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Our first impressions of Lisbon were that it’s a lot like home. The climate, trolleys, “Golden Gate Bridge” (which actually was built by the same company that built the Bay Bridge), food markets, and bay views were very familiar. As in Macau, we really enjoyed tasting the different variations of egg tarts (pastel de nata) and quickly made it a daily habit. We spent four nights total in Lisbon, punctuated by a night’s stay a bit inland in the historic town of Évora.

We really enjoyed sampling the best of Lisbon at Time Out Market, a collection of a few dozen food stalls. Judges representing the publishing group must approve of the food before vendors are given a stall (“the best steak”, “the best hamburger”, …). We feasted on mussels, pastel de nata, chocolate cake, many variations of bacalhau (cod), chocolate cake, ginjinha (a sour cherry liqueur, often served in chocolate cups), and Portuguese wine. It’s a great meeting spot for friends, catching up at the communal tables. By the end of the trip, we had made three separate visits and tasted from nearly a dozen stalls.

One stray observation about Lisbon is that they seemed to have an aversion to warming up pastries. We asked a few times for our cold pastels de nata and bacalhau croquettes to be warmed up, but we were met with confusion (“oh, there’s no way you want your cold, formerly-fried snack to be warmed up so you must be wanting to buy some bread instead, right?”).

Lisbon: LxFactory, our Airbnb loft, pastel de nata, Santa Justa Lift, Time Out Market

We walked the five kilometers to the Belém district in a pilgrimage to the famous pastel de nata at Pastéis de Belém (definitely worth the long line, but only marginally better than the rest), soaking in the sights of Belém Tower, Padrão dos Descobrimentos (a monument to famous Portuguese explorers), and Jerónimos Monastery.

Lisbon: Belém Tower, Padrão dos Descobrimentos, Jerónimos Monastery

We were thrilled to catch up with Holly and Alice and later Xinlu and David, who had just come from Morocco. Together, we sampled the fare at Time Out, shared delightfully-crafted cocktails, and rode the 28 Tram to enjoy a picturesque ride through Lisbon.

Lisbon: hanging out with Holly and Alice

Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos.

(We bones that here are, for yours await.)

After two nights in Lisbon, we spent a night in the former Roman city of Évora. Situated in the middle of wine country, Évora made a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of the capital. We toured the Roman ruins of the Temple of Diana, visited the Church of São Francisco and Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones), ran along the Prata Aqueduct, and saw the Cathedral of Évora.

Evora: Church of São Francisco, Chapel of Bones, and Temple of Diana

Evora: Prata Aqueduct and Cathedral of Évora

Back in Lisbon (Évora was a bit of a detour on our way north up the coast), we again reconnected with Holly and Alice and traded travel stories with Xinlu and David, who were recovering from street food in Morocco. We took a day trip to Sintra, easily accessible from Lisbon by train. The Pena Palace represented an eclectic mix of architectural styles. Due in part to its proximity to Lisbon, the crowds were crushing, even in the off season. We also had time to visit the Quinta da Regaleira, fully descending down the Well of Initiation before we left.

Lisbon: hanging out with Holly, Alice, Xinlu, and David

Sintra: Pena Palace

Sintra: Quinta da Regaleira

Lisbon: lunch at Eleven

Making our way up the coast, we took a bus to the fishing-and-surfing village of Nazaré. Its unique geography, with an underwater canyon, gives rise to the biggest waves in the world (80+ feet). We mostly relaxed here, enjoying beautiful sunsets, views from the cliff, plentiful seafood, and wine from our balcony.

Nazaré: our apartment, funicular, and “biggest waves in the world”

Nazaré: beautiful sunsets, surfing monument, and seafood

Skipping past Coimbra, we moved on to the final leg of our Portugal journey. We spent two nights in Porto (where a lot of Port wine is drunk), sandwiching (pun forthcoming) an interlude through the Douro Valley (where the wine is produced, then floated down the river). We happened upon one of Anthony Bourdain’s old haunts and indulged in a cachorro (a sort of spicy hot dog sandwich with copious amounts of cheese) at Gazela Cachorrinhos da Batalha. Yes, we also had a francesinha (a sandwich with ham, linguiça, other sausage, steak, cheese, and a beer sauce – that’s right, basically an entire smörgåsbord served as a sandwich), but it’s a bit too heavy for everyday consumption.

It seems like there’s this trend of consolidation, with a lot of the old (several hundred years) port houses falling under the same – and often foreign – ownership. For example, the Spanish Grupo Sogevinus recently bought the labels Burmester (2005), Barros (2006), Cálem (1998), and Kopke (2006), which are among the more prominent port houses, judging by location along the Porto waterfront. After missing the opportunity in Lisbon, we watched a fado performance, in which performers sing mournful songs to live music, captured by the Portuguese word “saudade”, or “longing”.

Porto: bridge, cachorr, and port tasting

Porto at night, fado, and Port caves

We took the scenic train ride through the stunning Douro Valley, where we spent two lovely nights in Régua and one day in Pinhão. There seemed to be more rock than soil, with the numerous vines struggling to grow in the rocky, schist-dominated soil. We wine and port tasted our way through the valley in between breathtaking hikes up the hills of the valley and relaxed on a short river cruise.

Régua’s vineyards, food, and river views

Pinhao by boat, train, and port

More of Régua

We stayed busy our last night in Porto, with a morning run along the river and bridges, followed by a cruise, and some more blind port tasting.

Porto: train station, picnic in solarium, our morning run, and drinks at the royal Porto

Porto by water and blind port tasting