It was great to have Sylvia’s help on the plane. Jim is generally more interested in the International Tribune than helping me wrangle a wiggly baby. Sabine wasn’t too bad on the flight but since she doesn’t sit still, a three hour long flight is still pretty exhausting.
Once we got into Lisbon, we hopped into a cab to get to the apartment. Thankfully the cabbie spoke French so Jim was able to do the talking. Not so surprisingly my one year of Portuguese in college didn’t do me any good. Bom dia was about all I could remember from my hazy college days.
Sabine cried the entire cab ride because she was hungry. I had read that cab drivers may try to rip you off but I don’t think that was an issue for us. I think the cabbie was happy to get us there via the quickest route to get rid of a screaming baby.
Our apartment was up a narrow, little walkway that was accessible only by foot. Of course that didn't stop a few cars from squeezing though.
When we arrived to meet the management company employees for the keys, the cleaning woman was there. We weren't sure what she exactly cleaned since the floors seemed to be really dirty. I'm not sure if it was her dark hair we found all over the apartment or the previous renters.
Unfortunately for Jim Sr. and Sylvia, they got the smallest room I've ever seen. You could barely walk between the wall and the bed. Although if I had to choose between that and the room next to Sabine's bed, I'd go for the small room too.
The apartment was located in the Alfama district which is up the hill from the historic downtown area near the St. George castle. The Alfama is made up of tiny, steep cobble stone streets.
Although at first glance it is a bit gritty, you really get the vibe of the city. At night you can hear all the noises of the city: the fado music emanating from the multitude of fado bars and restaurants in the area; people leaning out of their windows to talk to people or shopkeepers in the street; mothers calling their children back home.
After seeing the tiny grocery stores in Lisbon, I can no longer complain about the size and limited supply of my neighborhood stores in Bonn. After our first couple of visits to various mini stores, we decided that we wouldn’t be cooking dinners at the apartment but rather taking turns going to restaurants in the neighborhood.
After our unsuccessful shopping expedition, next on our agenda was to get information about the city bus tours and get some lunch. We started walking to the Praca do Comercio, a large square along the Rio Tejo. Lisbon is only about 10k from the sea, the city is actually along the River Tejo.
We started walking along the street that ran along the river but there was too much construction and it wasn’t a very pretty street. One block in wasn’t much better as there was construction there as well, but we did find a little restaurant with a nice patio and we figured if the construction didn’t bother the other patrons, a noisy baby wouldn’t either.
We had a few mishaps with the high chair at the restaurant. They had one that actually slips on to the table. We put a chair behind and under her for protection but Sabine just used the seat of the chair to stand up and the high chair would come off of the table. The waiter apparently had seen plenty of children do this so helped us get her resettled. The next incident happened mid meal when I noticed Sabine slipping out of the chair. We realized that there was no strap between the legs of this chair. Thankfully we were paying attention and any real injury was averted.
After lunch we went to the Praca do Comercio to check out the Tourist Information office. It was actually a little bus that was parked in the square. The girl who was manning the bus was obviously ready to end her day as she didn’t really want to sell us bus tickets and gave us some misinformation regarding the tour starting point.
In the same square as the Ask Me Lisbon Bus, was a Portugal Wine Information Center that advertised a “free” tasting. Of course, nothing is ever truly free. They first went through a short introduction of 3 different wine producing areas in Portugal: Alentajo; Dao; and Algarve.
Before any tasting happened, we had to pick two wines to taste and fill out a marketing form rating the wine’s label, appearance and then also give them feedback about the wines once you had tasted them. We all tried four wines and only one of those was really good. It was the first one I tried. Unfortunately, it wasn’t one of the wines they sell so we left empty handed.
After Sabine was fed and in bed, Jim and I explored the neighborhood and got a bite to eat. We ended up at a restaurant just a few doors down from our apartment. The waiter was very friendly and spoke English. We sat at a table outside under some hanging lights and enjoyed some fresh fish with potatoes. Just about every restaurant in Lisbon has grilled cod with lots of olive oil and garlic and roasted potatoes.
Our first night was pretty rough. We all were getting sick and Sabine didn’t sleep well at all. I'm sure that being in a new place was a contributing factor but she was so congested that she wouldn't have slept well at home either. She woke up every hour and needed to be rocked to sleep. Thankfully, at 5:30 the next morning Sylvia took over so that I could get a little sleep. I feel for the mothers out there who have newborns who don't sleep. I don't know how they do it.
The next day we took the bus tour of the city. The tour was a little disappointing, in that there really aren’t a lot of sights to see in Lisbon. We were on a hop on and hop off bus but sadly we weren’t compelled to hop off anywhere in Lisbon proper. We didn’t decide to hop off until we were outside of Lisbon in the little suburb of Belem.
We got off the bus at the Tower of Belem and decided to get lunch. The only places to eat were either a snack bar or a cafeteria style restaurant. Jim and I got some food first and after looking at our food, Jim Sr. and Sylvia decided to pass.
The tower of Belem was pretty but other than admire it from the outside or climb the stairs to see the view from a 120 steps higher, there wasn’t much to do. So after a few pictures we walked back to the bus and we were graced with a pan flute rendition of Sinatra’s "My Way." I have to wonder if any large city in the world has managed to stay pan flute free?
The Monastery of Jeronimos was our next stop. It was a beautiful huge white limestone building. Vasco de Gama’s tomb is in the monastery and it was the place where sailors would go to pray before heading out to sea. We didn’t end up going into the church because Sylvia had heard that it was closed on the bus tour.
We walked into the town of Belem to find the famous Pasteis de Belem. This pastry shop was the first to make the pastel de nata, an egg custard tart that can be found all over Lisbon. We had tried this tart already but wanted to get one from the founder. We bought a package of still warm tarts and devoured them at the Starbucks next door. They came with packets of powdered sugar and cinnamon and the tarts were delicious with both options.
After an exceptionally long wait for the bus, we slowly made our way back to the apartment.
Since Jim and Sylvia had skipped lunch, they went to dinner. Jim and I planned to go to dinner after they got back. However, after two incidents of projectile vomiting, we decided to just go to bed without dinner. Jim was lucky enough to miss the vomiting but he saw the aftermath. (Hint – If you stay at Apartment 37 on the golisbon website, stay away from the small orange couch.)
On Sunday, we woke up to pouring rain. We decided that we’d do a little shopping at the mall we had passed on the bus tour the day before. We were also in desperate need of diapers and had heard that although it was Sunday, the large grocery store in the mall would be open.
Before shopping, we had lunch at a crappy little place in the mall food court. Jim Sr. and Sylvia walked with Sabine while Jim and I shopped. We were both hoping to find something to “give” each other for our anniversary, but we didn’t have any luck.
We picked up some diapers and fixings for a pasta dinner and then took a cab home. My new favorite pasta sauce is Sacla. I don’t know if you can find it in the U.S. but it so much better than any prepared pasta sauce I’ve ever had.
On Monday, Jim Sr. and Sylvia took an all day bus tour to 4 cities, including Fatima. I’m glad that they were able to have one day to see a lot of things baby-free. I think they had forgotten how little you can do each day with a baby. Just getting out of the door can be a challenge and our days didn’t usually get going until close to 11:00.
Jim, Sabine and I spent the afternoon in Cascais. Cascais is a little town that is a 40 minute train ride from Lisbon. Although it is labeled a beach town, there was only a tiny beach that we were able to find. It was far too cold for swimming so we just spent the day eating and wandering around. It was a very relaxing day and we both really enjoyed the town. It seemed to have a lot of restaurants, some good shopping as well as some picturesque narrow little lanes that reminded me of Santorini, Greece.
We found a little park up on the hill overlooking the downtown area and Sabine had fun on the swings, teeter totter and slides.
Sylvia and Jim Sr. got home pretty late from their day trip so Jim and I went to eat as soon as they returned. We found a little spot around the corner that seemed to be busy and smelled of tasty grilled meats. Our guide book suggested not eating fish on Mondays because it wouldn’t be fresh. This restaurant actually didn’t give you a menu on Mondays because they only served grilled pork and beef. Although the meat was much fattier and tougher than the cuts I usually choose; the meat had a good marinade and was quite flavorful.
On our last full day in Portugal we got out reasonably early and took a train to Sintra. It was a holiday in Portugal so it was pretty crowded in Sintra. We saw a bunch of marching bands going back to the train station and figured that there must have been a parade that morning.
Our goal in Sintra was to see the two castles that were located above the town. After a little confusion about the best way to get up to the castles, we boarded a bus and took the incredibly windy tight road up the hill to the ruins of the Moorish castle.
The castle was believed to have been a military fort from the 9th century during the Arab occupation. It was used to monitor the coast line which you could see in the distance.
The castle ruins weren’t stroller friendly so Jim stayed outside with Sabine while Jim Sr., Sylvia explored the castle and then I went back in with Jim a second time. It was fun climbing the old towers and castle walls and the views of the surrounding castles and towns were impressive.
Our next stop was the Pena Castle which had a very Moorish style of architecture. However, it wasn’t built by the Arabs but rather Mad King Ludwig’s cousin.
The castle was designed with the new ideas of comfort and intimacy in mind so the rooms were smaller in size and had fabric walls and thick curtains to give the rooms a cozy feeling.
There was another castle in Sintra called the National Palace but it had already been a long day for Sabine so we skipped the National Palace and headed back into Lisbon.
I had made reservations at 100 Manieras for our anniversary dinner. It had gotten some really great reviews from some reputable sources so we were really looking forward to it.
The restaurant was located in the Alto Barrio. Since we hadn’t really explored that area, we decided to do the Rick Steve’s walking tour of the area and figure out where the restaurant was before our dinner.
We found the funicular that we needed to take up to the Barrio Alto but before we could get on, Jim had a little low blood sugar breakdown. We had made the mistake of skipping lunch. 20 minutes later with a quick visit to McDonalds, Mr. Jekyll turned back into Mr. Hyde and we were able to start our tour of the Alto Barrio.
We took the funicular up which was interesting but not particularly stroller-friendly. Up at the top we stopped at a park just to the right of the funicular which rewarded us with some great views of the city and the river beyond.
As we walked through the Barrio Alto, we were surprised that it was something Rick Steve’s included in his book. The area seemed broken down and charmless. Soon after we passed some sex shops and a drunk who had thrown up all over himself, Jim and Sylvia decided to get dinner back in our neighborhood.
Jim and I found a little tapas bar and had a drink before our dinner. As we walked back to 100 Manieras the area seemed a bit transformed. Now a lot of the trendy restaurants were open and some of the high end shops we hadn’t seen now had illuminated windows. The area took on a very different feeling. My guess is that the area is like the meat packing district in New York City.
Our meal at 100 Manieras was the best I’ve had in my entire life. The restaurant only serves a 10 course meal with no choices. They ask you when you make the reservation whether or not you have any food restrictions or allergies and make exceptions in those instances.
We decided to do the wine pairing with the dinner. They didn’t do a pairing with each course but rather one with every 2 courses. Five glasses was plenty. Not surprisingly, our memory of the courses as the dinner went on diminished considerably. Neither of us can remember what the dessert courses were.
The meal started with a very creative dish that was supposed to be reminiscent of Lisbon and its ubiquitous clotheslines. It was salted dried cod pieces hung with tiny clothespins to a metal clothesline and served with a red pepper aioli. It tasted a little like Thai fish chips if you’ve ever had those.
The next course was really interesting. It was a foie gras bon bon with chocolate and crusted almonds. I’ve always had foie gras that has been prepared in a savory manner but surprisingly it was really good with sweet condiments.
The next set of courses were all seafood. The best was scallop carpaccio with pureed celery root and ground truffles. There was also a salmon tartar dish and squid ink tagliatelle with a raw oyster.
Before the meat dishes they served a palate cleanser which was good but not something I remember.
Once we got to the meat course, things started to get a little hazy. I’d like to say that since I favor seafood and pasta over meat and dessert, I remember those dishes. However, I think that the wine is to blame for the reason that I can’t remember what else we had.
Our amazing dinner was a great way to end our vacation. I would go back to Lisbon just for that restaurant.
