Another Day, Another Tours By Locals

Whilst planning the trip (more people should use "whilst" besides my brother Rod and I -- start using it, you'll like the way it rolls off the tongue), (Editor: Well, getting to that comma sure took a long time.  Writer: We've totally made a hash of this sentence) I saw a "Foodie and Cultural Half-Day Tour of Old Lisbon" option, so I booked it.

I envisioned a series of stops for tapas in various bars/restaurants with our guide, whilst he imparted knowledge about the city and the food of Portugal.  Sort of like our fabulous tapas tours in both San Sebastian and Cordoba on two separate trips.

Well, that wasn't it.  That was no fault of our guide, Luis Santos.  I suppose I should have read the tour description better, but it turned out to be a walking tour that started at 5pm and finished at a restaurant where we did have a number of excellent different tapas, including tempura cod (the Japanese borrowed, or culturally appropriated, depending on your point of view) both the cooking style and the word tempura, Portuguese chicken wings, and olives (ubiquitous at every meal that isn't breakfast).

A quick rant on "cultural appropriation -- feel free to the next paragraph.  But, so-called (can you tell I don't buy it) "cultural appropriation" has been going on for centuries.  Heck, Portugal's glory years were built by finding new routes to get spices.  Using things you like from other cultures is a good thing that makes us better people rather than a bad thing.  Besides, if you really are concerned about cultural appropriation, there are millions of people who shouldn't be using electricity, driving cars, watching TV or movies, or listening to recorded music.  Rant over.  

To us, the star of the show was the chourico assado -- grilled chorizo.  But it's not really grilled so much as set on fire.  They use a special clay dish that has ribs above the bowl-esque part of it.  They fill the "bowl" with alcohol, place the chorizo on the ribs, and set the alcohol on fire.  It is spectacular.  Then they cut the chorizo into little pieces, and we feast on it.  I have a feeling we'll be taking this dish back home to enjoy.  I'm pretty surprised I've never seen it in the States, because people would love it.

Anyhow, I've jumped ahead to the end.  We met Luis on a rainy night at the top of the famed Avenue da Liberdade.  Despite the fact that he was wearing a Dodgers hat, he was a good guy and a good guide.  He was chagrined to learn we had already covered a lot of the city, so he kind of revised his plan on what to show us.

He took us into a building to show the Moorish influence on Portugal.  We also saw some amazing blue tiled rooms.  

It's pretty clear why nobles like their jobs --

they spent most of their time hanging out.

"Hey, that's Moorish-style," he noted archly.

We then stopped at a hole in the wall bar that specialized in Ginjinha, a cherry-flavored liqueur made by infusing ginja berries in alcohol, and adding cherries (much like the tequila worm).  Carol enjoyed the drink and I endured it.  You stand out on the street at small tables in groups of people, sipping the ginjinha and shooting the breeze.  It was a fun intro to a part of the culture.  It was like we appropriated it and no one got angry.

Luis talks, Carol enjoys the ginjinha.

Even though we had been to Pedro IV square before, this time we noticed that the tile design is that of undulating waves.  Very cool:

See how the tile looks like non-stop waves?

We also spent time in Praca da Comercio again.  This time the weather was a bit better.  We walked from there to dinner.  After that, Luis showed us the famed "Pink Street" which was both lively with nightlife and a bit seedy, the lively Time Out Market (known as "Mercado Ribeira" before Time Out sponsored it.)  It's a bustling, huge food hall that used to be a market (there is still part that is a morning food market) and packed with different restaurants and huge tables.  I do regret not getting a photo of it, because it's a pretty cool place.

After saying our goodbyes to Luis, we Uber'd back to the hotel and had a nightcap in the very pleasant bar.