Lisbon: Part 1

A few weeks ago, Erm and I went on vacation. Our first stop was Lisbon, Portugal. Erm had always wanted to go to Portugal and I was more than happy to join him

We got to Lisbon and checked into our hotel, Hotel Lisboa.

It was clean and located in a quiet neighborhood. The room was very basic, the bed was super comfortable and the water pressure was good, so we were happy.

We had to sleep for a bit on the comfortable bed(s). Then we got up and showered and went exploring! It was warmer in Lisbon than we thought it would be, so I was glad that I brought many different options for clothes.

The map that the hotel gave us was very confusing. I had a really hard time finding my way around, and was sad to think that I had lost my map mojo.

Turns out we met a couple from Denmark at dinner one night who also thought Lisboa was hard to navigate. What a relief!

We strolled around until we found a cute little bar on a corner. A beer and some snacks were in order!

We had a bunch of these beers while we were there. Sagres is a light, crisp beer with a slightly hoppy taste. It was a great summer beer and if I saw it in any stores here in the US, I would buy it.

At this bar, they had fire roasted chorizo, which we could not pass up. And it came to us on fire!

I insist on eating foods in their place of origin/fame. Fittingly enough, this was the best chorizo we have ever had. It was also the only chorizo we had while in Portugal, which is probably a good thing You will notice that when I’m on vacation, my rules about meat and healthy eating go out the window. I figure all the walking I do will balance things out.

After our snack, we walked around and explored more. Lisbon has beautiful views and lots of little areas with their own personalities. We kept trying to find the live music in the Barrio Alto area, but we couldn’t find it. So we just kept walking.

We eventually got hungry enough for dinner and went to a restaurant near our hotel. I apologize that I was not in full blogger mode yet and do not have the names of the places we ate at the first day or two in Lisbon!

Every meal we had in Lisbon was started with one of these delicious cheeses. I ate a LOT of it.

I was also delighted to see this little plate of pates and cheeses that came before our meal. I love to try new things, so I tried a little bit from each one.

I assumed it was free like bread and butter at home, or little snacks you get with drinks in France. It wasn’t until the day we left that we found out they bring you these plates and if you don’t touch what’s on them, you don’t pay for it, but whatever you use, you pay for. Would have been good to know before I dipped into each one! It was all delicious, though.

Erm got grilled pork which came with rice and “potatoes”

And I got a fried white fish with potatoes.

I did not even come close to finishing it.

Almost everthing in Lisbon was served with some kind of potatoes and a salad of iceberg lettuce and tomatoes and onions. There was a lot of pork and fish on the menu, and of course, port wine. I had no idea what to expect, so I was happy to just go with the flow! I was also amused to see that most of the glasses there seemed either very small, or very big.

Part 2 is next!

When you travel, do you like to try new things? What’s one place you’ve always wanted to go?