Lisbon: Fábrica Braço de Prata
28th February – 12th March 2020: Since arriving in Portugal at the end of January, we have travelled all along the southern coast of the Algarve. After travelling the Algarve from east to west, we drove 300km north to Lisbon on 28th February, in order for Saul to catch a flight back to Ireland for four days to attend his Irish citizenship ceremony in Killarney💚
Caitríona: I remained in Lisbon with the children and, all in, we stayed two weeks in Lisbon. I’m not usually much one for cities, but Lisbon is one special place; such a relaxed and bohemian feel to the place!
We had heard of a good parking spot quite close to the centre of Lisbon, in the grounds of an old munitions factory. It is now a cultural, arts and music centre called Fábrica Braço de Prata ( Silver Arms Factory) in the Marvila/Poço do Bispo district. What a spot! More about that below. We stayed almost two weeks here, the first four days minus Saul, and then we left in something of a mad dash south on 12th March, in search of a safer spot as lockdown approached.
So here are some of the highlights for us of Lisboa.
To begin, Braço de Prata, where we stayed. We arrived at around 9pm on 28th February and checked in, and were then invited to attend the concerts which would be starting up at 10.30pm and running ’til 4am! Jazz, poetry readings, philosophy discussions and other jamming sessions. We were very tired after our trip north, but it was an intriguing start!
For motorhomes, it’s €15 per night per van, incl. EHU.
Home | Fábrica Braço de Prata (bracodeprata.com) 38.743816083531144, -9.101295847019212
The large carpark where we pitched up is set up for motorhomes, and has the most incredible artwork adorning the crumbling walls around the site. Here’s a flavour:
Saul: Evidence of drug consumption above
Caitríona: This wall art below was created by Vhils and I believe it was his first foray into carving faces into walls. Look closely for the genius of creation here:
The David Bowie mural is beside the gate to remind people to keep the noise down upon departing in the wee hours
This installation below appealed to Morgan! Like a giant marble-run! A system of drainpipes to catch the rain with plants growing along them
We had some lovely walks around the area of our site, Marvila/Poço do Bispo. It’s a rundown part of Lisbon, now undergoing sporadic regeneration but, in its heyday, it was the buzzing centre of imports and exports of agricultural and winery products. These impressive buildings, below, were just around the corner from our site. The José Domingos Barrerio building for many years housed a wine warehouse in Praça David Leandro da Silva (Square).
It was built in the late 19th century as the headquarters for the wine merchant whose name is on the building, a man involved in the domestic and international wine trade. More recently, it was owned by an Opus Dei-linked organisation, the Maria António Barreiros Foundation, and sold in 2019 for €17m.
And this beautiful building below is on the same square. Abel Pereira da Fonseca was another Portuguese merchant who traded from the Rio Tejo (River Tagus) in wine, liqueurs, vinegar and olive oil during the first half of the 20th century.
This building was renovated as part of Lisbon Expo ’98 and now houses a work hub and a very lovely café. The staff were incredibly welcoming. When Morgan and Olwen wandered over to the coffee roasting area which was open for viewing, the owner, who was just sitting nearby drinking coffee and working on his laptop, came over to show them the workings of the machines and to let them see the various types of beans they use in their blends.
