also, you can tell from the architecture that the one on the right (Carmo) has a more baroque architecture because it was built in the 17th century while the one on the left (Carmelitas) has a more classical facade as it was built in the 16th century.

Cordoaria Square garden


A romantic style garden. Our guides told us that some of the trees here were grafted in.

Virtudes garden

Miradouro da Vitoria

Ribeira  



Just wandering through the streets of Ribeira has got to be the most wonderful things to do in Porto. In a way, it feels like you're taking a walk back in time with the medieval cobblestoned floors, the slightly washed out walls in yellow ochre or brick red. 

Kenrokuen Garden

Kenrokuen Garden is one of Japan's three most beautiful landscaped gardens,. It's more than 300 years old and it was built during the Edo period. The pine trees are the best-known trees in the garden. The umbrella-shaped thing that you see is called yukizuri, which is designed to protect the branches from heavy snow.

I visited Kenrokuen Garden at night (admission in the garden is free at night, I'm not sure why!) and in the day as well.

Tip: Kenrokuen Garden is best admired in good weather. Unfortunately, I arrived a few days late, and most of the leaves were already bare because of the wind and rain. 

Omicho Market

Omicho Market is within walking distance from Kenrokuen Garden and I headed over to Omicho Market for lunch. Kanazawa is near the coastal region and its waters are very clean and good (there's a certain sweetness to the water) and seafood is fresh. Needless to say, I ate a lot of seafood there. I ordered a bowl of Hokirikusama Don and it was delicious. It was my most expensive meal (1,500 yen) thus far, but worth every single bite.

Tip: Go there before 12pm to avoid the crowds. When in doubt, look at the queue and use that as an indicator of how popular/good the food is.

Nagamachi District

Kanazawa is famous for being a samurai town. Walking around Nagamachi District was my favourite place in Kanazawa. My guesthouse was near the canal and you see a lot of quaint cafes along the canal and walking around it is a breeze.




Kenroku-en garden was a bit disappointing because of the rain. But Nomurai Samurai house made up for it because it was so beautiful. The little garden is beautiful. Used to be a samurai's house. Nina-san shared that the Maeda family is the biggest family/clan in Japan, followed by the Nomuras, I think.

Tip: There are some nice quaint cafes along the canal and walking around there is a breeze.

Higashi Chaya District

Higashi Chaya District was quiet touristy and expensive. Had tea and sweets and it cost me ¥700, and I got half the price at the Nomurai Samurai House. Such a rip off! But walking around the streets make you feel like you're walking back in time. Here, you can see why Kanazawa is nicknamed "Little Kyoto".

Fun fact: Some shops hang dried sweet corn at their doorway as a lucky charm. I've also observed that Japanese people are.. superstitious? There's a good luck charm for a lot of things - e.g. in Takayama there's this rabbit lucky charm, Ubodo. Kanazawa has this egg doll like mascot.

Ninjadera Temple / Myouryuji Temple