Lisboa, Portugal

Our first destination in a new country and I am thrilled to be back on the move. I had a long travel day to get here, but now I can rest and relax and discover and explore!

I’ll be in Lisbon for three days, and then I’ll go around to some other spots before coming back to Lisbon. After having been around a bit I’m so glad I’ll be coming back here—there’s so many things I’d like to still do! That being said, my three days have been action packed.

I say that, but the first day I literally stayed in bed until eleven, but I needed the rest. Once I finally got up, I decided to walk and get some food. I’m proud of myself because for months I’ve been seeing places on tiktok and saving them in google maps. Now I have too many options tbh, but I just look in an area I want to explore and head that way. I walked about 20 minutes up the coastline through some classic Lisbon streets and got to a very modern cafe. I ordered some fish tacos and a maracuyá juice and I was in heaven. The tacos were packed with flavor from the sauce they used but also the fish was perfect and the cabbage had a great crunchy element. Texturally great and architecturally sound.

I strolled back and went closer to the water and stumbled upon a market with some cool vendors, and then found my way in Timeout Market. That place was bumpin and was like a giant food hall. I heard in the morning they have fresh produce and meats and such as well but that was closed down by this time. I did get a small scoop of maracuyá sorbet in a sugar cone for the rest of my walk back. I passed through the Praça do Municipio and Blaire spotted my story and said she and Zach stopped for an aperol spritz at the little stand in the corner of the plaza when she was in Lisbon and that just made me feel at home.

When I got back to the hostel, I chilled while I decided if the hostel dinner would be worth it or not. It was pesto pasta and I decided not to tempt fate that soon so going out would be my best bet. I also decided going earlier would mean there was less likelihood of a wait so I got changed and started my upward hike to Faz Frio. This was a lovely walk, and all the hills have given me a nice opportunity to slow down and take in my surroundings. The city looks just like you’ve seen in photos, lots of yellows and pinks and blue tiles and the trams really do go all over. People are quite friendly and smile back when you look their direction. I hear so much Portuguese on the streets yet everywhere I’ve popped in knows English. Portuguese definitely looks like Spanish but it doesn’t sound like it.

I passed by a great viewpoint to see the city from above, saw a few cats chilling, and then made it to the restaurant. Situated between lots of shops, the restaurant is on Dom Pedro V street. You step down into the old restaurant and there’s a few tables visible and the rest (according to the story on the menu) are private rooms. They also have a walk up window for the bar if you’d like to drink and wait outside. The staff was kind and funny tbh and we had a great time. I got bread with olives (seeded of course), hummus, and butter, two croquettes that I didn’t know of what kind, and Bacalhau à Lagareiro (I think). This was just cod and potatoes and a good thin buttery sauce with caramelized onions. I had vino verde and a great full belly. I walked back to the hostel and took in the view once again as the sun was going down. As I was leaving the restaurant a line was starting to form.

Back at the hostel my night went from 0-100. They had announced that there would be karaoke to pregame the pup crawl (am I in Krabi again?) so I thought I’d stick around for that and let the young ones go out. However my couch friends talked me into going on the crawl and woooooweeeee were we out late. Literally got back at 5 am. We went to town bars and a club and we danced the night away. Who do I think I am?

I made a bunch of friends that night, but mainly hung out with Jessica (Lincoln, England) and Phil (Aussie). On the walk home we talked about how our home phrases were so similar but had vastly different meanings and laughed a lot. Some other shout outs were Raj (Berlin) and Catherine (Australia) and a couple from Calgary that their names have escaped me.

My poor sleep choice came back to get me the next day because I had a Sintra tour booked for 11:30 am. Not the earliest tour by any means but I was gone until 7:30 pm so needless to say I was napping on the van rides in between our stops. I’ll be writing another post about this tour so please check that out as well.

That evening we did not go on the pub crawl again, blessed is she who says no to two nights in a row. Jessica and myself walked to a place for dinner but turns out they were booked for the night already….so def going there on Lisbon round 2. We then stumbled upon a random Italian place that was good, don’t get me wrong, but was it great? No. Now that I’ve made focaccia a lot, the focaccia was comical. However my pasta was bomb I had a spinach and ricotta tortellini with a cream sauce and speck. I’ll take it. Plus vino verde of course.

The next day I simply woke up and chatted with some gals in my room, and then sauntered over to Manteigaria for two Pastéis de Nata and they were indeed the best thing I’ve eaten so far. Thank heavens I got two! After that I hung out at the hostel in the lobby and chatted with some fellow Americans who graciously let me borrow their converter for my large power cord that I forgot about. One was off to Barcelona and Madrid and had the same bag as me (Katelyn) so we bonded, and the other works in HVAC so had to tell Lily (iykyk). I took the metro to the bus station and then got on the bus. Who remembers that song that goes, “get on the bus, it’s time to go, get on the bus, hey don’t you know, get on the bus, go hear to there, get on the bus go everywhere,” and then there’s an instrument cord progression thing? Probably a children’s show.

Next Stop: Lagos.

Lisboa Part 2:

Alright, we made it back to Lisbon! I actually realized in Nazaré that I did not have my first night in Lisbon booked. I ended up back at Yes! for one more night and the staff was so sweet and remembered me. From here on out the wedding guests will start arriving so more and more names will be thrown out so be ready. The main person I needed to find was Mary, aka the keeper of my Dupixent injection. We were able to meet up and make the handoff. Thank gosh! Also I met up with Kat, Carl, Kim, Jack, Mary, Dane, and some other people. We got a beer in Santa Maria Maior square and caught up and then they were all headed to dinner and various places. However I had decided this was going to be the night I went to the restaurant that was booked out on my last visit to Lisbon. The restaurant is called O Velho Eurico. You can make a reservation but obviously I did not do this or know to do this, but you can also arrive and wait in line and put your name on the list. I got there at 19:15 and judging by the 10 people ahead of me and growing number behind me, I couldn’t have come any later.

This was such a fun dining experience. Isn’t that something that we are lacking, lately? Community centered around food. This was my event for the night. I did not leave until at least midnight. I waited in line for 1.6 hours. Remember what we just said? We could use more community based culinary dining experiences. Once 19:30 rolls around, they start seating people and also taking down names for the waiting list. They have a blackboard on the wall by the door and if your name fits on the list you’re on the list. Once it fills up, that’s all they will accept for that night. I brought my kindle so I was able to read while I was waiting. The staff was settling in for a long wait as well, and it seemed like the lunch crew was sticking around to hang with the dinner crew. They were singing and laughing and taking group photos and it looked so fun. I noticed people getting this reddish pink, almost jell-o looking beverage that appeared to have whip cream on top. I asked some gals waiting next to me what it was and they said it was a tart strawberry alcoholic drink. Needless to say I got one and it was nothing like you’d expect but it was so good I could’ve guzzled down an ungodly amount but I switched to vino verde after feeling my pocketbook once again. Once people started getting seated and the line started moving we got more chatty. I’m cursing myself for being lazy and not writing down everyones names like I normally do, but I was able to speak with a couple from Australia and they were so nice. Had been traveling for a few months and really got me interested in heading to Istanbul soon. It was finally my turn and they asked if I wouldn’t mind sitting with another party. Of course not, this was all about community. I do think the father daughter duo was in the middle of some tense trip tiff so it was great to listen into their convo. By the end of it the dad rated it one start because he had to wait a while for some of the dishes and the daughter was like “you always do this” and it was entertaining. She’s going to school in Ireland but they are from New Zealand maybe, or Australia. I am mixing them up with the couple outside.

The food was great but honestly I think this is a place to go with a group, maybe three to six people would be ideal, but I made do. I had chicken hearts (Corações e uvas), but I am still not sure if that was real or a prank but they were good, a bowl of them like a bowl of cereal and it had a sauce and purple grapes. Very interesting. Fresh bread just like a personal mini loaf that went well with the sauce, an empanada of sorts (pastel de leitão), some sardines on toast with marinated tomatoes and peppers, another little savory pastry pocket of sorts (chamuça), and for dessert, Pão de lo. My table mates left, but my dishes came out slower than theirs and I didn’t mind. I was drinking my wine and chatting with a group of men at the table behind me playing a card game, one that was similar to hearts and euchre, but their deck was different. It had 0s and Us and one guy from the large outside party came and was dealt in for a round and the remaining patrons all seemed to start partying together. I did find out while waiting that it was one of the chef’s last night before he moves to Barcelona.

I am having insane deja vu writing this and I don’t know why! I swear I have already written this.

Anywho, I ended up joining a table with some gals and one girl was turning I think 24 so they brought her a dessert and everyone was so nice to include me in the convo speaking english but also they didn’t stop speaking Portuguese to one another and I respected that. We were all pretty drunk, and then they made me (not actually I decided on my own) drink the most foul alcohol called Rochedo – Aguardente Bagaceira. A grape spirit that the waiter was warning me and all them that I would probably throw up. I did not but he was right about it being awful. I sipped my shot due to their advice and I probably would have thrown up had I knocked it back. I stayed so late because I was having fun and had nowhere to be, but also because they never brought me my check. Eventually I was able to pay and bid everyone adieu and make my way back to Yes! around 1:30. What a night.

The next day I was to check into Home hostel, which is like a world renowned hostel and I could see why. I had to drop my bags since I was there before my check-in time, so I walked to brunch in Santa Maria Maior/Alfalma. I went to a spot called Lovers and it was nice and cute but nothing to write home about, except it appears I am doing just that. The mini pancake tour side was the highlight. The avocado toast was just fine, but they wouldn’t give me the pesto because they were sus of my allergy. I read and then wandered by some shops on my walk back before I was able to get into my room. I then decided it was time to hit up Belém for the afternoon. The Torre de Belém was under construction, but they had a cute park to stroll around. I took the bus because I learned my lesson with my last long walk and it was nice and easy. I then went to the Museum of Contemporary Art and saw some awesome exhibits.

After the museum I walked around the Jardim da Praça do Império and finally got a sleeve of Pastéis de Nata from Pastéis de Belém. These were deliiiishhh seriously. Served warm so hard to compare to Manteigaria but they may have been better. I ate them in the park and it was a lovely afternoon. I caught my bus back to the city and I never did figure out how to pay for it. I was even stopped to get my ticket checked and I asked the guy to help me and he was like sure I’ll help you after I’ve checked all the tickets and he never came back so I was like well this is chill.

That night I decided to go for the Hostel Dinner and it was sooo sweet. mama cooks for everyone and we all eat at an extremely long dining table that seats about thirty people. It was fifteen euros I believe, and we enjoyed a soup, a version of a shepherds pie, and a dessert that I can;t quite recall. This hostel and Yes! hostel link up for pub crawls, so I knew I could skip that even though I had made friends with my bunkmates and hostelmates. I just honestly had plans with my friends! This was a welcome beer at a bar not too far away and it was great to get to see everyone start to get into wedding mode. Nothing crazy and yet I still got home around 2:00.

Flash forward to our last day in Lisbon! Wahhh already? Yes. Here’s what I did. Tuesdays and Saturdays they have a big flea market in Alfama so I took a nice long stroll uphill to the market. I walked around and got some gifts for some people (a bday gift for Katelyn) and then wanted to meet up with Kim, Kat, Maggie, Carl, and their mom but I could not make it there in time on foot (it would’ve been hours) so took the rail car since I had not done that yet. That one did make me pay but I was prepared with my cash so not a problem. On the ride over my book (Katabasis) mentioned Lubbock so that was wild. We made it to the crew and Kim’s mom let me have half of her burrito and it was great! We then walked to a tiny wine shop that Kim loves called Salty Lisboa which is a natural wine bar. We had the best wine (vinov v ofc) called Tubarão!

We then walked back to drop off Kim at her hotel and send Maggie to hers as well, but decided another pastel de nata was in store for us. Ate then on the steps of a sculpture in the middle of a square (a round one?) and listened to some street music. Then I accompanied Kim to her hotel to have a glass of wine on the roof but it was closed sooo we had a glass on her balcony while we waited for Jack to get back. She read her vows one last time to practice and they were great! Once Jack returned I left them to change for dinner.

What was dinner? A walking kebab and fries that I was taking to a sports bar to watch the Lisbon v Porto match with the crew. The guys at Lebanese Shawarma and Falafel were so concerned that I wasn’t going to stay and eat it there since the game was about to start but I made it in time! We wanted to watch at a local spot but the guys we set in charge of going early and getting a spot did not perform their duties well so we had to move to another spot. Obvi a tourist spot but they were able to fit us all. The minute the game ended the lights went off, the strobes turned on, and it turned into a literal club that the bar crawls stop on. My bunkmates showed up though and that was cute. I played some beer pong and people were impressed by my skills. Oh and Porto won and thank gosh because I was cheering for them so that would’ve been awkward for sure. Walked back with Ian and he let me know that some of the guys were literally staying in my hostel. So weird I hadn’t run into them yet. Cue the next morning me seeing them all at breakfast.

Mike and I were able to chat and catch up a little but the other guys were too late and they all were going out to meet up with some people before heading to Setúbal. I hung back, did some computer work, and then met up with Kat, Carl, and their parents to get a ride to the wedding! Woop! Well the wedding eve!

Stay tuned for the wedding post as well as all that happened in between Lisbon. This feels like an exceptionally chaotic post, but y’all know me by now. Obrigada!