My trip to Lisbon was broken up among my side trips to Porto, El Algarve and Sintra. I figured it would be better to recap all of Lisbon together, rather than along the short trips. So here is the best for last of the summer.
I arrived in Lisbon and caught an uber to my cousin, Paula’s apartment. Total cost? $10 (about 8 euros). Greeted by Paula in her new apartment after I had not seen her in about 2 years, was so emotional. She’s like another sister for me. We grew up together and shared many childhood memories. Last time we saw each other it was right before the COVID pandemic hit. We had celebrated my 25th birthday in New Orleans and then she spent a few days exploring New York City with me. I was so excited to have her as a guide in Lisbon!
We walked her neighborhood streets, and I passed a few murals that were breathtaking. Most of the buildings were also covered in tile designs. A staple of Portuguese history. I learned more about them in my trip to Porto. She took me to an overlook view of the city where there is a hidden bar. We had a local cocktail and enjoyed the sunset.
Dinner was served at Zé da Mouraria, a small hole in the wall. I would have missed this place if I wasn’t with a local. We ordered Bifinhos ao alinho (garlic steak) with fries and rice on the side. A very simple dish, but a very different taste. I could have easily eaten 3-4 slices of steak that was served, out of the 10 pieces we received. My cousin was already living in Lisbon for a year and is pretty fluent in her Portuguese, but the communication is still a bit rough. The thing about languages is that sometimes your accent can work against you, even if you are saying the correct word. I grew up with English and Spanish and after over twenty years of practice, it’s gotten much better, my Spanish. I still get corrected, but you don’t learn a language overnight. It takes a lot of practice. Anyway, we thought it was funny that the waiter still served 10 pieces of steak to the two girls who ordered only 2 pieces for dinner that night.
We ended our night at a rooftop bar that is found in the building of a shopping center. Another place I would have never thought of checking out. The next day Paula took me to get breakfast at a “local” bakery. I placed quotations there because although Google Maps said it was 10 minutes away, it took us about 20 minutes to even get there. Lisbon is made of a bunch of hills. Google Maps can deceive you over there and you might be forced to walk 2 flights of stairs on your way to lunch…That afternoon I left for Porto.
The afternoon I came back to Lisbon from my Porto trip, my cousin decided to take a lunch with me. We hit the stair and hill issue again and had to choose a new option for lunch. One that didn’t require us walking 3 flights of stairs in the heat. We finally found a spot in the Alfama neighborhood. The place was called, “Alfama Cellar.” Had a really delicious seafood stew and tried local organic soda!
Later that night I took my first tram ride, really cool! Then we headed to a Brazilian restaurant for a birthday dinner of one of their friends. Everyone I met was very kind and had a great sense of humor. I couldn’t tell the difference between Brazilian Portuguese and Portuguese from Portugal, but I was amazed at the words spoken because although they have a Latin base like Spanish, it was still difficult for me to understand, but I was in awe.
Later that night I dragged my cousin to a neighborhood about 26 minutes outside of the main city center because I was craving some salsa dancing. Almost in every country I had been to on this trip I found a salsa social, but it was a bit trickier in Portugal, mainly because Salsa isn’t as popular there. I found a spot, and requested a few salsa songs and danced with a few locals…The next day we headed to El Algarve for the weekend.
Once our quick beach getaway ended, we returned to Lisbon where I had a full day to explore the city. I joined a free walking tour where I learned more about the history of Lisbon and the culture that is still maintained to this day. I also had Pastel de Nata. It is a cream custard dessert, the Nacional sweet of Portugal, and absolutely delicious!
That night, Paula made dinner reservations for us to see a Fado show. What a treat! The best way that I can describe it is that it reminded me of the Spanish flamenco, except there is no dancing and the songs are more melancholy. Of course, I couldn’t understand the lyrics, but from what Paula translated they were all very sad songs. In my tour I learned that Fado originated back to when the Portuguese men were sent to war. Leaving the women lonely and with children, they sang sad songs in hopes that their husbands would return safely.
Another quick and tasty breakfast the next day and then I headed off to spend the afternoon in Sintra, exploring the palaces. When I returned later that evening, Rafa and Paula took me to dinner to an Italian restaurant where we had pizza! And of course, I ordered the Margherita! It was kind of a sweet joke because even though I had landed in a completely different country compared to Spain and Italy, from day one I was asking where I could dance salsa and where I could find pizza or pasta. Of course, I knew it wasn’t something I needed, but I’m glad we were able to find the places I had wanted to find, even in Portugal.
Since it was my last night, we headed to a new bar in town and had a few drinks while we played billiards. After terribly losing (no surprise), Rafa went back to the apartment to catch up on sleep, while Paula and I were on the search for a bar and a good time. Ended up at a bar with 3 floors where all they played was house music and it was decorated with random items throughout the floors. It was pretty neat and we had one cocktail there. We then decided to hit the college style bars after a quick shot of Ginjinha. We found a spot that started playing a lot of Reggaeton and Bad Bunny and we danced all night.
Since my flight didn’t leave until later in the evening on my last day in Portugal, I decided to hit a few places I hadn’t gotten to in my tour the other day and buy some outstanding souvenirs I had get before I left. I visited one of the oldest library shops in the world, had my last lunch with Gambas ao Alhinho (cooked shrimp immersed in Garlic oil), and my last Ginjinha cocktail at the secret garden bar.
And there is the last blog of the summer of 2022. I must say, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work in Europe for about 2 months, and to have had the ability to travel and explore more of the places that make me happy. I took this chance because I don’t know when I’ll have the opportunity to do this again. I don’t know what lays ahead of me in my life yet. Anything can happen. Plans change, travel can stop. So, I recommend anyone, no matter what age, wherever you are: If you have the opportunity to explore this world and learn from it, do it. You don’t know what there is to discover outside your home. You don’t know what you will learn. Money comes and goes, but you can’t get time back. And with that, expect my next destination which came not so long after this trip, haha!
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