Lisbon

The best of the rest

/ Greg / Leave a comment

The nearly a week we spent in Lisbon this past fall felt a bit like a loose collection of activities and sightseeing that was stitching together an amazing collection of meals and food adventures. While the food ended up being the star of the show, there was plenty else that deserved top billing.

Situated as it is, there are million dollar views from many of the hilltops over the city. Most of the vantage points are gathering spots complete with an outdoor bar and seating, and usually some live music and entertainment. One of my favourites was the Miradouro da Graça and it’s view, seen here on a mid-week morning.

Miradouro da Graça

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Portugal for beer?

/ Greg / Leave a comment

Portugal is for wine, right? Of course it is. And I can report back that I sampled and enjoyed a wide range of the wine of this amazing country over two weeks there. But I also found some time to explore a relatively new and growing craft beer culture.

Starting in Lisbon, I found this great little craft beer bar, LisBeer, tucked a few streets off of the main beaten-down tourist paths.

LisBeer in Lisbon

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Delicacies in Lisbon

/ Greg / 2 Comments

In thinking back on the close to one week we spent in Lisbon last fall, the first thing that comes to mind is the food. While we did not explicitly plan for Lisbon to be a dominant foodie experience, we had a host of amazing meals, dishes and drinks scattered around the city. One meal was so good, I even just wrote about it separately so I could attempt to do it justice.

So, here goes for a tour through our Lisbon eating experiences…

Night one, slightly jet legged and craving an early to bed evening, we arrived at Cantinho do Avillez at the almost ridiculous hour (for Portugal, or for anyone under the age of 73) of 4:30 for dinner. What a great start to our stay in Lisbon. Olives, a baked cheese dish and some local pork sausage got us off to an amazing start.

Cantinho do Avillez

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Giddy for seafood in Lisbon

/ Greg / 1 Comment

I’ll set the stage. It was early afternoon and we were standing in Sintra and at that point  were making our plans on the fly for the rest of our day. Rather than having a late lunch there, we decided to hop an earlier train back to Lisbon to make a beeline to a restaurant that was on our “must visit” list.

In my mind, Cervejaria Ramiro, a down to earth seafood restaurant, had reached almost mythical proportions. As a former coastal dweller now landlocked in Saskatchewan, I was drooling at suddenly having unfettered access to fresh seafood for the first time in ages. I had read reviews of this place and had seen it on a Netflix special about six months earlier. It was love before first sight.

Ramiro in Lisbon

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A day in Belém

/ Greg / 1 Comment

About thirty minutes by tram to the west of central Lisbon is Belém, a lovely locale we based part of a day around during our trip back in October. Belém is not for the faint of heart if you are unnerved by crowds. In the morning, cruise ships disembark and a never-ending line of tour busses congregate outside of its most popular sites. For our first stop, we avoided the crowds and visited the National Coach Museum. The collection of historical carriages here was amazing, and seeing so many in one place let us see the progression of “technology”, if you can call it that. I never really thought of carriages before, but loved the unique focus of this museum.

National Coach Museum

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Bad timing, that’s all

/ Greg / Leave a comment

I really could not have had worse luck with the soccer schedules on my trip to Portugal in October. Whether it was Europa League, Champions League or the Portuguese domestic league, the home teams of Lisbon and Porto were playing when I was in those respective cities, but in away matches each and every game. While I’ve had some really fun times at matches in Prague, Rome and Seville that will have to hold me over until my next European adventure. So, to make the best of some bad timing and with my wife sleeping in one morning in Lisbon, I took the opportunity to do a tour of Benfica’s stadium on the outskirts of the city.

Estadio da Luz, you are definitely a beauty.

Estádio da Luz

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When vacation begins

/ Greg / Leave a comment

October 4, 2018 – Lisbon, Portugal

Quiet.

The morning noises of the city are far, far below this lookout and only the early risers are up here milling around. Behind me, the church bells rang twice and a tranquil concopheny of languages fills the air. I can see cars driving across the bridge through a light haze, and flights on their descent to the airport cross the sky every minute or so. 

These are some of my favourite moments of my trips. Being still, while hard for someone as restless as me, comes easier in Europe. Some combination of the view, the sounds, the taste of an espresso and the light breeze have me relaxed for what feels like the first time in ages. This vacation has been a long time coming. While having been here for a few days already, I think this moment, high above Lisbon, is when my spirit has arrived with my body on vacation. 

Lisbon, Portugal