When in Portugal, Drink Port

The last leg of our holiday trip to Europe was Lisbon, Portugal and it was our favorite.  We absolutely loved Lisbon and there is so much to love about it.  I don't even know where to start.  I guess, I'll start with the food.  We ate so much there.  The first day we ate five meals.  We just kept going into places to try more of the food.  Within hours of arriving, we immediately found a place close to our hotel called Fabrica Da Nata where we ended up going everyday.  Why?  So, we could start our day eating their pasteis da nata.  

We were in heaven.  These are a Portuguese staple; the little custard pastries with a very thin flakey crust with just a slight bit of burnt egg-y custard melt-in-your mouth top. It is custom to sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar on top that are available at each table while you sip your coffee and eat your pasteis da nada. 

These little pastry shops were everywhere in Lisbon but we loved this place because they were very efficient with fast service and a large decorative space to sit down.  Plus, it was close to our hotel with beautiful decor of artistic tile work on the walls, chandeliers, etc.   I'm sure other shops were just as nice but we just loved coming here each day and soaking it all in.  

As we walked around town, we saw these little pastry shops everywhere and we'd have to stop and gape.

We had one rainy day, although we did most of our sightseeing before it hit but when it did hit (we had taken umbrellas from our hotel to use) we would dart into another little cafe and sample more food.  

The Portuguese love salted cod fish called bacalhaus and I soon decided that I loved it, too.  It is often served with boiled potatoes and vegetables, as in the above photo.  We hopped into this place when it started raining and noticed lots of business men eating here so we figured it must be a good, local place. It really hit the spot.  We also had to sample eating at the Time Out Market.

 It is a huge hall of 26 of the best restaurants providing sample dishes from their menus.  There are also market vendors of meat, fish, fruit and flowers, with dozens of shops and a high-end music venue; all with the very best of Lisbon as it's theme.  Of course, we had to eat there.   I ordered more cod along with additional seafood on my large seafood platter.  

I loved my seafood platter with the cod and meticulously picked all the meat off the bones.   Bruce got a rather large, loaded hot dog-like sausage that satisfied his American food craving. 

Walking around Lisbon was one of our favorite things, too.  All the walkways are made of beautiful tiles of all types of designs, just lovely to look at.  You can see it in the background of the two following photos:

And like Paris, the architecture was beautiful and the red tiled roofs were gorgeous.  They also have lots of outdoor cafes like Paris that we will definitely need to experience when we return during nicer weather.  

I even liked the old rustic buildings that showed so much character and charm from years of aging. 

This was a fun and festive street we walked down after going to the Time Out Market.

Being from Seattle, we thought it was funny that they had elevators and trams to take people up the hills in Lisbon. 

One of the city's landmarks is the Elevator de Santa Justa built in 1902 that connects from the flat part of town called Baiza (where our hotel was located) to the upper part of town called Bairro Alto/Chiado districts. 

                                      

Lisbon is a very hilly town but we just walked everywhere since we are use to living in Seattle.  Some people say it reminds them of San Fransisco but we didn't think that. It does have trolleys like San Fransisco and a similar bridge like the Golden Gate bridge but it has such a different feel to it.  

  

Another landmark is the Lisbon Cathedral that we walked passed as we strolled around town.  It was built in 1150 and was the first place where the Christians worshiped after overtaking the Moors in Lisbon so just like in Spain, this cathedral was built on the former site of a mosque and the Christians wanted to make a powerful statement with their cathedral. 

It was still quite festive for Christmas while we were there as with all the other cities we visited on this trip.  Our hotel was beautifully decorated and we were so thrilled when we arrived on the first night. 

We saved one evening to eat at a fado restaurant where they preform the folksy, soulful music of Lisbon. It is music traced back to the mid-1800's that is slightly haunting but mournfully beautiful about lost sailors of Lisbon, broken hearts, and bittersweet romance.  In restaurants, the fado takes over very 15-20 minute intervals where the lights are dimmed and the eating and chatting stop to watch.  It was really very mesmerizing. 

We had earlier reservations (7:30pm) so by the time the music started we were done with our meal and just drank our after-dinner port and enjoyed the entertainment in the quaint and cozy restaurant.  It was one of our favorite evenings. 

Fado music is performed by either a female or male vocalist.  We had one of each perform for us.  They are usually accompanied by a 12-string Portuguese guitarra (with a round body like a mandolin) and viola or 6-string guitar and a bass.  And they’ll also do solos. 

It was a really lovely, relaxing evening with delicious food, too.  I had my cod again prepared the best yet; grilled to a melt-in-our mouth texture with mashed potatoes. 

I loved the appetizers of olives, cheese, Portuguese sausage and Pastéis de Bacalhau ~ salt cod fritters. (I really should try making these.)

Lisbon was wonderful and we decide this will be a good stop for us before or after we travel to visit Nick in Spain.  We definitely want to go back since we simply scratched the surface of Lisbon on this trip.  The one thing that has stuck with us is drinking port after dinner now.  I just love the port.  It is similar to sherry in that it is fortified during the fermentation process with brandy which stops the fermentation process.   Sherry is fermented longer, brandy is added at the end where with port, brandy is added halfway through the fermentation process making it more rich and sweet since it doesn't ferment as long as sherry.  Anyway, that evening of listening to fado and drinking port really stuck with me. And I want more.  Cheers to Lisbon and to many more return visits.