Tour News from Rick

Europe's Overlooked Gems

June 2013

Late at night in Lisbon's ramshackle Alfama neighborhood, we crowd into a modest café. Black-and-white photos of fado singers from the '50s and murky album jackets decorate the walls. The waiter drops a plate of fish and a pitcher of cheap cask wine on my table and — like a Portuguese Ed Sullivan — proudly introduces tonight's star.

She struts in from the kitchen, blood-red lipstick, big hair, a tragic shawl over her black mournful dress — but the plunging neckline promises there's life after death. She strikes a pose before the mandolins... Read more