Pastry addiction in Lisbon...

I'm back home in Cape Town after 8 days in Lisbon this past December. My first post - travel craving was for pastel de nata (plural being pasteis de nata)  so I hotfooted it to one of our city's finest bakers and scooped up a box for my birthday tea two Fridays ago. Much as I respect that bakerman, I have to say it was a deflating experience, just too far removed from what I'd savoured in Portugal. I am now feeling like a pasteis connoisseur I'm not going to deny it. 

So now I'd like to expand on these spectacular little cakes I discovered and devoured by the dozen in Lisboa. 

I'm told that the monks at the 16th century Jeronynimos Monastery in Belem, Lisbon, were the first to make pasteis way long ago. They apparently used to use egg whites to starch the uniforms of nuns, and the left-over yolks went into making and baking their delish decadent baked goodies. At some point, post 1820 I believe, the Brothers started selling their coveted pasteis after the monastery was closed due to secularisation in 1834. The secret recipe was sold to a sugar refinery close by, whose owners in 1837 opened the Casa Pastéis de Belém, practically next door. The descendents of that family own the business to this day and it's on every tourists must-see list. Eating pasteis in Belém is imperative and no trip to Lisbon is complete without it.

The oldest, and some say the very best place to go for pasteis in Lisbon however, is the Confeitaria Nacional in Praca da  Figuiera. On a busy Sunday they've been known to sell 50,000 pasteis to the sweet toothed masses. 

If you're in Lisbon around Christmas time don't forget to try the traditional fried pumpkin fritters...light, round shaped cakes coated in sugar and cinnamon, known as brinhois. My late granny used to make these so eating them was a nostalgic moment.

So what's all the pasteis fuss about? Well for starters my Lisboa pastries were way creamier than what I've tasted here at home and they're served warm, with crispy, flaky pastry - I can still hear that crunch of my first nibble.  The custard was the perfect consistency, not too thick or runny, with a divine hint of vanilla and fragrant cinnamon. 

My aha moment with the pasteis was when I learnt how to eat it properly. I saw an old lady at Nata outside the main gate of Castelo St Jorge doing it like the locals do; she started by scooping out the centre with a tiny teaspoon, then she ate the 'cup' part, slowly. So clearly this is a process that mustn't be rushed. The pastel de nata is a pastry that demands you take your time to savour it. 

One pastel is seldom enough which is unfortunate for one's waistline,  but who actually cares...no-one. So go large and double your gym time when you get home. It'll be worth the pain.

PS. @lateralpaul tells me there's a Portuguese deli in Voortrekker road that sells amazing pasteis... a visit is on my list.

 My breakfast most mornings, pastel de nata with a galao (cafe latte)...

In Mouraria obvs...

Pumpkin fritters, another fave of mine - my granny used to make amazing ones...

Cafe Martinho, the oldest in Lisbon...

The pasteis at Nata... note the teaspoon...

No idea what this soft fluffy pastry is called but it was fab...

More fritters....

Tiles & mosaics...Lisbon

Nothing special about a tile right?  Wrong. Lisbon will show you what's what in the universe of The Tile. 

In the week I've been here I've become somewhat tile obsessed. Stopping every few steps, literally, to take a photo because they are everywhere in this city and they are so beautiful. I'm not talking about your run of the mill big square tile mind you. No, those just think they are tiles. Let me be clear- these of which I type are smaller ancient tiles and mosaics that prettify pavements, old streets, building facades, framing doors, sills and windows, pressed into murals depicting Fado singers, fables and life scenes, transforming the ordinary  into the extraordinary.

It's said that the first pavement (calcades) mosaics were created by  Lisboa prisoners in 1842- the history is a little unclear but suffice to say one Eusebius Furtado, a military commander, was commissioned to design the wavy mosaic pattern in Rossio Square... the trend caught on and voila, Lisbon got its tile game on, and still today, the city looks magnificent. 

The Moors must also be credited for  their introduction of the geometrical ceramic arts. Decorated tilework, known in Portuguese as azulejo, soon came to cover houses and churches across the country during their occupation of Portugal.

So aside from what you see at eye level and above, don't forget to look down - at the artwork created centuries ago for your and my visual pleasure. 

Rossio Square (circa 1849) >

Mouraria >

Pena Palace, Sintra > 

Pena Palace >

Alfama >

Alfama >

Saldanha >

 

Sintra > 

Me, in celebration of that which is underfoot....

Bordello chic in Cais do Sodre

Pensão Amor is a fabulous bar to visit in Cais do Sodre in Lisbon. The sumptuous interior is reminiscent of its former bordello days - heavy velvet drapes, tassles, ornate lamps, gilded mirrors and more... tres vintage.

The area was once frequented by a seedy set but in 2011 the district was given a makeover. No longer the domain of tarts, sailors and pimps, its main street, Rua Nova do Carvalho, has been painted a welcoming pink. 

They say this part of town has upstaged Bairro Alto - whatever the case, it's another amazing part of Lisbon. Bohemian chic is the dominant style and if you plan a bar or Fado club crawl, go late... things only get going around midnight. 

Pensaor Amor >

Pink Street > 

Close by~ I liked the old wrought iron feature alongside the newer graffiti...

Alfama, Lisbon. Step back in time...

This amazing quarter is situated on the slopes beneath the Castelo Sao Jorge (Castle of St George) spilling down to the banks of the Tagus River. It's Lisbon's oldest area, dating back to ye olde days of numerous invasions and occupations...Romans, Barbarians and the Moors have called Alfama home at one or other time, the latter having a particularly long reign. Alfama, like the rest of Lisboa, was destroyed by  the great earthquake and tsunami of 1755. Once a well-to-do area, it gradually became overtaken  by fisherman and paupers and to this day has remained a so-called poorer district. In my mind it has the best character and authenticity in all of Lisbon. (The city was incorporated into Portugal in 1152 by the way). 

After taking the old tram up the hill, my walking tour took me past compact ancient homes with wrought iron balconies, through a labyrinth of skinny lanes, narrow cobblestone streets, up and down steep hills and staircases, through small public squares, past Fado clubs (the best Fado is in Alfama) and onto the steps of the oldest church in the city, the Lisbon Cathedral.

I've been to Alfama three times this trip - each visit has revealed something unique. Get a sense of an age long gone as you take a step back in time in this incredible part of beautiful Lisboa. (Fact check by Nelson Carvalheiro, with much gratitude from #capetowndiva)

Take the tram >

Skinny lanes >

Small public square with kids playing soccer >

Staircase...lots of them >

Inside the Lisbon Cathedral >

Blu who? Street art & graffiti in Lisbon...

I now love street art. The first I saw of it in Lisbon last week made my jaw drop. Three abandoned buildings one after the other, a whole block, each with an incredible mural that covers the entire facade. I’d never really absorbed how great these artworks are…incredible attention to detail and the scale, just perfect. The artists responsible are Os Geméos, Blu, Sam3, Ericailane and Lucy Mclauchlan. I'm quite new to this type of art and I blame these guys for firing up a new obsession wit it. So much so that I am planning street art tours in Paris, Berlin and Madrid in May 2015 and am going be submitting an editorial about it for a South African newspaper

There's a lot of graffiti around this city. Some of it I feel is messy, neither here nor there, a lot of, and too much drawn over ancient walls, park benches and mosaic tiles. I get that it's a form of artistic expression too but it's a pity when it messes up historical sites.

Street art that can be found wherever you look in Lisbon- don't forget to look up. Be inspired...

Os Gemeos & Blu...

Erica il Cane

Near the 'pink street'...

Messy but the tiles are beaut >

Just off Rossio Square >

LX Factory >

LX Factory >

Fado singer Amalia, a mural off Avenue Liberdade > 

Chiado >

At the Harbour >

 I like this > 

Sintra >