6 - Back in Lisbon

Tuesday morning we needed to get moving again as yesterday was a bit of a stagnant day. Bill selected Miradouro da Senhor do Monte as our destination. It is a pretty little park outside of Sao Vicente that overlooks the river, castle, bridge, and Baixa area.

Before we began to climb we briefly explored a pretty little chapel, Capela de Nossa Sephora da Saude. It was beautifully decorated and had blue and white azulejos panels on the lower part of the walls.

Part way up the hill there was another park, Jardim da Cerca da Graca, with a great view of the city and river. For the first time I saw some flowering trees in Lisbon and a few flowering bushes. We also saw our first swallows swooping and diving high above us. Spring is coming!

Our last challenge after the winding steep climb was a very long, narrow staircase that just went straight up, flanked by people’s homes and some graffiti of cute insects and animals.

The view of the city was worth the climb and it is turning out to be a beautiful, sunny, warm day. We were rewarded to see a really cute new bird, a European Goldfinch, he has a white belly with two gold patches on his chest and a red, black, and white face. Super cute!

On the way back down, we discovered a shorter and less steep route to the lookout point from the other park with a view! Oh well, getting more cardio to be in great shape for ulti when we get home!

We stopped at Aviz, a popular local restaurant for lunch. I have not been too happy with grilled cod on this trip but decided to give it one last try and really enjoyed it. They prepared it very well here and did not overcook and dry it out. The rice and salad were great too. Why can’t we get good fresh lettuce in Toronto? Come on people! Bill had the curry chicken and he really enjoyed it too.

We had a pleasant walk downhill to start our workday.

We crossed through Bastardo Park and finally found the market that had been advertised. It has lots of booths selling sausages and pork sandwiches, cheese, beer, wine, sangria, dried fruit and nuts, gifts, and jewellery. Guess our lunch is planned for tomorrow!

We worked late and by the time Bill was ready for dinner, I wasn’t hungry and feeling very tired as I had snacked on some popcorn earlier. We ended up just walking to the Manteigaria and getting Pasteis de Natas for dinner.

Wednesday morning Bill had some work to do, so I read some of How to Be an Artist, by Jerry Saltz, and had a relaxing morning. For lunch we did head to Bastardo Park, Praça da Figueira. I had a sausage platter and some corn bread. The meat was great, the bread was dry and flavourless. I gave a lot to the birds. Bill really enjoyed his pork and cheese sandwich. The bun looked crusty but was really soft and perfect for a big, hearty sandwich. We had some beer and a red sangria. They have a nice covered area with wooden tables and benches to sit at. It was a beautiful sunny day, so it was great to sit outside and enjoy our lunch.

Bill went back to do some work and I did some souvenir shopping. I bought cat paw earrings for KB, a couple of rings that I will keep or give as gifts, and some dried ginger without sugar, trail mix, and salted almonds for snacking (shockingly expensive but really good).

It was another late workday, so we went to Chapito a Mesa for dinner. They are open until 1am. It is located at the top of a long flight of stairs, just below the castle, so it has an excellent view of the river.

You have to enter through a gift shop, then head out back and down the stairs to the outdoor but mostly covered area that they use in the winter. It is very quaint and the service is excellent. We shared octopus with sweet potato mash and piri piri chicken. Both were delicious and filling.

Thursday morning, we went to the Money Museum, located in a former baroque era church. You can enter the lobby and view some of the remaining decor of the church without entering the museum. But it is worth taking a tour of the museum anyway because the money museum is free!

The exhibits show coins and notes dating back to the invention of money globally (including bartering), money production, banking history, and lots of interactive activities. I liked the displays of the banknotes from around the world. There is an old $20 Canadian. I also like the displays of the coins, especially ones with flowers or animals on them. The museum was really well done.

As an added bonus, the basement had a video of the history of this part of the city by the River Tagus and the King Dinis Wall. Underneath the building is the remains of the medieval city wall dating back to the 13th century. It was erected to protect the important economic trade industry of Lisbon from attacks via the sea. The 1755 earthquake damaged the wall and buried it for 250 years until the archaeological excavation in 2010 when they were refurbishing the Banco de Portugal headquarters.

We headed up to a new neighbourhood to have lunch at Sumaya, a Lebanese restaurant that Charles and Irene recommended. We had a great meal with hummus, mixed grill with rice (the best ever kafta), and large doses of the garlic sauce on my meal. I made a daring choice and order a small carafe of arak with mulberry juice. I should have guessed it would taste like ouzo and I did not enjoy it!

We had a short workday because we had a reservation at En Plano. Bill worked to the last min, so we had to briskly hike up the hill and made it to the restaurant 6 min faster than predicted by Google when we left the apartment. 

Bill started off with a gimlet and we selected the 6-course meal instead of 9 figuring we did not need extra starters and desserts. We were correct. During the meal we did enjoy being accompanied by the gold ants with forks for legs that held our cutlery for each course. 

Here was our menu:

Santiago green wine - female wine maker with a pretty label with a gold heart. 

We began with bread & rice crisps from Lisbon with cured ham from north - aged 24 months, sheep cheese - soft and stinky, pickled pear, carrot, onion, and zucchini, olives and olive oil - made from 3 different olives 

For a snack course I had a leek with onion chutney and Bill had a corn puff filled with fire roasted vegetables. It was accompanied with grilled head cheese topped with pickled carrot. 

The starter course was tuna tartar in coconut milk with sweet potato and onion purée, peanuts, and seafood paste. Mine was topped with rice crisp and Bill had a wheat crisp.

The swordfish was on a bed of chickpea purée for me and mashed potato under a foam for Bill. It also had picked carrots and zucchini with a broth. 

Before the meat course a wooden box was set on the table. It was opened to reveal 4 different steak knives - we get to choose our weapon! We had a cut of pork taken from between the shoulder and neck with a smoked cauliflower purée, caramelized broccoli, 24+ hour demi-glace, and picked strawberry,. We enjoyed that with a bottle that the waiter recommended, Blog.

For dessert we had vanilla ice cream, with apples, pickled pear, mango, and persimmon.

It was an excellent meal and we had a wonderful evening. One the walk home we enjoyed a clear dark blue sky - so pretty!

Friday morning was mostly consumed by work for Bill but we took a break at noon and treated ourselves to a high-end Portuguese seafood lunch near the theatre district. We had to check in with the young faux fur wearing hostess that was sitting behind a podium. She had to verify over her earpiece that we were allowed in. I was then able to hit the button that opened the glass door beside the giant aquarium that contained potential menu items and entered the dining room.

The place has an old school steak house vibe with waiters that have likely worked her since the place opened. There are photos and drawings of famous patrons and a big tv screen scrolled photos snapped with famous people and the owner, chef or staff.

I originally was going to have the crab but the waiter did not seem to think that was a good option for me, since it was larger than a serving plate. He selected an appropriately sized lobster for me instead. Bill had the octopus salad and clams. The wine and food were fantastic. It was great when my lobster was ready, brought out on the cart and carved up for me by the waiter. That definitely makes it worth the huge price tag! We chatted a bit with the couple from Hong Kong beside us. This was their first meal in Lisbon. We are already starting to sound like Lisbon experts and are giving them lots of advice loaded with our enthusiasm for the city! 

We headed back to our place feeling full and sleepy after our amazing lunch. Going to be a long workday! Somehow I managed to power through and was even energized enough to make it to the end of the day without napping! 

We walked over to Taberna da Rua das Flores. We had tried to go our first night but they do not take reservations and we did not want to wait. Tonight we are up for the challenge! Just after 8pm we are given a spot for 10pm (as long as the 5 ladies have cleared out). 

The experience was both amazing and maddening at times. I think I must have been a little to hungry and slightly tipsy by the time we had anything to eat. Or maybe I am just too old to fully appreciate a restaurant that clearly appeals to hipsters. The menu is in Portuguese and on a giant chalkboard that the staff have to balance while they explain each tapas dish to you. Did I mention that we were basically sitting at the front door squeezed between two other tables? Our table was so small that I could not stretch out my legs underneath it. 

We ordered grilled scallops, swordfish on chickpea puree with fried capers, grilled squid with onions and cilantro, thinly sliced rare beef vegetables and the baby lamb lettuce leaves. We had a wonderful chocolate mousse topped with sea salt and olive oil - it was great. It was a pretty good meal, so I would say overall it was a thumbs up! 

We then strolled through the bar district and sipped a beverage while taking in the boisterous and fun atmosphere. We confirmed that most of the activity is happening on the street and not inside. We popped into a couple of spots that had some good music, finding that there was less than 3 people on the dance floor. We did not stay too late.