Writing and Wayfaring: Sardines and St. Anthony: #ThatLisbonLife

In Lisbon during the St. Anthony festival, partygoers ride giant sardines to the land of cheap beer.

Every June, Portugal parties with a vengeance in the name of God. Because June is the feast day month for three prominent saints of the Catholic Church: Anthony of Padua, John the Baptist, and Peter the Apostle (Simon Peter). Lisbon, especially, goes all out for St. Anthony, their hometown guy, who was born in the city in 1195. Though his feast day is June 13, Lisbon sets aside both the 12th and 13th for celebrations. Officially, at least. In truth, from what I learned while visiting the city from June 3-12, the party for St. Anthony starts winding up the minute May turns the summer fun over to June.

St. Anthony dedication made of wristwatch bands in Lisbon shop window.

Family decorating front of their house for St. Anthony festival.

So how does Lisbon celebrate a saint? Must be pretty dull and pious, this party, like with ashes and lots of kneeling and eyes tearing up with all the Catholic guilt and incense flying around. Yeah, not quite. Instead, it's more like parades and fado music and sardines on the grill and shots of cherry liquor and cups of sangria drunk in the street, and pots of basil and marriage matches and colorful streamers making zig zag lightning bolts from rooftop to rooftop and window to window over the narrow cobblestone lanes of Lisbon's beautiful smelly old up-and-down Alfama and Mouraria neighborhoods.

Street party setting up in Alfama neighborhood for St. Anthony fest.

Laneway in the Alfama.

Statue of St. Anthony with his church in background.

Church dedicated to St. Anthony in Lisbon -- the church was built on the site where he was born.

Tiny altar in a basement room of St. Anthony's church in Lisbon, marking the room where he was born.

When I first decided on going to Portugal and booked my flight dates, I didn't know about the St. Anthony festival, or I might have made sure to book my return date for the 14th so I wouldn't miss the two biggest festival days. While I did miss the parades and mass weddings and marches, the good news is I still got a taste of all the pagan-tinted saintly fun. I arrived to find parts of Lisbon, including Alfama, the neighborhood I was staying in, getting decked out, setting up party booths and tables in the streets, grilling sardines, stacking their steps and windowsills with little shrines and altars dedicated to St. Anthony, loading up on the basil and ginja -- in general, having fun, getting down, living the life.

Grilling sardines and selling ginjinha (cherry liquor) in Alfama.

Grilled sardines with potatoes, peppers, and "salad."

Pots of basil for sale, with love notes for potential mates. Lisbon men give basil as tokens of affection to their love interests during the St. Anthony celebrations.

Having been raised Catholic, even if the festival for St. Anthony wasn't previously known to me, Anthony was. For St. Anthony is the patron saint of all things lost -- objects, people, souls, limbs, dreams. Misplace your keys? Pray to St. Anthony, he'll help you recover them. GPS let you down and left you driving around in circles? Send the address you're looking for up to St. Anthony, he'll show you the way. Losing heart, losing hope? Maybe St. Anthony can help recover that sort of thing too, restore your faith in humanity, lead you back to your belief there's something better or more to life than just going along blandly, forever and endlessly and desperately trying to match up keys to houses and owners and cars or addresses to red and blue targets on a Google or GPS map or dreams and aspirations to everyday challenges and average Joe/Jane circumstances. If not, there's always Lisbon in June to distract you from your lingering life doubts.

Statue of St. Anthony and wall of flowers by his church.

Altar to St. Anthony set up outside his church.

Beautiful giant wall of flowers beside St. Anthony's church.

Are you looking for grilled sardines?

Yes, we have sardines.

As do we.

We not only have sardines, we have Shakira and Sly Stallone at our party.

Another St. Anthony altar.

And another!

This ones comes with a lifesize Anthony.

This one has a name, Lucinda, the object of the altarmaker's affection. They will be getting married on the 12th, during the mass marriage ceremonies across the city.