Lisbon at Night and Dinner in Cacilhas

A Moveable Feast in September

An optional dinner at a restaurant across the harbor was to follow the "meet and greet" social. To get to the harbor, Jose (Zhosey) drove us through the city, past the castle that looked magnificent at night, past the old aqueduct, across the bridge named 25 de Abril Bridge, past one of Lisbon's main squares, the Praca do Comercio, past the palace, the Spanish embassy, and other buildings of architectural delight. While we were on our way to the restaurant, Tania gave us a short history of Lisbon and from my later research, I learned that Lisbon went through a series of name change—from Olissipo to Allis Ubbo, meaning safe harbor, then Ulyssippo, Olissipona, Ulishbona, and finally Lisboa or Lisbon in English.

In a few minutes, we reached the dock and took a ferryboat across to Cacilhas, the old quarter of Lisbon. Marilyn, a tour member asked me what Cacilhas meant. I said that in Spanish, casilla means box, and we Filipinos use that word to mean an outhouse. She said, "No way. They would not name a place like that and we won't be eating in a toilet!" I knew she was about to laugh and I was about to do the same but we sounded sincere in our conversation. The conversation seems so funny now when I recall it. My mouth would slightly twist with a controlled smile whenever I think of that moment. The restaurant's name was Farola, meaning lighthouse. This was a marisqueria, a seafood restaurant. Farola was supposedly a workers' restaurant although not with a worker's price. Our multicourse dinner was 40Euros (2010 price) for each of us. First we had two glasses of wine as an aperitif, then we had a plate with few tablespoons of that looked like lima beans—a  dish we did not know how to deal with. We looked at it and considered it until Fernando, the waiter, came and taught us how to split the beans between our teeth as you would with sunflower seeds by holding it between your thumb and forefinger, then slipping the skin off and popping the meat into the mouth. Well, that was quite an exercise. I am now sure it was meant to break the ice because we started to converse and get to know each other. In a calculated timing or maybe as soon as Fernando noticed that we had stopped popping beans into our mouths, he came with boiled gambas (shrimp) which we peeled by hand, of course. Because there were not too many gambas, in a minute or two and between conversations, we found ourselves wiping our finger with the napkin. The waiters were all alert in serving us the succeeding courses. The salgados (an assortment of fritters or croquettes) came, and then sopa, then sapateira (or boiled crab) served with sautéed crab innards, which proved to be delicious. After savoring the crab innards, we had arroz marisco (rice with shrimp), then bacalhauia bras (cod with potatoes) and finally the sobremesa (dessert) of fruit with whipped cream. Of course, the meal had to end with a good Vinho Porto or Port. The 40Euros seemed an appropriate cost for the multicourse meal if nobody told you, that the dishes were the size of tapas.

            Fernando, our waiter was charming and entertaining. When he saw Ron's nametag, he said that Ronaldo is quite famous in Portugal and Ron said, "I know, and my father's name is Fernando, like yours. What is your last name?" Fernando said, "Rodriguis." He took a pen and paper from his pocket and wrote his last name, because he said the spelling was different. "And, I'm from Madeira," he added. The other Ron across the table from me said, "Oh?  My father's father was from Madeira and he spelled his last name the same as yours but he changed the spelling to make it sound American."

Well, there was quite a reunion between the two Madeirans and a kinship between Ronaldo and Fernando. After the sobremesa and wine, it was time to wind down and leave Cacilhas (which really meant 'bay'). Marilyn saved a brochure for me saying that I could use it if I was going to write a travelogue. I could not print the whole brochure but here is a peek of it, which I, admittedly do not understand:

Restaurante

Farol

Marisqueira

-Peixe e Carnes Frescas no Carvão

-Bacalhau com Broa

-Mistos de marisco

-Condições Especiais para Groupos

-Cozinha Aberta até as 24 horas

Driving back to the hotel, Jose made detours so we could have a short night tour of Lisbon. We took the 25 de Abril Bridge instead of the ferry. Our tour director informed us that 25 de Abril Bridge's original name was Ponte Salazar, Europe's longest suspension bridge. Driving around the city was like another sobremessa, a dessert after the dessert. The city's architectural layout and the fascinating illumination was a delight. It was an enchanted evening.

            Sleep was very much welcome after a long flight, a good dinner, and good wine—a very appropriate way to end the pleasurable moments of the day.