– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Just people everywhere.

Why is it so full?

So crowded?

I'm not the only one.

Another queue.

And now look at this!

Portugal's capital city Lisbon is beautiful.

And often crowded.

But hey, maybe it's all worth it.

Find out what you can do in a day in Lisbon

and watch me try to avoid the crowds.

Lisbon is located on the Atlantic coast and spread across seven hills.

I start my day in Alfama, the oldest inhabited district.

The narrow streets were built long before cars existed.

That's obvious:

Many of the streets are stairways.

And even with a map, it's easy to get lost.

These tiles are typically Portuguese.

You'll find these painted ceramic tiles all over Lisbon.

Some are hundreds of years old, especially here in Alfarma.

They were traditionally used to protect houses

from moisture and heat.

Some tell stories and some are just for decoration.

It's only a ten-minute-walk from here to Castelo de São Jorge,

located on the highest hill in the city.

A ticket costs 15 euros

and there's a free audio guide for your phone.

Susana from Lisboa Cultura shows me around the fortress.

It was built by the Moors in the 11th century and later used

by Portuguese kings.

Now I'm going to show you my favorite spot at the castle.

From here you can see

from Christ the King [monument] to the neighborhood of Graça.

You can see almost the whole city.

You can hear the city,

smell the city.

And enjoy.

My highlight was the periscope

that projects a live image of the city onto a table.

We have a mirror on the top of the tower outside.

That mirror kept all the images around.

And with the help of two lenses, the images are projected on this table.

So this table will be the screen.

Just one thing, the weather is not too good today,

so the image is not perfect — but just to show you.

The idea originally came from Leonardo da Vinci

in the 15th century.

The technology was later used in submarines and

for observation purposes.

Ok, the tower, that black circle.

It's definitely better to come early.

When I got here there wasn't anyone queuing and now look at this.

These old yellow trams are THE image of Lisbon I had in my head.

So of course I want to ride one.

Lots of people had the same idea.

Tram 28 runs 7 kilometers across the old town.

The tram line is more than 100 years old.

You see it on postcards and movies and on Instagram.

You can easily explore downtown Lisbon on foot.

The huge Praça do Comércio square is a good starting point.

And since Lisbon is built on hills, there are other unique ways to get around.

This lift opened in 1902, and it connects downtown Lisbon

with the upper part of the city.

It's a tourist attraction,

but it's also part of the public transport system.

But be prepared to wait in a line here, too.

It's not even moving.

I'm tired of this.

Instead, I leave the old town to have lunch at a tasca.

A tasca is a traditional restaurant in Portugal

that serves home-cooked food.

And to get to a real one that's not a tourist trap,

go to the suburbs and don't stay in the center.

What's on the menu today?

So the dishes of the day: pastéis de bacalhau, codfish cakes.

Cakes, that are deep fried and come with a coriander rice.

It's a rice with a lot of butter and coriander.

Sounds good.

Do you want something very Portuguese?

Yes.

I think you should do the açorda order

because you won't find it anywhere outside of Portugal.

Yeah, so I'll have that.

My main course is açorda: a bread stew with garlic,

coriander, olive oil and egg.

I also ordered salt cod croquettes and Portuguese cream cheese.

I'm really impressed with this food.

It's a lot of dishes I'd never tried before.

And it's lots of different flavors.

Really great.

It's so different from just eating fast food or typical tourist food

in the center, so a really good experience.

Now I want to check out the LX Factory,

one of the coolest places in town.

Located on the site of an old textile factory, you will find street art shops,

studios and what might be the most stylish restrooms in Lisbon.

The factory's former printing shop is now

home to a particularly spectacular bookstore.

On the first floor I discover a miniature puppet theater.

That's a really cool alternative if you can't get on the tram 28.

I mean, that's a way to have a ride in just two minutes.

Further west in Belém,

a heroic monument commemorates Portugal's voyages of discovery

since the 15th century, the beginning of the colonial expansion.

But there's no mention of the victims here.

The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos is a 16th century monastery

built with money from overseas trade.

Next door, you should definitely stop at the Pastéis de Belém pastry shop.

The puff pastry tarts with custard cream have been baked here since 1837,

following a secret recipe of the monks.

Great, so I'm getting a tour of the bakery.

The bakery is open 365 days a year and bakes around 25,000 pastéis a day.

They're sold fresh on site.

We have today five chefs

that know how to make both the pastry and the custard.

And we call them "mestres do segredo",

which translates to like "the masters of secret", or something like that.

Almost everything is done by hand here.

What is so special about your pastries

compared to all the other ones?

You cannot find this recipe anywhere else in the world.

And that already makes them a one-of-a-kind.

And the recipe that came from the monastery in the early 19th century

has been kept exactly as it was in the beginning.

And the production is still artisanal.

They're all still handmade.

And keeping the recipe and the production as it was alive,

all of this tradition really makes a difference.

It's a little less sweet than others I've tried before.

And I can also sense the salt in the pastry.

I end my day where I started it, in Alfama.

In the evening, the neighborhood is filled

with Lisbon's most famous music, Fado.

In an alley I meet Marta, a singer.

It's an urban sound, so it's really tied to the city of Lisbon.

It's bled throughout the years through other parts of the country.

But it was born here.

So you can imagine a Lisbon

that was one of the most important port cities of the entire world,

filled with merchants and sailors from around the world.

And they were coming to the typical neighborhoods of the city

like this one, Alfama,

and gathering in the old taverns to drink,

drown their sorrows and sometimes sing them.

And that's basically how Fado was born.

The lights are dimmed and there's no talking allowed.

That's one of the rules of Fado.

My conlusion: Lisbon is crowded,

but I still discovered a lot of authentic places.

So yes, the hype is justified.

Did I miss anything during my day in Lisbon?

And would you brave the crowds or rather skip the city?

Let me know in the comments.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
crowded /ˈkraʊdɪd/ A2	adjective - filled with many people or things
district /ˈdɪstrɪkt/ B1	noun - a specific area or part of a city or region
narrow /ˈnæroʊ/ A2	adjective - limited in width
stairways /ˈsterweɪz/ A2	noun - a set of steps leading from one floor to another
tiles /taɪlz/ A2	noun - flat, thin pieces used to cover surfaces
ceramic /səˈræmɪk/ B1	adjective - made from clay and hardened by heat
moisture /ˈmɔɪstʃər/ B1	noun - water or liquid in small drops
decoration /ˌdɛkəˈreɪʃən/ A2	noun - the process or result of making something look more attractive
fortress /ˈfɔrtərəs/ B1	noun - a strong building for military defense
periscope /ˈpɛrɪskoʊp/ B2	noun - an instrument for viewing objects not in direct line of sight
artisanal /ˌɑrtɪˈzænəl/ C1	adjective - made by hand or in small quantities
tram /træm/ A2	noun - a vehicle that runs on tracks in the street
tasca /ˈtaskə/ B1	noun - a traditional Portuguese restaurant serving home-cooked food
coriander /ˌkɔriˈændər/ B1	noun - a herb used in cooking
açorda /ɐˈsɔɾdɐ/ B2	noun - a traditional Portuguese bread soup
croquettes /ˈkrɒkɪts/ B1	noun - small fried rolls of food
Fado /ˈfadu/ B2	noun - a type of melancholic Portuguese music