The Luka in Portugal Blog #10 Porto, Fátima, Lisbon

WELCOME

to the Luka in Portugal blog! This is the last of a three-part series covering my summer travels to Europe. After Barcelona, we finished off our trip in Portugal, starting in Porto and then heading to Fátima and Lisbon before flying home to DC. Let's get into it!

Bernardo, Luka, and Jeremy at the medieval Castle of Mós

Porto

Coming from the hustle and bustle of Barcelona, Porto welcomed us warmly with its serene views and peaceful atmosphere. We made our way to the impressive Dom Luís I Bridge, a double-decker bridge crossing the Douro River with a light rail on top and a road on bottom. Pedestrians can take either (yay!) and get gorgeous views on either side. Some local teens were doing epic backflips off the bottom bridge and drawing quite the crowd.

Crossing the top deck of the bridge

The Dom Luís I Bridge

Porto and the Douro River

Epic backflip

We explored the city streets in the refreshingly cool sunny weather. Taking in the beauty of the city was so relaxing and such a change of pace from the rest of our trip. Porto was charming, and it quickly became clear to me why Portugal is such a popular retirement destination.

Awesome street sign

A very European image

Jeremy breaking the rules again

Outside São Bento station by our hostel

Lots of live music was playing in the streets, vendors sold cheap touristy trinkets at street stalls along the promenade, and there were plenty of Ronaldo jerseys to be seen. One store even had a life-size model of Ronaldo designed with excruciating detail down to the stubble of his beard.

Siiiiiuuu

Insane detail

We ate dinner at a tiny restaurant with only one chef and a kitchen the size of a large closet. They only offered reservations in two-hour intervals such that the chef cooks each course of the meal at the same time for every table. The experience felt special and intimate, and the food was delectable. By this point in the trip, we'd all settled into similar grooves and inside jokes, so we were joking and giggling the whole time, really enjoying each other's company. The shared bottle of wine didn't hurt!

So tasty

Gnocchi yum

We devoured this

It was a glorious day the next morning, so we rented bicycles and rode along the riverfront all the way to the coast. We ate, relaxed on the beach, and had a dip in the good old Atlantic Ocean (which turned out to be a bit cold and rocky). Again, I was amazed by the temperate and comfortable weather.

Swimming in the good old Atlantic Ocean

Future Ronaldo right here

Cycling back from the beach

That afternoon we went to watch a Fado performance, a style of traditional Portuguese music, in a dark and intimate venue. They played both the classical and Portuguese guitars and alternated between male and female singers with powerful, opera-like voices. The speed and precision of the guitarists' plucking and strumming was insanely impressive. The music was beautiful but also very calming, and I'll admit it began lulling me to sleep in the darkness. 

Watching a Fado performance

Our final day in Porto brought us East to the Douro Valley on a wine tour. We had booked this weeks earlier and were very excited for the 10-hour tour and tastings including the famous Port wine. Little did we know that 5 hours of the tour was the 2.5-hour bus ride to get there and back! Granted, it was pretty driving along roads lined by olive trees and vineyards. We ate lunch on a terrace overlooking the vineyards of the wine we drank with our meal.

Our beautiful lunch spot

Looking over the vineyards

The boys in the Douro Valley

We went to a wine cellar and tasted the famous Port wine we had heard so much about. We tried 10-year-old, 20-year-old, and even 30-year-old wine. It was crazy to think that we were drinking wine older than us. Port wine was very sweet and a bit too rich for me, though it was tasty. We also took a boat cruise down the river and visited another winery.

Fancy Port wine tasting

Quite the view

These barrels give the wine those oak notes or something

The day was very pretty, but we were suffering in the heat. While I had been praising the pleasant, mild weather in Portugal thus far, as soon as we got to the valley, it got very hot. Of course, I decided to wear jeans that day and the bus' AC broke. It was absolutely brutal. None of us could focus on the wine history lessons they were giving us.

Napping in the heat on the river cruise

The worst part was the long and cramped bus ride home. They had given us the bulk of the wine tasting right before we got on the bus, then told us we weren't stopping until we arrived. I didn't get the chance to pee before we left, and after running into traffic, it ended up being three of the longest hours of my life.

Drink up right before the bus ride

We were struggling on the bus ride home

Back in Porto, we had one more destination to visit: the Livraria Lello bookstore. It has a striking design with a grand forked staircase and intricately designed interior. The story goes that J.K. Rowling drew inspiration there when writing Harry Potter while she lived in Porto working as an English teacher. I can see why. Jay and I bought copies of Sun Tzu's The Art of War as a souvenir.

Yes this is from Google Images because my phone died

Livraria Lello bookstore

Fátima

Jay and Sam went straight to Lisbon, but Jeremy and I made a stopover in the central town of Fátima. On the bus ride there, I befriended a 66-year-old Portuguese-French man sitting next to me named Silvio. He had been teaching himself English for the last three months and was delighted to finally have someone to practice with. He held up the novel he'd been reading in English and told me something with his slow and imperfect but still immensely impressive English that brought a tear to my eye:

"I've read this book six times. At first, the words were aggressive and violent, but they've begun to dance and sing in my head, and now they are friendly."

Simply beautiful.

We arrived in Fátima, I said farewell to Silvio, and we were greeted by my great friend Bernardo! This was the final NUS reunion of the trip and the reason for our visit to Fátima. We bundled into his old pickup truck with his friend Vanya and he brought us on a splendid day tour of central Portugal. 

Reunited with Bernardo!

We started at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima which grew to worldwide fame due to the Marian apparitions reported in Fátima. The story goes that three shepherd children in 1917 saw the Blessed Virgin Mary appear before them, describing her as "a Lady more brilliant than the Sun." They saw her six times that year, transforming Fátima into a globally popular pilgrimage site. Hundreds of thousands of people make the journey every year, many walking directly from their homes even as far as Lisbon. 

Some pilgrims crawl from the Basilica to the Chapel of Apparitions as an act of penance

As with the tradition, we bought candles, lit them over the open flame, made a wish, and placed our candles in the flames.

Making a wish

We met up with Bernardo's aunt working at a tourist shop nearby which was a funny and lovely occurence. Bernardo bought us one of many pastéis de nata (Portuguese egg tarts) we would eat in Portugal, served with cinnamon and powdered sugar. Yum. He then brought us to his favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch, a little throwback to our daily cuisine in Singapore.

Authentic Portuguese Cuisine ;)

Driving around with Bernardo was so much fun, our jokes and conversation flowing just like old times. We listened to Portuguese and American bangers on the radio, drove in circles at roundabouts, and saw places from his childhood. The Portuguese countryside is so pretty with its green fields, olive trees, and orange rooves.

Bernardo the tour guide taking us through Central Portugal

Cruising in the back of the pickup truck

We spent the day driving West towards the coast and visiting different landmarks along the way. We stopped at the Monastery of Batalha, the Castle of Porto de Mós, the Alcobaça Monastery, and we ended up at the beaches of Nazaré. Each was beautiful, and we continued a tradition we had started in Singapore with Johannes, Sam, B, and Jan of filming twenty push-ups at every famous site we visit.

The Monastery of Batalha - built to commemorate victory over the Spanish in 1385

In the Castle of Porto de Mós

Three wise men at the Alcobaça Monastery

Customary push-ups

You may have heard of Nazaré Beach, known for having the world's largest waves, including the biggest wave ever surfed at 86 feet high! The waves weren't quite that big during our visit, but they provided for some fantastic body surfing. While wandering along the beach, it made me so happy to see how many people were juggling a soccer ball together.

Enjoying Nazaré Beach

Viewing Nazaré from the clifftop

We finished off a great day with an absolute feast of Portuguese seafood favorites: cod, sardines, and squid accompanied by the classic Portuguese lager, Super Bock.

A Portuguese feast

Hungry happy travelers

Super Bock - the classic Portuguese beer

Lisbon

After spending the night at Bernardo's home outside Fatimá, the three of us hopped on a bus to the capital and linked up with Sam and Jay once more. We visited São Jorge Castle for great views overlooking the historic city center. 

The backpackers at Oriente Station

Entering São Jorge Castle

Portugal is beautiful

We walked a lot on this trip

Bernardo came with us to Lisbon without a plan for where he was going to sleep, so he reached out to all of his Lisbon-based friends and was offered a couch to sleep on by a friend of a friend. She invited us to exercise with her, and all of a sudden, Bernardo and I were running a 5k with someone we had never met before, wearing her spare workout clothes!

Running buddies

Maria was great fun to hang out with, so we all got dinner and drinks together that night in Bairro Alto, the nightlife neighborhood of Lisbon. Friends of Bernardo and Maria showed up and there were plenty of antics that night, including me chatting to the very confused security guard at Lisbon's BCG office because I wanted to send a photo to my friend Corey.

The smile of hungry anticipation

Night out with the gang

Cheeky scenes in Bairro Alto

Bernardo's friend Adriana showing us the shortcuts out of Bairro Alto

Wrapping up the night with some more Pastéis de Natas

In the morning, we rode the famous Tram 28 which takes you through the prominent neighborhoods of Lisbon. We queued up at the station among the masses of tourists for an hour to get a seat, but it was well worth it. Bernardo overheard and translated for us a Portuguese woman standing on the tram complaining about all the tourists who take the seats at the first stop and ride the tram all the way until it terminates. Pretty valid complaint haha, oops!

Passing another Tram from Tram 28

From the end of the line, we rode the bus to Belém, a western district of Lisbon known for the famous Pastéis de Belém, a bakery with Portugal's, authentic, top-quality Egg Tarts. They are so good eaten warm with a bit of cinnamon and powdered sugar on top.

Pastéis de Belém - the finest Egg Tarts

We explored Belém's monastery and tower then relaxed in a park, watching kids kick the soccer ball and savoring the last hours of our amazing European adventure. I said farewell to Bernardo who had been such a great host and friend for the past few days.

Jay majestically sporting his new Ronaldo jersey in Belém

On the morning before our flight, we visited one final park with some beautiful Eucalyptus trees that reminded me of Australia (which Bernardo told me were invasive and often disliked in Portugal). At the airport, we caught up with Jay's college friends who were arriving in Lisbon at the same time! What a funny coincidence.

Beautiful Eucalyptus

Despite arriving with plenty of time, we somehow managed to miss the boarding calls for our flight while eating McDonald's in the food court. As we started making our way to the gate, the airport staff said "Washington? Run, run!" We began sprinting with our packs bouncing on our backs and, of course, our gate was the farthest in the entire airport. We were the last ones on the shuttle but we made it in the end. It was a stressful but hilarious way to conclude the trip.

We almost missed our flight for this McDonald's. Worth it.

Conclusion

That concludes this blog post and the European summer series. Thank you so much for reading! Looking ahead, I'm very excited to start my job in DC next week. I have no major trips on the horizon, so if the blog returns, it might have a more local flavor. In any case, see you next time.

Bye bye from Luka in Porto