Zombified, we emerged from the Lisbon airport Passport control into a wonderfully bright, sunny morning and took the easiest option for getting to our Airbnb. We hailed a taxi, which zipped in and out of traffic, did complex turns through 6-way intersections and finally dropped us on Praça das Flores, a narrow single lane road that encircles a small square.
Our heads buzzed while our host, Clara, showed us around the apartment and offered several recommendations for dining nearby. We were grateful for the fruit basket (apples, pears and oranges fresh from Clara’s farm), jar of homemade jam and bottle of wine that greeted us in the kitchen.
We pushed ourselves to get back out into the sunshine as quickly as we could. We meandered the streets, strolled the botanical gardens and stopped in at the Timeout Market – a large, upscale indoor food court. Though the food offerings looked delicious, we weren’t prepared to eat in the crowded indoor space.
Our energy flagging, we toiled back up in the direction of our apartment. Lisbon is built on seven hills, or maybe it’s six, so lots of steep ups and downs. Finally back in our neighborhood, we found outdoor seating at a small restaurant for our first Lisbon meal. It was 3pm ish, so kind of a late lunch, early dinner.
We both had cod, which is big here. There are hundreds of different preparations. Every restaurant, big or small, has a cod entree. The dish we had looked like a giant baked latke. It was subtly savory. I neglected to take a pic and have promptly forgotten the name of this particular style.
If one were to set a food goal for their time in Portugal, one might strive to sample as many different styles of cod dishes as one could. Just sayin’.
Our tired bones could do no more. We ducked in to a mini-mart for a few supplies and in his stupor, Grubb tried to pay with a US$20 bill. the clerk laughed while Grubb dug out the proper currency. Then back to the apartment.
For a little taste of Lisbon, here are a few photos. https://photos.app.goo.gl/bNDTrkGJjYBvPoNX8
Love the photo of your neighborhood.
I am there…I smell the flowers and feel the air…I taste the cod (this will be a healthy trip). It all sounds enticing now that your feet are on Portuguese soil!
I don’t know how healthy it will end up being but it sure is fun! Looking forward to San Juan with you and the gals!
The street outside our airbnb in Lisbon was so steep it had steps.
Cod is really big in Spain also. They have whole stores that just sell dried and salted cod. We resisted it for a while preferring fresh fish but they do wonderful things with cod.