Weekend in Lisbon
The weekend in Lisbon was anticipated to be a Portuguese chicken and custard tart fest. On this occasion, I'm one of those lazy travelers who do no research on the destination and simply go with the flow. In fact the only Portuguese words I learned was "obrigado" which is thank you and "ola" for hello.
First thing I noticed about Lisbon was that the weather was perfect. The warm blue skies created a picturesque backdrop against the white buildings. Lisbon is by the sea and is hilly. We walked through the cobblestone streets and saw lots of quaint (blink and you'll miss it) shops and houses. The uphill climb was well worth it.
Here is a short movie I took of the amazing view of Lisbon.
This is me and my Portuguese chicken. I was expecting it to be doused in piri piri sauce like at Oportos but alas it was plain and akin to the BBQ chickens from the supermarket. Still it was tasty and satisfying.
Naturally we had Portuguese custard tarts. They are sold everywhere, half a dozen for 4.50 euros. The pastry is light and crispy. The egg custard filling is smooth, creamy and slightly burnt on top. I confess that I ate ALOT of tarts during my visit and why not, they are simply devine!
The only other food worth mentioning was the "wet cheese" which is served before dinner in it's own little cup and looks like souffle. The "dry cheese" was unique too, like soft unripened brie but the wet stuff is truly mouth watering. Tastes like ricotta and is softer than buffalo mozzarella. It's milky and has a subtle sweet flavour.
Aside from port and dried chilies, shoes are the things to buy from Portugal. There are many shoe shops, mostly selling Portuguese-made shoes. I looked in so many shops for a token purchase but regrettably could not find a pair I liked or had my size. It did'nt help with the language barrier either. Often, as soon as the shop assistant realised that I could only speak English, they'd lose interest in helping me. Guess it was'nt meant to be.
The main shopping area is gorgeous by night as the streets are decadently lit with Christmas lights.
An interesting thing about Lisbon is that there is a notable police presence. I felt safe walking around the streets. Also the police patrol with Segways which sparked Rols' idea of doing a Segway tour in Paris.
On Sunday we went to Belem to visit the Monastery of Jerónimos. Apparently there was a bakery nearby which makes the BEST Portuguese tarts ever. I'm not into visiting historical places but was sold on eating more tarts! We jumped onto the bus and within a minute, I was being pawed all over by a woman-and I mean all over! I had no idea why but after some confusing interaction with the other passengers, we finally understood that we needed to buy our tickets from the vending machine.
We also saw the Discoveries Monument (only a small part of it is pictured below) and walked up The Belem Tower. My legs were still sore from the stair climbing four days later!
The tarts which we had been hunting for had been indeed the best Portugese tarts ever. The shop was packed with locals ordering them by the half dozen. There were huge trays of freshly baked tarts stacked on top of each other and I had to resist the urge to climb over the counter and run off with them!
The late afternoon was spent with a gin and tonic at a rooftop terrace bar. We kicked back among the locals and enjoyed a relaxed drink while enjoying the stunning Lisbon view. I had to record it to capture the atmosphere as it was the best Sunday arvo experience I had in Europe (so far).
First thing I noticed about Lisbon was that the weather was perfect. The warm blue skies created a picturesque backdrop against the white buildings. Lisbon is by the sea and is hilly. We walked through the cobblestone streets and saw lots of quaint (blink and you'll miss it) shops and houses. The uphill climb was well worth it.
Here is a short movie I took of the amazing view of Lisbon.
Click to viewThis is me and my Portuguese chicken. I was expecting it to be doused in piri piri sauce like at Oportos but alas it was plain and akin to the BBQ chickens from the supermarket. Still it was tasty and satisfying.
Naturally we had Portuguese custard tarts. They are sold everywhere, half a dozen for 4.50 euros. The pastry is light and crispy. The egg custard filling is smooth, creamy and slightly burnt on top. I confess that I ate ALOT of tarts during my visit and why not, they are simply devine!
The only other food worth mentioning was the "wet cheese" which is served before dinner in it's own little cup and looks like souffle. The "dry cheese" was unique too, like soft unripened brie but the wet stuff is truly mouth watering. Tastes like ricotta and is softer than buffalo mozzarella. It's milky and has a subtle sweet flavour.
Aside from port and dried chilies, shoes are the things to buy from Portugal. There are many shoe shops, mostly selling Portuguese-made shoes. I looked in so many shops for a token purchase but regrettably could not find a pair I liked or had my size. It did'nt help with the language barrier either. Often, as soon as the shop assistant realised that I could only speak English, they'd lose interest in helping me. Guess it was'nt meant to be.
The main shopping area is gorgeous by night as the streets are decadently lit with Christmas lights.
An interesting thing about Lisbon is that there is a notable police presence. I felt safe walking around the streets. Also the police patrol with Segways which sparked Rols' idea of doing a Segway tour in Paris.
On Sunday we went to Belem to visit the Monastery of Jerónimos. Apparently there was a bakery nearby which makes the BEST Portuguese tarts ever. I'm not into visiting historical places but was sold on eating more tarts! We jumped onto the bus and within a minute, I was being pawed all over by a woman-and I mean all over! I had no idea why but after some confusing interaction with the other passengers, we finally understood that we needed to buy our tickets from the vending machine.
We also saw the Discoveries Monument (only a small part of it is pictured below) and walked up The Belem Tower. My legs were still sore from the stair climbing four days later!
The tarts which we had been hunting for had been indeed the best Portugese tarts ever. The shop was packed with locals ordering them by the half dozen. There were huge trays of freshly baked tarts stacked on top of each other and I had to resist the urge to climb over the counter and run off with them!
The late afternoon was spent with a gin and tonic at a rooftop terrace bar. We kicked back among the locals and enjoyed a relaxed drink while enjoying the stunning Lisbon view. I had to record it to capture the atmosphere as it was the best Sunday arvo experience I had in Europe (so far).