Not enough time in Lisbon

Day 3 - Aug 31: Lisbon

The plan was to get up early and go to the gym. Didn't happen. Alarm wasn't right and we slept in. Now we have to hurry. After rushing to get some pastries, we meet with our guide, Paolo. Born in America to a Portugese mother and Italian-American father, he lived most of his childhood in Florida, but that wasn't enough for him and he lived in Italy for many years to do his Art History schooling. Meet his wife, from Brazil in a taxi line, they both now live in Portugal. Crazy huh?

Anyway, we started at the Commercial Park, this is where all the ships that went to India used to come to port to trade their new found spices. Portugal was one of the richest countries in the 14-16th centuries. The king loved this center so much that he moved his palace here from the castle on the hill. Then the earthquake of 1755 happened. Destroyed the city and anything that survived got swept by the tsunamis. Luckily the king was on holiday with his family.

Onto the rest of the city, where the Jews were persecuted 500 years ago so that he could marry the Princess of Spain, we saw where the Inquisitions happened and where French poets had coffee. We rode up an elevator to see the city and check out a church that survived the earthquake, up into the Barrio Alto, once an upper middle class area, now young people have their late night parties. Another church that has the most expensive chapel in the world. Oh, am I boring you? Alright, I'll move on..

We stopped off for some Gelato then up to a wine bar near the castle. We tried various wines (including what they call a Green Wine, which isn’t really green, much to our disappointment) and some local cheese and olive oil, even some black pork neck (free range that feed only on acorns). We climbed up to the castle and watched the sunset. Back down to the city we had dinner at Sacramento, a restaurant that Paolo recommended. We had the best sangria ever (Apryl is going to have to work on her recipe now), I had a roasted pork leg that was delish and Apryl had a really nice filet. We tried to stop off for more gelato, but the line was out the door and across the street.

Day 4 - Sep 1: Lisbon

We were able to get up and make it to the gym (darn). We are on our own today, but we had a plan. We took the train to Belem, where a 500 year old tower and monastery stood. This was the entrance to the original port of Lisbon. The architecture is beautiful and it is in great condition. We were told we had to try the pastries de Belem, which have a little flaky crust with a not too sweet cheese fillings. Yummy, we grabbed two more for the train ride back.

Back in town, we went to the modern museum (MUDA), where they had two floors, one of a bunch of scooters and another of modern furniture. We did that quickly, and went to a shop with cherry liquor. You get it in a little shot glass, walk outside, stand on the curb and sip with friends. They even grab one at lunch but Paolo said at the end of the work day there’s a line out the door and a patio full of people. It was so bad; we weren't even willing to get a bottle to torture you all. Lunch was at another of Paolo's favorite restaurants, translated Knife and Fork. Apryl had the seabass (after considering the baked sardines) and I had the steak of the house, which is covered in a coffee cream sauce. Wasn’t bad, but great for the price. You have to watch out, the bread and cheese they put on the table, if you don’t eat it, no charge, but if you do eat it, ca-ching!

We were finally fueled up for some shopping, but there wasn’t much to see, pretty much all the same stores as in London. Apryl invested in a European flat iron, even better, there were adult playthings in a basket on the cash register counter at the same location. We had a good chuckle about that. Another scoop of gelato and back to the hotel for a little break.

Back into a cab that tried to take us to a different Fado location than the one we wanted, we made it in with a minute to spare. Fado is a traditional Portuguese music, usually with one or two guitars and a vocalist. We called it Opera without the drama. It wasn’t a bad show and we were glad we experienced it.

Tonight, we ate at 100 maneiras. A molecular gastronomy restaurant run by a Serbian with his take on Portuguese cuisine. There is only one menu. A ten course tasting menu. I’ll leave you with the menu, including Apryl’s star rating. 5 stars amazing, 4 stars good…and on… ‘Til next time….


Cod fish clothesline – (dehydrated cod fish hanging on a miniature clothes line) - ****
Paired with a Verde wine

Melon soup and foie gras bonbon (soup was chilled, foie gras bonbon was drizzled with chocolate) - *

Marinated scallop w/ walnut oil, celery puree and truffle vinaigrette - ***
Paired with a White wine

Salmon tartar w/ elderberry flower cream, sesame pesto and pineapple mash - ****

Squid ink vermicelli with baby squid - **
Paired with a chilled Claret wine (in between a Rose and a Red)

Sauteed meager w/ crushed potatoes and basil oil (meager is a type of fish) - ****
Paired with a soft Red wine

Palate cleanser, mint and lime sorbet with champagne - *****

Sirloin with black beans, rice cake and Brazillian cabbage - *****
Paired with a bold Red wine

Serra cheese ice-cream, quince jelly and banana foam - *****
Paired with a Late Harvest wine

Fake peach cheesecake - *****
Paired with a Port