Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
So, here we are in Lisbon and one of the first jobs, after finding the hotel, is to find a supermarket. So off we set with directions from the hotel, up a little back street and there it is, the sort of place that as a tourist, you wouldn't normally be walking past.This is all relevant because as Jean was making monumental decisions about which chocolate to buy, I was standing out of the way leaning against a counter of dried cod when a voice said, " there's a face that I remember" and it was someone I worked with 31 years ago and haven't seen him since, and he recognised me. Needless to say I had no idea who he was until he told me his name, and there is no way I would have recognised him!! But the most reassuring part of this tale is that it's clear, I haven't aged at all after all this time, and no, it's not because I aged prematurely 30 years ago. It was a case " of all the supermarkets in all the world, he walked into this one " ( with apologies to Humphrey Boggart - Casablanca).
First lesson of Lisbon, do not eat at restaurants that (a) have a menu board out in the middle of the street, and (b) have a spruiker out front catching innocents, or in our case, tired walkers/climbers. The meal was terrible and overpriced, something that Jean pointed out to the manager before she paid the bill. By way of apology, they gave us a free drink and invited us back tomorrow, but as it turned out, we weren't free.
Day 2 saw us searching out as many hills as we could just so we could enjoy the experience as the photos will attest.
Lisbon Castle (on top of the highest hill) followed by a meander through the old town, built around the base of the castle so more narrow streets and stairs.
Always on the hunt to eat local, we were recommended by the hotel to try the restaurant across the street, an unimpressive place called UMA. Plain chairs and plastic tablecloths, we were warned that the owner could be a bit dismissive but the food was good. No reservations taken, despite at least 20 or so tables with Reservado on them, so we lined up at 6:50 for a 7:00pm start.
With only about 25 seats available, we were able to get the last two toward the back of the place and settled down for the night. With only 2 menus available for the entire restaurant, it did take some time for us to get our order in, which wasn't much of a decision as it turned out.
With 4 egg dishes, 3 fish and 4 meat dishes on the menu, we were told that the 4 egg dishes were not available, 2 fish and 2 meat dishes were only available for lunch so that just left 1 fish and 2 meat to choose from, apart from the speciality of the house, a dish called seafood rice, much like a bouillabaise but full of Portuguese flavours. Nothing at all like a paella. Served in an aluminium pot the size of a large saucepan the menu stated that this place had won the best Portuguese seafood rice prize in 2015.
And when it arrived, we could see why, as did every other table in the place, they all ordered the same dish.
With a full load of carbohydrates and protein on board, we were ready for Day 3 Sintra, or so we thought.
Nothing could prepare you for a day in Sintra based on an itinerary put together by Jean other than a previous visit, in which case you wouldn't go a second time.
The train ride there was quite deceptive, with no sign of the hills to come. I think it is the steepness rather than the height that gets to you. Palaces, lookouts and castles all perched on top of their own rocky outcrop that was more suited to an eagle's eyrie than a place of human habitation.
But, once again we enjoyed the 2000 metre walk down through the trees to home base.
Back to Lisbon and again, on the recommendation of the hotel, another great restaurant.
Dinner tonight was fantastic, an out of the way " typical" Portuguese. The food was exceptional and with a couple of Americans sitting on the table next to us, the whole night turned into something special.
Day 4 and it was out of town by train to Cascais, a train ride of about 45 mins along the coast. On arrival, after several circumnavigations ( on foot) of the roundabout in front of the station, we picked a road and found our way to the bike hire shop, picked up a couple of bikes and set off for a 1 hr ride to the beach into a persistent head wind. The ride back was very nicely assisted by a tail wind so it was easy going.
On arrival back in Lisbon there was one more " must do" experience to be suffered, a funicular ride up the steepest hill yet to be encountered. Getting to the funicular station was a climb in itself, something even the tram couldn't handle it seems. On arrival at the station, there was not a soul in sight, and as the top didn't seem too far away, and as we had come that far, we thought we might as well walk to the top. Another miscalculation, because on reaching what was envisaged to be the top of the hill when viewed from the bottom starting point, actually turned out to be the halfway point. Not much said during the next section. Even less when it turned out we had to walk back down the other side to get to where we were heading, when all along we could have simply just stayed at sea level and walk around the flat roads.
Day 5, out of Lisbon again by train, this time only a few stations to Belem where the Monument to the Explorers and the Tower of Belem seem to be the main attractions, that is other than the bakery that claims to be the only one with the original recipe for Portuguese egg tarts.
This was a claim that Jean was quite happy to put to the test, and by all accounts, it passed.
Then it was a quick trip across the river, or mouth of the estuary to Cacilhas, a little fishing village renowned for its fish restaurants. On the recommendation of our hotel, we found a great restaurant to spend a few hours, eating and taking in the view, all the while perched perilously close to the waters edge.
Then back to Lisbon, pack the bags to be ready for a morning departure to Milan, and the end of narrow cobblestone streets and hills.
- comments