After missing the 1st half of my tour yesterday I was going to make sure that I was nowhere near late for my tour today. Today’s my last day here in Lisbon and I had a Arrábida Wine Tour: Wineries-Tastings-Tile Factory via Airbnb Experiences. They messaged me asking if I could switch dates since I was the only one but I couldn’t and I was afraid it might therefore get cancelled. Thankfully, they confirmed the tour would proceed as scheduled so I made sure to take an Uber this morning to put me directly where I needed to be.

I arrived about 10 minutes early and checked in via Airbnb by posting a photo of me in front of the store. I typically do this one, so they know who they’re looking for and two if I’m at the wrong place they can tell me. The thing with this meeting spot was the actual address didn’t seem to indicate the store they wanted me to be outside of in the notes. They weren’t far from each other but since it was in the notes to meet outside the Armani Exchange store I went with that versus the coordinates. Turns out I was at the wrong place but they told me to stay there and my guide Miguel would come and get me.

Miguel showed up soon afterward and said that it would indeed just be me today and that the first thing we would do is cross the April 25th Bridge which very much resembles the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA. The bridge was built from 1960-1966 and the differences between the two are that this bridge is taller because cruise ships need to be able to pass underneath. The bridge is also not as long as the Golden Gate Bridge and there is no option for pedestrains to walk across (it isn’t allowed). I haven’t been to San Francisco yet to see that bridge but I can say that I got a chance to see and go across a replica here in Portugal.

Our next stop was at Azulejos de Azeitao where I would get a chance to see the process of making Portuguese/Moorish tiles. The process is very intricate and timely and to my surprise encompassed a lot more than I had imagined. The process to make them actually takes days depending on exactly how you want it. For example they said that one of their biggest projects recently was a client in California who wanted tiles for their home, 16,000 of them; the project took 3 years to complete. I find the tiles and the story behind it to be fascinating and even though I bought one yesterday at another store, seeing these and with them having some for sale I had to buy one.

I love supporting local people that put so much effort into their work where you can tell it’s a labor of love for them. Handmade things are my go to because they are unique. Next, we set to explore the Arrábida UNESCO Park and while driving along it we stopped at different viewpoints to admire the sites from afar and below. The weather today was perfect for this occasion and the viewpoints seemed to be becoming increasingly popular as we went from point to point. I got some great photos and videos while we were up there.

I also got a chance to see an area that monks used to occupy when they would want to go and pray. Because that became a very popular thing amongst them a residential space was built for them out in the park (long before it became protected). To give a general idea as to the magnitude of the space it is now being used as a hotel. Along the drive we passed many cork trees which after 25 years you harvest it. Next we arrive at the first winery stop at Quinta de Catralvos. Here I goy a chance to see their beautiful space and vineyard along with the process of barreling and bottling wine.

A few fun facts about this place is that they are only 23 years old. They not only bottle their wine here but other brands as well. They harvest their white grapes at night between the hours of 7pm-4am. As far as the process of making wine the stems and the skin from white grapes are removed but not for the red grapes. There are only a few red grapes that produce red juice as most produce white juice. They had many barrels (some huge) and big stainless steel machines.

I tasted two white, two red and a moscatel wine (the moscatel was so good and is more of a dessert wine because of it’s sweetness). With it was a moscatel fig jam and small bread crackers. Everything was good and the prices were very reasonable (if I were checking a bag I would’ve bought some back). We headed now to the town of Seisembre and on the way there we came across an area where a caveman actually dwells and he is known as the Caveman of Seisembre and he’s been living there for 20 years.

The town is right near the beach and is a quiet out of the way area. It’s here somewhere that I’d grab lunch which I did. Miguel said the area is known for its seafood so that’s what I got (a sea bass meal). I had a good 2 hours in the area so I was able to sit, eat, relax and take my time which is probably a good thing because I got full off of the food but I ate every bit of it at Praia Mar. Afterwards I walked along the beach and popped in a few stores before meeting back up with Miguel.

The last tasting took place at José Maria da Fonseca where they have been making wine for well over 150 years! The woman (we’ll call her Margaret) showed us (because 4 other people were their for the tasting as well) how wine was processed and bottled years ago and then she showed us the cellars of where the wine is today on this estate. I believe she said they went from bottling 350 bottles an hour to being able to do 30,000 bottles an hour. She gave us some family history as it’s still a part of the family in the 7th generation and the estate has expanded.

This too is another vineyard in which there is space for events and weddings. There were 3 different cellars that we toured some with the biggest wooden barrels I’d ever seen and their were just aisle of them. We even got to see where the familly keeps their own personal collection. Their moscatel they mix with a bit of brandy and I got a chance to try it when we did the tastings (paired with crackers) and it wasn’t as sweet as the other one but it was smoother. The other wine tasting we tried was a red wine which was good as well. The prices for the bottles again were quite reasonable. They had a moscatel fig sampler of 6 that were reasonably priced with interesting flavor profiles and because they’re small enough to fit in my carry-on I got it and can’t wait to try some.

Our last and final stop of the day was to see the Christ Redeemer statue and Miguel said it offers one of the best views of Lisbon. It wasn’t too crowded by the time we arrived and Miguel gave me some context of how the statue came to be. Basically a king told 4 cardinals at the time that if he was able to keep Portugal neutral in a war that as a reward he would have something built. That same king admired the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil and had a replica built (which is a smaller one, details of the emblem on the chest are unique to Portugal and it’s atop 4 pillars one representing each cardinal). The statue is elevated on the pillars facing Lisbon as a, “Welcome to Lisbon.”

Miguel was right because along with just the beauty of the statue the views from up there were amazing of the city. It’s a great viewpoint of the April 25th Bridge and all of Lisbon and yo can even see Sintra far off. Postcard worthy photos where one would never guess it was in Portugal. I appreciated the sights taking it in and got some great photos and videos. On the way back to Lison Miguel gave me some recommendations on where I could get a good steak and I opted to try Cafe Buenos Aires. He dropped me off nearby, I thanked him and walked there.

It was a nice small, quaint rustic looking restaurant that I’d actually passed by at least twice and never knew it was there. I went with an argentinian steak dish and it was just what I needed as my final meal here in Lisbon. After enjoying that I took my little bit of leftovers to go and headed to the train station to go back to my Airbnb. Once there I cleaned up, took out the trash and managed to pack rather quickly and efficiently (I surprised even myself). I began recounting the day’s events and halfway through fell asleep. As usual it’s like 1am here and I’m just now wrapping this up. I’m checked in for my flight tomorrow and I plan to leave here headed for the airport at 8:30am tomorrow via an Uber as it’s just 10 minutes away. I can now say I’ve experienced Portugal.

Going across the April 25th Bridge