Archive for the 'Lisbon people' Category

Impressing Cabo da Roca, ‘where the land ends and the sea begins’ (a quote from Camões, Portugal’s Prince of Poets)

If your Portugal vacation takes you to Lisbon, don’t miss Cabo da Roca (Roca’s Cape), in the municipality of Sintra, 40 km from Lisbon. The magical atmosphere of the westernmost point of mainland Europe (at 9° 29.8′ W), the nearest point between the European Continent and the USA, is really worth a visit! In summertime there’s lots […]

Mouraria, home of fado music & Amália Rodrigues, ‘Lady of Lisbon, Queen of Fado’

No neighborhood in Lisbon is praised more in Fado music than Mouraria.

Mouraria, Calçada de Santo André. This ‘Bairro‘ (neighborhood) is a maze of little, narrow streets, situated between Graça, Alfama and Costa de Castelo, given it’s name by the first Portugese king, Dom Afonso Henriques (1109 - 1185) , after Lisbon was taken over again by […]

Lisbon people: young beautiful students & a new semester

Lisbon students, September 2008, a brand new school year. The new semester brings new textbooks, professors, and classes, many public events and traditions.

It also brings a lot of fun! The universitary students follow a special dress code.

Drinking Ginjinja near the tiny Ginja bar on Largo de São Domingos, Ginjinha is a liqueur made of a cherry-like berry called […]

Lisbon people: designer Alberto Gourgel & Feira da Ladra, Lisbon’s famous flee market

Designer Alberto Gourgel was born in Angola, a Portuguese colony from the 16th century to 1975. ” I studied in a boarding school in Angola, but due to economical problems my brother and I moved to Lisbon in 1983. Being a kid, I already had creative ideas”.

Market ‘A Feira da Ladra’ (Lisbon’s flea market). Alberto Gourgel and his old-fashioned […]

Lisbon people: Aurelio Ramos, Portugal’s hairdresser of the year 2008 & favorite places

Aurelio Ramos de Oliveira was born in Sao Paulo in 1975. He studied at Soho Academy São Paulo in Brazil, Maison 25 Academy Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Facto Lab in Lisbon and Vidal Sassoon in London.

As ‘Ambassador of l’ Oreal’ you can find Aurelio a few days a week in ‘Le Salon’ working as a […]

Quality Restaurant Café Martinho da Arcada & Fernando Pessoa’s table

Opening in 1782, Restaurant Café Martinho da Arcada, located in the corner of the Praça do Comércio 37  near the Tagus river, is the oldest café in Lisbon.

The terrace under the beautiful arcades. Movie Praca do Comercio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhuLEkL0Ue4. Situated downtown, this cafe was once the ideal setting for the so called ‘tertúlia’s‘ (café talks). Well known names from Portuguese […]

Lisbon people: Pessoa, Portugal’s famous poet and writer

Nowadays lots of tourists walk around in Lisbon’s Chiado area and the beautiful Rua Garrett. They take a break in cafe ‘A Brasileira’ (Rua Garrett 120) to make pictures near the statue in bronze of the poet Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935), once a regular customer. But who was Fernando Pessoa?

Pessoa was largely unknown in Portugal until after his death in 1935. The […]

Lisbon people: Viviane Durieu’s (Belgian) favorite places

Viviane Durieu is creator of ‘A Travessa’, one of Lisbons best restaurants, set in a 17th-century convent, with a picturesque courty yard.

“When I arrived in Lisbon in December 1969, two days before Christmas, I thought the climate and the light were fantastic. Especially because I had arrived from Belgium where it’s cloudy for nine […]

Lisbon shopping: Rua dom Pedro V, a fancy new art gallery & jacarandas

Walking around in Lisbon is even better after spring has sprung. The streets, squares, parks and avenues are even more beautiful now that the jacarandas are beginning to blossom. Originally from South America, these trees of the Bignoniaceae family arrived in Lisbon in the mid-17th century and ever since, between May and June when they’re […]

Lisbon’s craziest night: June 12 (1) a mix of religion and sex

In June, the month of the Festas dos Santos Populares (Feast Days of the Popular Saints), the Lisbon nights are filled with lively festivities that take over the city’s historical center. On the eve of Saint Anthony day, June 13th, Lisbon turns into one big party!

Bica, near Bairro Alto - partying in the small street around the famous […]