2 countries, 4 small towns, 5 cities & 12 days Part I - Lisbon edition

Warning! This is going to be a super long post, read at your own risk. This is the only way I can squeeze summary of the trip to 2 countries, 4 small towns, 5 cities 1 small town into one post and moreover, given that this is my first trip in 2016, do bear with me if I became a little long winded.

The trip owes its conception from the Korean show 花样爷爷 in their Spain series. My friend, Clarice & I were very amazed by the beautiful sights in the show that we promised to visit Spain together. That was two years' ago, it took that long for both of us to find matching schedule to take a 12 day long trip. And so, after a little planning (which amounts to two and a half meet ups - where we both conclude we are too lazy to do any detail planning), we are off to Portugal & Spain!

Lisbon, Portugal

If Paris is a mademoiselle, pretty and seductive, London a grande dame, well-coiffed and distinguished, then Lisbon would be a woman currently down on luck yet dignified while waiting for her next break. My first impression of Lisbon is that it looks like Macau and Cuba (from pictures) thrown in - Foreign with a touch of familiarity. I couldn't begin to describe the charm of Lisbon. True, Lisbon is more run down than many of the other European countries, but there's a certain amount of authenticity to the city and its people. Perhaps it's because the city did not doll herself up to present a pretty facade to its visitors.

Lisbon does have some "famous" landmarks but the best part of Lisbon is the lovely neighborhoods, each filled with its own charm.

Cervejaria Ramiro

If you want to enjoy the lovely seafood Portugal has to provide, this is the place to be. As the Guardian has it, this is the seafood temple of Lisbon.

We ordered the crab, prawns in garlic and clams in garlic. They are fabulous (so is the bread served). I can safely say that this is the best meal of the whole trip. The waiter took a look at our table and gave a smirk, he quickly pronounced that he was sure that we enjoyed our food due to the messy table.

The only advice is, be there early. The queue starts right after 6pm and it snakes out like forever after.

Address: Avenida Almirante Reis 1, +351 21 885 1024, cervejariaramiro.pt

Belém

The Belem neighbourhood has a number of sights located near each other. If the Jerónimos Monastery is on your list to visit, I strongly suggest to start early as the queue builds up as soon as the Monastery is open to visit (most sights opens at 10am in Lisbon). You could go to Pastéis de Belém for breakfast before 10, then stroll over to the monastery and complete your trip at the Tower of Belém.

Pastéis de Belém

This is the cafe that invented the famous custard tart, need I say more? The pastry is crunchy and yet not too sweet. Not being a fan of custard myself, I think the pastry is OK but nothing special. But my friend who tried it claimed it's really good.

If you see a long queue outside, ignore it, as it's possibly a queue for the takeaways. Go right into the shop. Don't be discouraged by the full seats and keep walking, eventually, you come to the back of the shop where there's a lot more seats. The cafe claims that it has 500 seats (it's true!).

Address: Rua de Belém 84 a 92, pasteisdebelem.pt

Some other pictures of Belém:

Time Out Mercado da Ribeira, Cais do Sodré

The Time Out Market is a must mention. True, it's touristy but the food sold here are top quality.

The food court was crowded at lunchtime so we ended up having our lunch at Cozinha da Felicidade which serves Portuguese food with an Algarve influence. We had their pork cheek and Barcalau and we absolutely love the pork cheek for this tenderness and rich flavors.

Address: Avenida 24 de Julho

Open from 10am to midnight (Sunday to Wednesday), 10am to 2am (Thursday to Saturday)

Around Praca de Comercio

#travel #food #sights #Europe #Portugal #Spain