Lisboa, part 2. The magnificence of Age of Discovery and the sadness of Fado

Padrao Descobrimentos

Friday afternoon, our last day in Lisbon, we headed back towards Lisbon. Unfortunately, it was raining, but that did not stop us from doing a bit more sightseeing.

We stopped in Belem, which is home to two of Lisbon's most iconic and famous structures. On the banks of the Tagus River is the Padrao dos Descobrimentos (the Monument to the Discoveries) originally built in 1939/40. The monument celebrates the Age of Discovery in Portugal during the 15th and 16th centuries. The first statue was temporary; however, in 1960 an expanded version carved out of  cement, rose-tinted stone and limestone was erected in it's current location. The monument is meant to emulate the prow of a ship, with Henry the Navigator at it's apex. On each side, a ramp with 16 statues follows the line of the prow. The statues represent figures from Portugal's Age of Discovery- monarchs, explorers, scientists, cartographers, artists, missionaries. All of them looking forward, to the future, to the sea, joining with Henry the Navigator. In front of the massive monument is a gift from South Africa, a large compass rossa and mappa mundi.

Across a square from the monument is the Jeronimos Monastery, a hieronymite order built by Henry the Navigator. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

*I am slowly crossing those off my list. But, alas, I will NEVER be able to see even half of the UNESCO sites*

Originally founded in 1459, the monastery and church were built in 1501 in the Manuline style, which is described as richly ornate and incorporating maritime elements and objects from naval exploration. Through the years it was a royal funerary monument and used only by the royals and the monks, then it was secularized in the 1830s to be used as a parish church for the neighborhood, in the late 1880's the tombs of da Gama and Vaz de Camoes were placed in the monastery, and, finally, in 2007 the Treaty of Lisbon, which reformed the European Union, was signed here.

It was really amazing to see such a beautiful space. It was quite ornate and you could see many examples of the nautical themes and elements. Sometimes you can get a little bored with church after church here in Europe, just as in Japan I got a little bored with temple after temple, but the Jeronimos Monastery was different. It was really special.

After visiting the monastery, we walked over to a pastry shop that is quite famous. And due to the rain, quite packed. We decided to leave and go back later on, but we never did. We rambled around and eventually grabbed a tram that took us to the shopping district. There we stopped off and had some dinner/ dessert. At this point, the rain was really getting to me and I was getting quite annoyed and tired from walking around in it. I was almost ready to call it a night when we decided to look for a bar that had live traditional Fado music. This got me excited again.

Fado is a traditional music of Portugal. It is a lament of the sea, love lost and poverty. Basically, it is Portugese blues. But it is sung in a very particular way. And the places where you can find truly authentic singers are particular as well. As we would soon find out...

We wandered into the "nightlife" area of town and passed by many places that advertised Fado, but they looked like tourist traps. As we walked, we were accosted by a man saying he could take us to a spot. We followed him and came to a restaurant. And here is where the particularness came in....basically, you need to pay for dinner and a show. I had read about this before going, so I knew the guy wasn't trying to pull one over on us, but we had just eaten and it was a bit steep. After much discussion, the man finally told us that the restaurant also owns a bar, of course, up the street. If we wanted, we could go there and wait. When the dinner service was over, we could come back, pay a cover charge, which included a drink, and see the last performances. He would call up to the bar and let us know when we could come down. Did this sound a bit dodgy? Maybe, but the bar he took us to was very nice, the drinks were reasonable and the conversation was good. In no time, it was time for us to go back. There was a bit of a disagreement about going, some of us wanted to and others wanted to go back to the hotel. Look.....I don't know when I'll be back in Lisbon, I want to get some of the culture. We all ended up staying, and I'm so glad we did. The singing was amazing!! So sad and yet very expressive. The last singer especially. She was so moving, even the slight twist of her hand held meaning.

Exhausted, we headed back to the hotel. Craig, Jana and I had to get up super early to catch a cab out to the airport. As it was, my alarm didn't even go off in the morning, so Jana and I had to scramble to pack and get ready!!

The trip was a success from a fun point of view and a work point of view. Though we didn't accomplish all we wanted on the trip, we definitely started the processes that we needed to.

To see the full photo album, ask me and I'll email you the link.


AND I found another city that I cannot recommend enough. Lisboa, another return visit is in order!!!

PS- I used brochures and wikipedia in this and the previous post. As a teacher, I'm modeling good behavior...