Friday 27 October
We're up at around 9am to embark on a tour of the city and visit an incubation hub in the suburb of Saldanha, organised by SJ. Some of us run late following the previous night's festivities, but we all manage to make it to the train station and find our host successfully.
We take a metro ride to the Saldanha station and head towards the offices of Beta-I, a business incubator geared towards connecting start-ups with corporates. Here, we spend the morning discussing the similarities in the creative landscapes across both Portugal and South Africa.
Afterwards, our host Carla takes on a walk towards Casa Independente, a restored building in the suburb of Mouraria, which we are told is experiencing somewhat of an urban revival. The space is light and airy, with photographic works displayed on the walls of the building.
The joint hosts some of Lisbon's hottest parties, apparently.
It's a relaxed and languid morning, with our hosts introducing us to some of Lisboa's creative figures – DJs, photographers, anthropologists. We break bread and enjoy a light meal on the terrace of Casa Independente, sharing our creative stories and the discussing the societal shifts taking place the world over.
Following our tour with Carla, we are granted free time in the afternoon to explore the city. My first priority is getting a local SIM card, which I manage to acquire at a general shop, not far from our previous stop. Now connected, I call an Uber to take Keza and I to Belem, an area which I've wanted to explore since arriving.
Without any real idea of what awaits us, I get the Uber driver to drop us at a bike rental shop, where we pick up two bikes and head east down the promenade to explore. Along the way, we see the MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology), the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) and the Belém Tower. Hiring a bike is an awesome way to explore this part of the city – it's quite possible to ride all the way from Cais right down to the Tower and just soak in the sights along the way.
Without any real idea of what awaits us, I get the Uber driver to drop us at a bike rental shop, where we pick up two bikes and head east down the promenade to explore. Along the way, we see the MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology), the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) and the Belém Tower. Hiring a bike is an awesome way to explore this part of the city – it's quite possible to ride all the way from Cais right down to the Tower and just soak in the sights along the way.
After our intrepid biking expedition, we call an Uber to take us back to Doorm, where we get ready for our evening outing. Sone has arranged an outing to Hotel Mundial. Clambering into our Ubers, we go all the way up to the top floor, where we watch the sun go down on Lisboa, drinks in hand and soaking up the ambience.
