My azulejos from “Portugal” (Ikea)
“O salty sea, so much of whose salt is Portugal tears.” Portuguese Sea, Fernando Pessoa. I’m crying too.
Photo: Andria Gutierrez
I’ve been fawning over Portugal for years now. My infatuation is manifested in several ways throughout my apartment and my life: canvas reproductions of azulejos, the decorative Portuguese tiles, on my wall; books about Portugal on my shelves; an excessively Portuguese Instagram feed; and a newfound FC Porto fandom.
So, I’m feeling simultaneously validated and inconvenienced by the influx of attention it’s receiving now that it has gone from underrated gem to darling of the travel world. Portugal — with its languid pace, seafood-centric cuisine, beautiful/inscrutable language, intriguing and complicated history, and disproportionate amount of exquisite coastline — has occupied more space in my imagination than any other place in the world.
While it’s impossible to distill the essence of a neighborhood or city, much less an entire country, into what amounts to an abbreviated and bastardized version of Tumblr, I hope that putting this together will capture some of what’s exciting/interesting/alluring about these places. Personally, I can’t wait to eat pastéis de bacalhau while taking in the colors of the azulejos, streetcars, and terra-cotta roof tiles of Lisbon. I want to rent a car and drive down the coast to the glittering beaches of the Algarve, take a train north to explore Porto, then head east to drink wine in the vineyards of the Douro Valley.
Until then, these are some of the sources I’ve turned to for inspiration. I hope something here piques your interest too.
Read
Pereira Maintains, Antonio Tabucchi. Set in 1930s Lisbon, at the beginning of a period of fascist control in Portugal, the novel follows a culture writer struggling with old age and apathy in the face of revolution. I can’t recommend it enough. Tabucchi writes with so much heart, and his lyrical prose makes it an engaging and easy read (I finished it in one sitting).
“It was the twenty-fifth of July Nineteen Hundred and Thirty-Eight, and Lisbon was glittering in the azure purity of an Atlantic breeze.” Pereira Maintains, Antonio Tabucchi.
Photo: Louis Droege
The Portuguese: A Modern History. Barry Hatton’s primer on Portugal is a well-written and incisive account that sketches an informative outline of the people, culture, and landscape of an often-overlooked part of the European Union. The descriptions of the country and its hospitable people are flattering without being glib about the former superpower’s imperialist past.
This pitch perfect travel writing by novelist Charmaine Craig about tracking down literary history in Lisbon.
Deep dives into Porto, which has come out of Lisbon’s shadow, blossoming into a food, art, and design hub.
The section in William Finnegan’s Barbarian Days about surfing in Madeira, the tiny island — Cristiano Ronaldo’s birthplace — 600 miles southwest of the mainland. I mean, read the entire book. It’s engrossing and wanderlust-inducing. But the part Finnegan devotes to Portugal, in particular, will make you want to spend your quarantine days holed up in Jardim do Mar, writing, eating fish, and surfing.
“Just as Portugal has emerged as an A-List destination on the world stage appearing on ever more influencers’ Instagram accounts, the city that gave the country its name has quietly become its beating creative heart, a haven for homegrown and expatriate tastemakers alike.” How to See Portugal’s Most Creative City, Alex Battacharji
Photo: Daniel Sessler
"Madeira was a shock to the senses—sheer green coasts, tiny cliff-hugging roads…We drove through gorges and forests, over high, vertiginous ridges. We ate prego no pão (a garlic steak sandwich) at roadside cafes and tossed back espressos.” Barbarian Days, William Finnegan.
Photo: TC Kniss
Watch
This captivating and dizzying tour of Porto.
And this edit, equal parts mesmerizing and terrifying, of the infamous wave that breaks off Nazaré, on the central coast of Portugal. It forms thanks to the presence of an underwater gorge called the Nazaré Canyon, and is widely considered to be the biggest wave in the world.
Night Train to Lisbon (2013) - The sweeping shots of the hills of the Portuguese capital make it more than worth the watch. Lisbon shines, which distracts from the plodding storyline and the fact that every character in this movie set in Portugal somehow speaks English.
A Year in Port (2016) - The Portuguese installment of the A Year in trilogy is centered in Porto and the Douro valley, the latter being where almost all port wine is actually produced, though it’s primarily stored in and sold out of the city that shares its name. Beautifully shot and loaded with historical context, the documentary is a surprisingly fun glimpse into a centuries-old winemaking tradition.
Lower east side Portuguese.
Eat
Pastéis de nata, the super rich, iconic custard tarts that travelers in Portugal obsess over. I found them on the lower east side, at the Portuguese bakery Joey Bats, where they also serve pastéis de chaves (equally flaky pastries filled with beef, chicken, spinach, or shrimp), and a very strong cocktail made with dry white port. Highly recommend.
Seafood. Always. Arroz de marisco is a saucier version of seafood paella.
Pastéis de bacalhau, or cod fritters. Salt cod is omnipresent in Portugal, and is mashed into balls for this preparation (which is why they’re called bolinhos de bacalhau in Brazil and some parts of Portugal) along with potato, egg, and parsley. I ate them often in Rio de Janeiro, which will be my lone experience with them until I finally find salt cod somewhere in Brooklyn.
“Tinned sardines have for many decades been a national export, but the Portuguese keep the best for themselves.” The Portuguese: A Modern History, Barry Hatton.
Photo: Aliyah Jamous
Not difficult to find port in Brooklyn.
Drink
Port. We should all be drinking a lot more of the fortified wine. It’s complex, unique, and inexpensive. If you’re feeling down during quarantine times, buy a bottle of port wine, friend. Do it.
In fact, we should probably be drinking all of the wine coming from the Douro Valley as, apparently, that’s where the value lies these days.
Listen
To this playlist of the national music of Portugal, fado. Usually stripped down to vocals and a regular and/or 12-string acoustic guitar, it’s perfect dinner fodder. (You’ll just have to guess at the lyrics, though. The Portuguese language, while beautiful to listen to, is literally impossible to decipher.)
NEXT UP:
Mérida, Mexico.