“I feel as if I'm always on the verge of waking up.” ― Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet

Wednesday, 17 June 2015, Lisbon

Today was a slow and easy start in our newly, perfectly renovated, large centrally located AirBnB apartment. Lisbon is beautiful with a surprise around every corner or at least a friendly gesture – it really is a city without menace but also without the least idea of customer service. As with all things Portuguese there is no need or sense of urgency to sell you anything because either you like it or you don’t…. Even the beggars give you a little shrug of resignation and acknowledgment that you don’t have to give them anything and then seem to bless you as you pass, “may God look kindly upon your soul” or something to that effect – absolutely no pressure.

I LOVE LISBON. We bought some travel cards (with a minimum of fuss) then caught a train to the Gulbenkian Museum. Mr Gulbenkian (an Armenian oil magnate billionaire) donated his collection to Lisbon in gratitude for the safety and protection the city provided him during WW11. It is truly a magnificent collection:

-           From the most perfectly detailed carvings of cats and rulers in Eygpt from 2000 years BC in ivory, obsidian and various stones,

-          long Persian rugs,

-          a collection of Greco-Roman coins from 500 -50 BC with the most beautiful faces,

-          Chinese silk wall hangings and clear glass-like rock crystal, amethyst, jade, ivory carvings, to  Chinese Ming dynasty porcelain vases,

-          A collection of half a dozen handmade copies of the  Book of Hours (from 1330 – 1350) & bibles hand copied in 1210,

-          incredibly detailed tiny ivory  carvings of scenes from the bible in ivory from 1300s,

-          glorious paintings from Roger Van Der Weyden, Rembrandt, Ruisdael, Gainsborough, Turner, Burne-Jones, Manet, Monet and more,

-          Sculptures from Rodin,

-          large silk wall hangings from the 1600 workshops in Belgium,

-          amazingly crafted and inlaid furniture, table settings & homeware from all through the ages.

To finally, the highlight of the collection – the Rene Lalique’s incredible, high Art Nouveau jewellery and goblets with a beauty which defies description. I guess the only thing missing was a Faberge egg.

All displayed so beautifully, that each piece’s particular aesthetic value was especially highlighted in a purpose built building set in lovely gardens. Just another lovely Portuguese surprise.

Then home for a brief spell before commencing our 5hour food tour. Celia Pedroso, our host,

guided the tour group around to many restaurants and cafes around Lisbon where we enjoyed:

-          a port wine tasting focusing on port wine aperitif options with cheese and meat snacks

-          a tasting of sweet liqueurs(tangerine, passionfruit…) made on the Azores islands with various crisps and biscuits

-          a set of half a dozen entrees and starters: squid, cod, chick peas, mushrooms, cheeses, olives & breads

-          to a book shop, the oldest continuously operating bookshop in the world, which sells her book, “Eat Portugal” (3rd on the best seller list)

-          to a lovely old style restaurant with cod cakes, slow cooked beef cheek, potato, kale & chorizo

-          to finally a dessert of Pastel de Note pastries with cherry brandy

All served with various wines from many Portuguese wine growing regions. Along the way Celia advised us that Portugal has shared many things with world culture including: teaching the Chinese how to make custard type cakes and buns, introducing chilli to India and being the birthplace of many Saints – including St Anthony and many more.

The best thing I like about Lisbon is that it does not feel like Europe or any place I have been before rather it feels like a mixture of Nice with how I imagine Istanbul, Jamaica & Brazil to be – maybe, perhaps these places will need to be visited…”next time”…