Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report

Chapter Four: Crisscrossing Lisbon

Day Four: Justa Wrong Way To Go, Escalators To Heaven, Carmelite Treasure, Don’t Judge A Church By Its Cover, Tuk-ered Out, Timing Is Everything, Banana Appeal, A Date With El Bosco, The Temptations, The Old Ones At “The Old Ones” and Mary’s New Boyfriend

As the sun rose high over Lisbon, and we were out early to explore more of the city’s historic sights. Our first stop was the Convento da Ordem do Carmo (Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel), where I thought it would be fun to take the Elevador de Santa Justa up to near where the convent is located.

But after looking at the line, I shook my head and said, “Justa too many people waiting.”

We’d have to walk. It was then I remembered a tip from a fellow Fodor’s travel board member, Maribel, who had written on various ways to avoid the uphill walk. And Maribel should know. Her Destinations With Maribel website has an abundance of information on Portugal, Spain and France, and she even customizes tours. Perhaps she should add a chapter on counting steps outside a metro station.

There are about a million steps (give or take a few) to get from the Baixa neighborhood to the Chiado area. However, Maribel shared a shortcut hack that could save lots and lots of those stairs (not to mention my knees). She recommended going to the Baixa-Chiado metro station and taking a series of escalators to the top.  Entering the metro station, we must have looked confused (that happens a lot) because a woman asked what we were looking for. I told her the escalators up to Chiado, and she took us under her wing and began speed walking to where the escalators were located. I told you the people in Lisbon are friendly. We started our journey upwards.

The first two escalators worked to perfection. The only fly in the ointment was that the third escalator was out of order, but after walking up that flight of stairs, the last one was in working order.

We (carefully) exited the metro station and soon found ourselves part of the crowd waiting to get into the crowded and lovely restaurant, Café A Brasileira, one of Lisbon’s oldest cafés.

I spotted the famed #28 tram coming our direction. “We should hop on this at some point,” I said. As it approached, we thought better of it as I harkened back to those packed sardines we saw on the first day.

It was just a few minutes walk to the convent, where we purchased our tickets (€5 apiece I believe).

Like so many other Lisbon buildings, the church, built between 1389 and 1423, was demolished during the earthquake on All Saints’ Day in 1755. It had once been considered among Lisbon’s “most distinguished” churches.

Only the chancel remains of The Church of Santa Maria do Carmo, which houses the Museu Arqueológico do Carmo, containing cool tombs and some other (some macabre) items.

We wandered the ruins for a short time.

I came across the saint who double-crossed me in Prague in 2008, St. John of Nepomuk, who was thrown off the Charles Bridge drowning in 1393 (I took this photo of him in 2008).

He is the “Patron Saint of Bridges,” and the legend promises that if you touch his statue on the Charles Bridge your wish will come true within one year and one day. I wished that our cat would be alive when we got home but he died a few days before our return. So much for legends and wishes.  We took St. John’s photo at the convent, but I had nothing nice to say to him.

Inside the museum lies the tomb of Queen Maria Ana of Austria, who was also Queen of Portugal as the wife of King John V of Portugal. 

There is also the 14th century Gothic tomb of King Ferdinand I, nicknamed “The Handsome.” Coats of arms decorate one side of the tomb, while scenes from the life of St. Francis are on the other.

On the capstone is this cool relief. Sally Field would be proud.

The walls are lined with historic figurative blue azulejos, including one of my good friend, Archangel Michael, who seems to travel with me wherever I go. I definitely need protection from myself.

“Terramoto” is Portuguese for “earthquake.” We hoped there wouldn’t be one.

In the library are two mummies from Peru that date as far back as 1,000 years. I couldn’t get a photo with all the people around them, but found this on the internet.

As much as we love ceilings, it seems ancient light fixtures have become fixtures in our photo taking.

There is also an interesting and informative video on the history on the convent.

Back outside we passed the 16th century Manueline-style tomb of Bishop Dom Francisco de Faria.

We exited onto the historic Largo do Carmo, a beautiful square covered with trees originally from South America. In the center of the square is Chafariz do Carmo, a baroque fountain constructed in 1771. It once brought water in to Lisbon from the Águas Livres Aqueduct through an underground tunnel.

If Tracy can’t find flowers, nobody can.

As we walked by the restaurant we had planned to dine at on our second night in Lisbon, Tracy and Mary asked if they could peek inside at the menu and restaurant, but were told (rather rudely) to look at the one on the side of the building. I now didn’t feel so bad for not dining there.

Next to the Igreja-Museu São Roque is a statue of Padre António Vieira, who was (according to never in doubt and sometimes correct Wikipedia) a “Portuguese Jesuit philosopher and writer, the prince of Catholic pulpit-orators of his time.” 

You would never know by its rather unassuming exterior, but Igreja São Roque has an extraordinary interior. Wow!

Commissioned by King João V in 1742, the church has a single nave, a chancel and eight side chapels. 

Its 16th-century painted wooden ceiling had us once again looking up.