Tuesday 17 November 2009

The Portuguese come out to play- Bairro Alto, Lisbon

Losing luggage is not a great way to start a holiday. This is exacerbated if you happen to be in a country where the men are 1) considerably smaller then you 2) dress much better then you do and 3) most importantly tend to wear a very 'fitted' style (read muscle shirts) . Tight stuff. Fortunately Lisbon is one of the best party towns the Northerner and I have visited, with bars and food haunts to more then compensate for any wardrobe mishaps. So despite looking like a new arrival on Old Compton Street, we attacked the social scene with abandon and chose to spent most of our evenings in Bairro Alto - Lisbon's answer to Shoreditch / Hoxton and the Lower East Side.
I can't begin to name the bars we visited so I will try and describe the scene for those of you who have not visited the area. First, unlike Shoreditch or the LES in New York; the Bairro does not have a daytime thing going on with lots of boutiques and shoppers, cafes / restaurants etc. It does have them, but they re dotted around the place, hidden behind or next to what look like doorways into peoples homes. In fact, during the day, the area is litter and graffiti strewn (the latter is at least artistic), and very quiet. You are just as likely to bump into a 'care in the community' straggler as a confused looking tourist. Sometimes they are one and the same person.
The Bairro comes into its own later on, as it is a genuine night-time haunt with most shops opening from the afternoon until the late evening, and bars hitting their stride from 11pm . Ditto the restaurants. Tucked amongst the streets, there's a gay quarter, a fado area (traditional Portuguese singing - not to my taste); and endless little tucked away bars each with their own music style and funky interior. And full to the rafters of young people drinking like there's no tomorrow. Which I must admit was a surprise, even to two hardened socialites like ourselves. We tend to think of the Northern European coutries as the binge drinkers, and the Southern Europeans as being more restrained. Not so in Lisbon where shots, caipirinhas and mojitos were knocked back frequently and at great speed. In fact I made the mistake of asking for a vodka / cranberry for the Northerner. What I got was a half-pint of blackberry juice and vodka shot. Watered down with more vodka. I kid you not.
Three nights on the trot of 3am sessions certainly took their toll, but at least we got to sample everything on offer.
If you haven't been to Lisbon or the Bairro Alto I recommend you give it a try. It's fun and very festive and you can still get a seat in a restaurant at midnight. How civilised. One tip though. Keep an eye on your luggage.

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