Day 1 – Sunday October 5, 2014

Andrew, Michelle and I landed in Lisbon at 7:00am (2:00am EST). We were exhausted but ready to start sightseeing and making the most of our time in Lisbon. The subway was easy to navigate and empty on this Sunday morning. Our first stop was dropping off our luggage at Home Lisbon Hostel and freshening up before heading to Belém.

We tried to take Tram 15 to Belém but after 15-20 minutes of waiting, we asked the nearby police officer to find out where is the tram. We learned that the tram was not running today due to some event. We scrambled to find a bus route but figured it out by asking the bus drivers. Andrew experienced his first pick pocketing attempt too! He felt a slight pull in the crowds and later saw his bag’s pocket was opened. Luckily, we’re experienced travelers and only a laptop charger was in that pocket… But then again, Dru would have been screwed if they took the charger.

We got to Belém and headed towards Pastéis de Belém, the bakery that invented the Portuguese tart. I ordered a flakey ham and cheese pastry along with a cappuccino and the famous tart. The ham and cheese pastry was savoury, flakey and very delicious. I loved it! I ate the tart next and was simply blown away by how good it was. I usually don’t like European pastries because they are too heavy or sweet but this was just perfect. The filo pastry-like crust was filled with sweet custard with a hint of egg taste. It is the best tart I have ever tasted.

We headed to Jerónimos Monastery next. The church part was typical but the claustro had beautiful detailed architecture.

We walked to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos monument and then to the Torre de Belém. Admission was free because it was the first Sunday of the month but as a result, there were lines. The tower only had one spiral staircase that didn’t accommodate two way traffic. So there is an alternating red and green light to control up and down traffic. Due to the number of people, this system was clogged. We waited to climb up to the top only to wait in another line to climb down. The tower was not worth the wait but the experience does make an interesting story…

We walked over to check out the National Coach Museum but it was quite boring and smelled like old antiques. We left shortly and after some debate on what to do next, we ended up at the Museu Nacional do Azulejo (National Tile Museum). It was actually very interesting to see the tile art change over the years.

It was too early for dinner so I suggested we go to a Miradouro (viewpoint). We went to Miradouro da Senhora do Monte. It was a lovely romantic view and the Lisbon red rooftops are very charming.

We wanted to take the famous tram 28 to get to dinner but learned it wasn’t running because one of them broke down. So instead we used bus maps for the detour. For dinner, we ate at Cervejaria Ramiro. It was suggested as the best seafood in the city but with a hefty price tag. We had to price everything on weight and it was confusing because I don’t know how many kg of shrimp I want. Luckily, the server helped us a bit. The seafood was very good and the winner of the night was the crayfish. It was $15 a piece but it was one of the best seafood I’ve ever had. It was salty, sweet, fresh and light. I wanted more but I don’t think my wallet could handle it because I could have eaten 10 more of those. After a very long day and flight, we went back to our hostel and crashed.

Day 2 – Monday October 6, 2014

I had planned for a day trip to Sintra today. We took the train to Sintra and then boarded the sightseeing 434 bus. Our first stop was at the town centre where I had another foodie stop planned at Pastelaria Piriquita bakery to try the local travesseiros flakey pastry. It was like a passion flakie but more fresh and way tastier. Dru and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We took the bus to Moorish Castle and began sightseeing this fort. The views from the towers were spectacular.

Next, we bused to Pena Palace and Gardens. The palace from the outside looked like something from a fairy tale. The inside was nice but nothing as impressive as Versailles in France. The gardens were very raw and felt medieval like something from Lord of the Rings. It wasn’t overly man-made or maintained but it was nice to explore. We hiked up to Alta Cruz expecting an amazing view since this was the highest point in Sintra but the view was blocked by trees.

We missed our stop into town so we had to walk back from the train station. I picked up some more snacks from Piriquita and this time got a Queijada. The Queijada is a sweet cheese, coconut and cinnamon cake inside a filo pastry-like shell. It was very different from what I have ever eaten before but I loved it.

We had time to see the last place on my list, Quinta da Regaleira. The architecture of mansion and grounds was gothic, mythical and magical. The detail was beautiful and very impressive. The best part was the gardens as you get to explore secret passages and tunnels. We had a lot of fun exploring this place!

We ended up in town again and I got another Queijadas (yes! It was that good!) along with some pannacotta gelato. Although it was good, this pannacotta and gelato was nothing to rave about. We got back to our hostel but then headed to dinner at Cantinho Do Avillez. The owner, José Avillez is one of portugal’s top chefs and this was one of his highly rated restaurants. I had the steak sandwich and the Hazelnut³ dessert. The sandwich was very good but nothing too unique. The Hazelnut³ was more impressive. It was hazelnut mousse with some bits of sea salt and layered with hazelnut ice cream and more mousse or creme. It tasted like a Ferrero roche in a cup! We had a great conversation that night despite the very long wait for our food –3 hours total dining time.

Day 3 – October 7, 2014

We slept in this morning and then checked out of our room. We wandered towards the subway station hitting up a couple of novelty souvenir stores along the way. I love how nicely designed the shops and their products were. We purchased a day pass for Tram 28 and took it to see different parts of the city. We ended up at Campo de Ourique traditional market but it was not worth going to. Nothing to see, do or eat there really.

We took a tram back to the Barrio Alto area and walked to O’ Trevo, a restaurant recommended by Anthony Bourdin. The “bifana”, tender pork served on a soft roll was delicious and great value for €2.75. After lunch, we went to gelato spot called Amorino. I was surprised at how they presented their gelato cones. It was the prettiest gelato I’ve ever had and you could get unlimited flavours! Oh, but it wasn’t just for the looks, it was delicious and quite the creamiest gelato I’ve ever had. They even had speculoos flavour!

We visited the fashion and design museum, MUDE. The current exhibit by André Saraiva, Graffiti artist. Very interesting street poster and some fun illustrations.

We took the bus to our next destination, Lagos, a beach town about 4 hours away. We checked into Tag Hostel and headed for dinner at Adega Tipica A Forja, a Portuguese seafood restaurant. We shared the grilled swordfish, tuna and pirch. It was very tasty and good value. We walked around the lively town afterwards before calling it a night. It was very relaxing and quaint. I loved it… It reminded me of the greek islands.