Portugal. June 2022

Finally made it to Portugal after an 8-month delay.

My original plan was to visit Portugal in the Fall and enjoy the fall foliage, but with my foot injury my friend Tra and I decided to postpone the trip to spring time when the weather is nicer. We landed on a trip in late May/ early June, and was joined by one more friend Kim. Because we had gotten our flights earlier on, the three of us met up a month or so before the trip to complete the rest of our planning - we made our google spreadsheet, identified the cities we would visit, booked our accommodations, and compiled all the recommendations from our friends and social media (Portugal has become one of the more popular tourist destinations in the last few years and we have secured a long list of things to see/ eat / do).

Lisbon

Tra and I were on an earlier flight flying into Lisbon and Kim was to join us a few hours later. Our arrival time was 5:30AM in the morning, one of the first flights of the day and as a result the airport was pretty empty. After learning how cheap Ubers are in Portugal, we called an Uber to the hostel (Ubers later became our mode of transportation as it was cheap and perfect for our group of three). On our way to the hostel, our Uber driver pointed out the universities, the apartment Cristiano Ronaldo owns, and passed by multiple streets lined with very pretty purple flowering trees - they are called jacaranda, fruits of Portuguese exploration when they were brought over from South America. Our hostel, The Independente, is in the Bairro Alto district and faces a large square, Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, which offers amazing views of the city. Since we can’t check in till later in the day, we left our bags with the reception and headed to the guest lounge on the first floor to rest for a bit. It was only 6 or 7AM on a Sunday, the streets and the square were still pretty much empty, but our Uber driver assured us this area will be packed with tourists in a few hours.

An hour later we walked around the route coming from the airport towards the direction of Príncipe Real, and stumbled upon a few gardens and cute streets while looking for the purple jacaranda. We then walked back towards the main area to R da Bica de Duarte Belo, the famous street with the iconic funicular. The funicular is under construction at the end of May and would reopen in June.

We made our way to our pastry shop, Manteigaria, to try the famed pastel de nata. I have had Portuguese egg tarts before but this one is so creamy and warmed to the perfect temperature! It was a perfect little treat with a cappuccino as my breakfast.

We have another hour or two before our friend Kim’s flight arrives so we opted to stay near the area and headed to Fabrica Coffee Roaster, a speciality coffee shop, a few blocks down. We spent another hour or so here getting caffeinated before walking over to lunch.

We passed by Pink Street on the way - the street was still pretty empty as it was still pretty early, but we would return later the same day for dinner. It was on our walk over to Time Out Market when Kim dropped a big surprise - there is a strike at the airport and she would be stuck in line to clear customs for at least 3 hours. We were hopeful that Kim would be able to join us soon and we made the best use of our time and continued on to get lunch.

Time Out Market Lisbon is a big indoor food hall where you can find the best foods in Lisbon under one roof. I had watched the Portugal episode of Somebody Feed Phil where the market was featured, the amount of people in the food hall at lunch hour was just like it was in the episode filmed before the pandemic, if not more. We got the Bacalhau à Bras and a fried squid from Miguel Castro e Silva. It was a rich and creamy scrambled eggs with salted cod and it was nice dish to share as our first real meal in Lisbon.

After our quick lunch we walked back towards the hostel but took a different route, going up and down the streets and stairs, taking photos of all the colorful tiles we see along the way. Summers in Lisbon features the ‘Festas de Lisboa’ festivities, and the city’s historic quarters are draped with colorful paper garlands. We would be missing the big Santo António Festival on St. Anthony’s Day which goes from June 12 into June 13, but it was great to see the city decorated. We passed by souvenir shops and spotted postcards with the ceramic Portuguese tiles and I started collecting my own set from our walk, adding on the limestone mosaics sidwalks.

When it’s time for checkin (we’re been out since 8AM in the morning), we returned to the hostel and settled into our room that faces the square. Kim kept us updated on her saga at the airport, how long the lines were and how everyone has been going without food or water… The good news was she got an ETA and let us know that she would be out in time for dinner! Once Kim joined us at the hostel we headed to Pink Street for dinner.

Pink Street looks very different at night - tables have been set up outdoors and it was busy! We sat down at Sol e Pesca, a fishing themed narrow restaurant that features only canned fish. It was the embodiment of what Anthony Bourdain describes as eating in Lisbon: Minimal Fuss, Maximum Pleasure. The menu is hooked onto a fishing pole, and you have to be mindful not to smack a fellow diner as you browse the menu. We started with sangria and ordered a variety of items to try - sardines with tomato sauce, mackerel with spicy curry sauce, tuna with squid ink pasta, squid… But the best in my opinion was the tuna in raw sauce (not pictured below) - our waiter described it as intense, very Portuguese and a risky choice.

Before heading back to the hostel we stopped by Manteigaria for more pastels - and then off to bed to fix my jet lag. I was running on 2 hours of sleep and was surprised I made it through the whole day!

The next day is a day trip to Sintra! We were up around 6:30AM as we plan to leave the hostel by 8AM to catch the train. First off, a panoramic view of the city from our balcony! Weather was a bit overcast but it was the only full day we had in Lisbon so we decided to stick to our original plan of a day trip to Sintra and Cabo de Roca.

We walked down Calçada da Glória and passed the graffitied tram that goes up and down the steep hill and headed towards Rossio Train Station. We purchased our train tickets, tried to get some breakfast but only Starbucks was open (don’t skip breakfast if you’re heading to Sintra because there is not really food on the way until you get to downtown Sintra and you want make your first stop one of the palaces).

SINTRA

After a 45 minute train ride, we arrived at the Sintra train station. As you walk towards the exit and if you look up, you’ll see the Moorish Castle up on the mountain! We got tickets for the hop on hop off bus, the only way to get around unless you want to take a taxi or tuktuk, and boarded the bus with everyone else also headed to the same place - Pena Palace.

Following the long lines of people waiting to enter Pena Palace, we entered the Palace gates and onto the palace grounds. A path up through a forrest of very tall trees leads you to the actual palace. You can also opt for the trolley for a fee if you don’t want to go by foot, but be prepared to wait in another line. As we walked up the path we soon realize we won’t get a good view of the palace as the clouds kept rolling in. The temperature dropped pretty significantly and soon enough we were enclosed in dense fog and mist, with winds blowing strong. The yellow, red and blue structure appeared behind the clouds, and you can make out palace as you walk closer to the building.

Since there wasn’t really a view with the weather, we entered the gift shop so I can purchase a postcard (of what the palace looked like on a sunny day), and got in line - the insanely long line - for the interior of the palace. The line moved slowly, around the open-air atrium and into the rooms of the palace. My favorite part was the tiles and carvings of the atrium - each section of the walls feature a different pattern and colors.

While inside the palace, the gloomy skies turned into a full on rainstorm, and we decided to eat a meal at the palace cafeteria before heading to our next stop, the Moorish Castle. From Pena Palace, the Moorish Castle is only a 5 minute walk. We didn’t to the entire wall of the Moorish Castle but did the entire front section and even got a glimpse of Sintra in between the rolling clouds.

After the Moorish Castle we got on the hop on hop off bus for Sintra Villa, the downtown Sintra area. The weather improved during lunch hour and we were able to sit outside in a cute alleyway in the downtown area for lunch. We also go the Trevesseiro puff pastry from Piriquita. Trevesserio means pillows in Portuguese, and is a puff pastry with cream and almond, and can be stuffed with other things like nutella as well.

The nice weather was short-lived and we walked to the other side of town to Quinta da Regaleira for the Initiation Well. We walked in the rain to the well, through the palace grounds and to the palace itself. Even though it was raining throughout our stay, the palace still looked very pretty surrounded by the spring blooms.

It was already 5PM by the time we finished at Quinta da Regaleira and as the weather conditions haven’t improved, we decided to skip Cabo de Roca and head back to Lisbon. Before our departure, we tried another Trevesseiro (this time the classic one without nutella) before boarding our bus and train back to Lisbon. Once back, we visited Rua Augusta, the main shopping street, stopped for drinks at Nicolau, and headed towards Commerce Square right before sunset.

For the last activity of the day, we headed to Meson Andulez for dinner. The restaurant is located in between a set of stairs connecting Rua Da Flores and R. do Alecrim, and we were lucky enough to get a table outside right off of the steps. We got to people watch over sunset and enjoyed a great Andalusian meal. The gambas was delicious and so was the scallops and seafood paella. Definitely one of the best meals we had in Lisbon!

The next morning the bright sun shined into the room and woke us all up, which was a nice surprise as we were expecting bad weather. We got ready and packed our bags to check out of the hostel as we’re heading to Porto in the afternoon. We stored our bags with the hostel and grabbed a quick breakfast in the nearby Príncipe Real, before taking an uber to Belem.

Our first stop is to Pastéis de Belém to try their pastels. Originally a sugar cane refinery and a small general store across from the Jerónimos Monastery, the store officially became a bakery in 1837 selling the ancient “secret recipe” from the monastery. The first place to sell pastels commercially, only the Portuguese egg tarts from this store can be called Pasteis de Belem. While waiting for the pastels to arrive I stood by the glass and observed their assembly line of pastels coming out from the oven. Their pastels are served warm and have the flakiest crust, and dusted with cinnamon and sugar formed a little treat from heaven. I wish I could package a dozen of these and ship them home.

After our treat, we walked over to Jerónimos Monastery, a Gothic Manueline-style (the style that glorifies the great maritime discoveries of the age) monastery. The cloisters are carved with coils of rope, sea monsters and other sea motifs. The sun came out while we were touring through the cloisters and we were able to spent some time at the monastery before it started getting busier.

Adjacent to the cloisters is the church, also featuring magnificent columns. As we exited the monastery, the lines to enter began snaking outside the monastery to ether either the monastery or the church and we were really glad to have missed the morning rush. Always always go early when you can!

The weather was on our side this morning and we took a nice stroll in along Praça do Império heading over to Belem Tower. We passed by a row of colorful buildings, a very cool 3D raccoon sculpture made of junk, and a street lined with jacaranda trees and we had to stop for photos. When you see such a pretty bloom you have to stop and admire for a while. Scroll down for a collection of me and my awkward poses (at least I am not slouching}.

From the impromptu photo session we crossed the bridge over to the park and Belem Tower. Sitting at the edge of the water bank, the Belem Tower served as a place of embarkment and disembarkment for Portuguese explorers. I’d imagine many cheers and goodbyes took place here. A musician was playing the violin, we sat on the steps, enjoying the music and the cool early summer breeze.

Around 12:30PM we headed out of the park to catch an uber to 1PM lunch reservation at Ramiro, the seafood restaurant featured in Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations and Phil Rosenthal’s Somebody Feed Phil. Our uber passed through a colorful tunnel on our way back from Belem and dropped us off right in front of the restaurant. We were seated on the 1st floor (2nd floor in the US) pretty quickly as we had reservations. Everything on the menu is done by weight - what Anthony Bourdain calls “a barrage of minimalist seafood of maximum quality”. We started our course with the prawns, the garlic clams and oysters, then the spider crab. Just like everyone recommended, we ended the meal with a filet tenderloin sandwich. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to finish the sandwich but THAT was a great way to end a meal. Everything was delicious and the prawns was the most surprising because they looked like regular blanched prawns, but were done to perfection.

After a wonderful lunch at Ramiro it was time to head back to the hostel to pick up our bags and catch the train from Santa Apolónia to Porto. We got our tickets (luckily they were not sold out because we didn’t get them ahead of time) and were off to our next city!

Porto

The train ride took about 3.5 hours and took us to Campanhã, and we got on an uber to head to our hostel in Porto. We were staying at Selina, a hipster hostel and co-working space. We finished checkin, signed up for the 8AM yoga class the next morning, and settled into our own 4 bed setup. We unpacked and headed out for dinner without much plans. We passed by Igreja do Carmo, a baroque church that has a blue tiled facade, and slowly made our way over to Ribeira towards the waterfront. We were eager to get any photos of the city as the weather forecast predicted rain throughout our stay.

The sun has set by the time we reached the Douro River waterfront. Music played in the background while we waited for a table at Terreiro, a restaurant that’s tucked away from the busy foot traffic on the main street but still offers great views of the Luis Bridge. We ordered a table full of food with a dry rose - king prawn, shrimp spaghetti, octopus and a shellfish rice and I cannot believe we finished almost everything among the three of us (even the staff was surprised). This was our latest dinner finishing almost close to midnight, but we didn’t feel rushed by the staff even though we were the last guests to leave.

The next morning we got our workout gear on for our community yoga class. The class is around the corner from the hostel in the coworking space, and after class we spotted a Nicolau, the same place we went to in Lisbon and decided to get breakfast. The weather forecast wasn’t looking good for the day but we were expecting some morning sun so we signed up for a 11AM walking tour. We got to our meeting point at city hall, split into 2 groups and got paired with our guide Tiago. We started at São Bento Station, the 20th century train station that used to be a monastery and has mostly trains going north of Porto. The tiles within the station are all hand painted and illustrates parts of Portuguese history, When repairs are done to the tiles, the artist signs and dates the specific tile, so if you look close enough you can find the original tiles.

From São Bento Station we walked uphill towards Porto Cathedral, the highest point in the city of Porto. From there we passed through the streets of Old Town. The narrow single streets of Old Town helped protect the city and the Cathedral back in the day as it was the single point of entry to the Cathedral at the city’s highest point. The old part of town has buildings in its original form and others that look much more modern. The thinking is that this area will soon be gentrified, as these older buildings require costly repairs and homeowners will likely sell to developers who will purchase multiple units to make a bigger storefront as the original building units are too narrow.

The weather was unpredictable in Porto so during the few hours of gloomy skies and rain we went to a local eatery for lunch and I tried out the francesinha, a meat, cheese, fat and bread “immortal combination” sandwich. Here’s how Anthony Bourdain described it:

“[It] translates as ‘little French girl,’ but I understand she’s not so little. It weighs, like, a ton: bread, ham, steak, sausage, and a bit of linguica. What a construction.”

— Anthony Bourdain

After lunch the sun has emerged and we decided to spend some time redoing part of the walking tour and spent some time in Ribeira.

Golden hour hits different in Porto. We also headed to Igreja de Santo Ildefonso, another church with a blue tilework facade. I stopped by a bookstore on our way back to the hostel and picked up a book on Lisboa poets. We spent the rest of the evening hanging out with our new friends from the morning walking tour, and getting (another late dinner) in the neighborhood.

The next morning I had a few hours to myself and made the impromptu decision to get a ticket for Livraria Lello, the bookstore coined the most beautiful bookstore in the world. Rumor has it that this bookstore inspired JK Rowling’s Harry Potter (she lived in Porto and taught at the University of Porto across the street from the bookstore). I got myself a ticket online, right when it stopped raining, and waited in line to get in. Though the line was long, the wait was actually not too bad. The bookstore was packed as expected, but it was worth checking out the grand red staircase and the beautiful ceilings. I used the 5 euro ticket towards a purchase of a book and got myself a classic, The Little Prince.

Outside the bookstore the sun has fully emerged and I saw the plaza in a different light. I also visited the Igreja dos Clérigos and Clérigos Tower, walked through the church and up the narrow tower for an amazing view of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia across the Douro River. The yellow building featured on the first aerial photo below is a prison turned photography museum, and back in the day wealthy prisoners used to have allotted leisure time to visit the park across the street - not so much physical refinement really.

I then joined back up with Tra and Kim for a visit to the Bolsa Palace. Formerly a meeting place for rich merchants of Porto, Palácio da Bolsa is a stunning palace that now serves as the home for the Chamber of Commerce. The Arab Room at the end of the tour is definitely a highlight. It’s designed to have one set of doors moved slightly from the center to make it perfectly imperfect.

For lunch we walked towards the busy Flower Street and visited Cantina 32. The food was delicious (THAT BUTTER BANANA WITH SALT!!!) and after trying olives for a few times on this trip I think I am starting to like olives now.

From Flower Street we walked over to the waterfront to cross the Luis Bridge over to Vila Nova de Gaia, spending time just sitting by the Douro River on both sides enjoying the views. This is also where I started getting a nice little tan from Portugal.

We also made it to the last wine tour of the day at Sandeman and got to try some Port wine. We got to sample the white which goes well with a tonic, the tawny that is lighter, more amber in color which goes well with cheese, fruits and desserts made with eggs (like pasteis!), and the ruby which is good as a dessert wine or with strong cheese.

After we concluded our wine tasting session, we stay in the Vila Nova de Gaia side looking for the 3D mural rabbit sculpture - similar to the 3D raccoon we saw in Lisbon, and stopped by WOW, a shopping and art exhibit space. We all did some souvenir shopping and I got myself a small piece of art made by local artists.

On our way back to the Porto side of the city, we crossed the bridge at the bottom and then walked up to take a look at the views from the top as the sun set. We grabbed dinner at the taco place across the street from the hostel and winded down for the night as tomorrow we leave early for Lagos!

Lagos

For the last part of the trip we’re off to Algarve, Portugal’s Southmost region. Our flight was at 8AM in the morning from Porto, and we were in Faro by 9AM in the morning. There is a bus that goes through to all the major towns along the south coast from the Faro airport, after almost two hours on the bus, we made it to the last stop, Lagos, where we’ll be staying for the next 3 days.

Our airbnb is a cute 1 bedroom apartment on the 1st floor (1st floor by European standards, not US) in the middle of town. The apartment features large windows and even a little patio.

We had lunch in town, and walked over to Beach Estudantes for a little beach time. We explore Old Town Lagos and in the late afternoon we enjoyed a bottle of Douro white wine on our airbnb patio before heading to Travia, a wine and tapas place for dinner.

The next morning after a nice breakfast at Black and White cafe in Lagos, and took an uber over to Benagil (Ubers sometimes are hard to come by so have a backup plan since the only option for public transportation between Lagos and Benagil is the bus and it takes 2 hours, vs a 40 min taxi or uber ride). We met up with our guides Nuno and David for a small group kayaking tour of the Algarve coast. We put on sunscreen, stored our bags on the van, grabbed our paddles and headed to the beach. I was paired up with another single traveler Sabine who’s from Germany, and after a brief intro, we’re off! Nuno led the way with our group of 10, and our first stop is THE must see sight in Algarve, Algar de Benagil. Considered the most beautiful cave in the world, Algar de Benagil is a sea cave that has 3 openings - one at the top that serves as the skylight, and 2 arches that are just big enough for very small boats, kayaks and paddle boards to disembark on the beach within the cave. The openings are formed by thinning rocks, and the layers of the rings decaying away sometimes reveals fossils on the rocks.

We took a group photo and headed out the cave against the waves and steered our way away the cave walls. The water temperature was actually quite cold but David said the water temperature warms up in the summer, but the area gets very crowded. Our next kayak stop is an even smaller cave that’s completely dark inside as there is no algar or cave opening at the top. Boats couldn’t even enter so upon entering through the narrow cave walls we had the small dark beach to ourselves. After that we slowly make our way over to Marinha Beach, observing the rock formations from the kayaks. We saw rock formations that looked like a crocodile, one that looked like an elephant with a trunk and four legs in the water (from the beach side you only see the trunk and one front leg and from the ocean it really looks like an elephant), and even a rock camel. Everything was so picturesque and I wish I had my camera to capture the moment. The waves were pretty strong (we were kayaking in the Atlantic Ocean after all) and with the passing boats you have to push against the water to stay in the same spot. From Marinha Beach we turned back to return to our starting point, this time paddling against the wind at 6 knots, and it was a nice arm exercise. Our tour guide Nuno even had to rescue someone who flipped over on their kayak and lost his paddle. I definitely would not recommend going out on the waters on your own as the guides know the water condition the best.

After making it back to the beach, we grabbed our bags and said goodbye to our lovely guides and did a little hike over to Marinha Beach. From there we enjoyed the views of the beach and grabbed a quick bite, and then spent the afternoon at the beach.

We headed back to Lagos, changed and had dinner at Casa do Prego, where we had drinks and snacks on the rooftop before going downstairs to dinner. The prawns, tuna and beef were all delicious!

Breakfast on our last full day in Lagos was at Coffee & Waves, a cute little cafe on the other side of our airbnb. I normally don’t get good shots of my food but this one was on point. We also took a little stroll in the neighborhood and stopped by the main square with the iconic pretty green building and the jacaranda trees.

For the rest of the day we made it a hike and beach afternoon, first stopping at Pom Pom Bagels to pick up a little snack for the beach. Our first stop was Praia do Pinhão and saw little kayaks go by, then to Praia Dona Ana, a much bigger beach with beach chairs lined in neat little rows. We decided to stay for a little while and enjoyed our little beach picnic and reading time in a little nook off to the side of the beach.

After our little beach time we continued our hike over to Praia do Camilo and finally Ponta da Piedade, the viewpoint at the tip of Lagos with all sorts of coastal rock formations.

Back at the airbnb, we cleaned up and went to dinner at Barbosa. The tapas were great and my favorite dish was the veggies! Sharing the last bit of snapshots of Lagos as we leave town the next morning for Lisbon, getting ready to fly home.

Back to Lisbon

For our journey back to Lisbon we took a 4.5 hour bus (nothing fancy, but make sure you book ahead of time as express buses do sell out!). By the time we got to Lisbon’s Sete Rois bus terminal, it was already 5PM. We headed back to the hostel, the same one we stayed at in the beginning of the trip. After a little souvenir shopping in the neighborhood, we took the ferry across the bay to visit Ponto Final, a waterfront Portuguese restaurant. Little did we know, after getting off the ferry and walking about 10 mins along the water, the wait for the restaurant is long, extending all the way to the back. At least the views are nice while we waited, and a pretty cat kept us company. We ended up opting for a table inside to shorten the wait (by the time we would have gotten seated outside it would be time for sunset anyway). The highlight of the meal was the mockfish stew with tomato sauce, but portions are huge so definitely made for more than two people.

The next morning on our last day Kim departed first as her flight is in the morning, while Tra and I stayed behind to spend the morning in Lisbon. We walked through a different part of town and passed by a really cool design store called Soma. We continued our way to the Lisbon Cathedral, which was destroyed so many times by earthquakes and rebuilt many times that it incorporated different architectural styles. I waited for a Tram 28 to pass by to try my luck at getting that postcard shot but weren’t too successful, I did however get another shot of a different red tourist tram against a pink building.

Our last stop was Miradouro de Santa Luzia, the observation deck further up from the Lisbon Cathedral. It offers great views of the city and the flowers in the garden were in full bloom, creating a great contrast from the blue tiled walls and white backgrounds.

For my last meal in the city we walked all the way over to Jesus é Goês, a Goan restaurant featured on Somebody Feed Phil. We ordered the chickpea, the Holy Burger and chicken curry and all were delicious. After the meal we headed back to the hostel to pick up our bags and it’s time to return home.

Portugal gave me a wonderful first impression. It was great being able to travel outside of the country again after such a long break. I, like everyone else, spent a lot of time traveling through social media in the last two years, dreaming of the ideal vacation. With all that built up excitement, I think I had pictured Portugal just like how social media depicted it. When the trip finally took place, I had to remind myself that part of the joy in traveling is the unexpected and the mundane - those experiences unique to you that will become stories for you to tell. These are all part of the journey, and I am learning to savor it all.

TravelCherie MokJuly 22, 2022Travel, dametraveler, Europe, Portugal, Lisbon, Porto, Lagos, Beach, City, BenagilComment