Dreaming of Lisbon

There are few places I've visit where I'm already looking forward to visiting again. Portugal was a treat, with it's colorful homes, tram lines, coastal strip, fado music and diverse culture. 

Our Airbnb hostess was the mostess (thanks Carla!) and made some wonderful recommendations which helped tremendously since we were traveling without a plan.Though we knew that there were a lot of popular sights to see, on our first day, we opted for getting on tram 28 and hopping off when we felt inspired.

Packed like sardines on the tram, we had great views if the city and hopped off at the Point of Graca lookout. The view of the city and its bright orange rooftops were breathtaking. Trying to navigate the city with shotty service (3G -TMobile) had an unintended benefit. We stumbled onto Castelo St. George on accident and were treated to gorgeous views of the city, showy peacocks prancing around and cannons lining the fort. From the top of the castle, we could see the 25 de Abril Bridge (built by San Francisco Golden Gate designer), Cristo Rei statue and other monuments in place to recognize previous sovereignty. This trip made me realize just how expansive Portuguese influence was, with ex-colonies including Angola, Brazil, Goa and Macau.

After touring the castle, we walked down the cobblestone streets and into a souvenir store. I left with a cute hanging cutting board, wine cork and mini bottle of Porto 2000 (had the get a little something something to keep me warm!). It was easy not to get lost as you just need to go down the hill and follow the water....we walked past the square to live music and then eventually caught a taxi to Belem.

In Belem, we had traditional dishes at Belem 2 a 8, like fish soup, codfish fritters, clams and vinho verde. For dessert, we walked over to the infamous Pateis de Belem and enjoyed warm pastries sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar. These treats were delicious and reminded me of a corn meal porridge I loved growing up (labouye), except packed as a little custard muffin.

The next morning we had breakfast at Tartine. On the menu included salmon eggs benedict, tartine and pastries like almond croissants and Pateis de Nata, which is a little different than the ones from Belem. I personally prefer the Belem ones, they took me back to a warm, special place in my childhood! After breakfast, we caught a train to Sintra, a beautiful little city and UNESCO World Heritage Site. We had a nice walk up to the hilltop medieval, Castelo dos Mouros, which was surrounded by green lush forestry. In the same area was the Pena Palace, colorfully designed in accordance with Romanticism and home to the Portugese Royal until 1910.

We closed out our last night at Bonjardim restaurant with the classic portuguese Piri Piri chicken dish.  Portugal was lovely and I look forward to visiting again in the future!