Yesterday we decided to give our legs a break and see Lisbon a different way.
Lisbon is beautiful, but those uneven cobblestone sidewalks and hills are no joke when you’re pushing Kiya in her transport chair. Mom’s knee also needed a chance to heal, so we decided to rent a quad and take a four-hour tour of the city.
When I made the reservation, I specifically chose the larger quad because it had more legroom and space in the back for Kiya’s transport chair.
We took a taxi to the 1908 Lisboa Hotel, where we met our guide, Andrew.
What a fun day we had with him!
For the next four hours, Andrew drove us all over Lisbon—from top to bottom and east to west. We traveled through tiny streets, climbed hills we definitely wouldn’t have wanted to walk, and visited places throughout the city that we otherwise might never have seen.
Andrew was an absolute joy to spend the day with.
From the beginning, he wanted to make things as easy as possible for us. Every time we stopped, he immediately jumped out, unloaded Kiya’s transport chair, and had it ready for her. When it was time to leave, he folded it up and loaded it again.
He also never rushed us. If we wanted to get out, explore an area, or take photos, he simply waited until we were ready.
During our four hours together, we learned quite a bit about each other. We told him about Montana and our lives back home, and he told us about his life in Portugal. He and his partner are expecting a baby in December, and he had recently graduated after studying contract law, tourism, and marketing.
One of our most important stops involved food, of course.
Andrew told us he knew the best place to try Portugal’s famous pastel de nata.
We had already sampled these little custard tarts, but these were on an entirely different level.
They arrived piping hot, with incredibly flaky pastry surrounding warm, rich, creamy custard.
Oh my goodness.
So yummy!
Pastéis de nata are one of Portugal’s most famous foods. Their history dates to the early 1800s and the monks of the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém. After Portugal’s religious orders were dissolved in the 1830s, the monastery’s custard-tart recipe was eventually sold to a nearby sugar refinery. In 1837, the famous Pastéis de Belém bakery began making them using a secret recipe that is still closely guarded today.
Andrew also gave us time to wander through a market filled with little shops, restaurants, and vendors before we continued our tour.
At some point we mentioned that we’d taken a taxi to meet him at the hotel but were actually staying right around the corner from Pink Street.
That changed everything.
Pink Street was already part of our tour, so Andrew modified his route and offered to drop us near our apartment instead of making us return all the way to the hotel.
Pink Street, officially Rua Nova do Carvalho, wasn’t always the colorful tourist attraction it is today. The Cais do Sodré neighborhood was once closely connected to Lisbon’s port and was filled with sailors, bars, gambling houses, and nightclubs. As the neighborhood was revitalized, the street was painted its now-famous bright pink in 2013. Today it’s packed with restaurants, bars, cafés, and nightlife—and happens to be practically around the corner from our apartment.
We decided to have Andrew drop us at the Time Out Market, which was just a short walk from where we were staying.
Time Out Market Lisboa occupies part of the historic Mercado da Ribeira, a market with roots going back to the 19th century. Today, one side remains a traditional market while the enormous food hall brings together restaurants and some of Lisbon’s best-known chefs and food vendors under one roof.
And it was packed!
We pushed our way through the throngs of people and eventually decided on Mexican food.
We ordered two frijoles tacos and two pork al pastor tacos.
They were so yummy.
After lunch, we wandered through an outdoor market nearby. Naturally, some shopping happened.
I found a dress and a pair of sardine earrings. Mom found two pairs of pants.
Then we walked back to the apartment and gave Kiya a couple of hours to rest.
For dinner, we decided we should actually eat on Pink Street since it was literally around the corner from us.
This time we tried another Portuguese favorite—piri-piri chicken. Piri-piri sauce is traditionally made with small hot peppers brought to Portugal through its connections with Africa, combined with ingredients such as garlic, oil, lemon, and spices. It has become one of the flavors most associated with Portuguese cooking.
Unfortunately, by the end of dinner, Kiya had reached her limit.
She had a seizure.
She has had a few seizures during our trip, but overall she has done exceptionally well considering everything we’ve asked of her over the past seven weeks. This one was harder than the others, and we knew immediately it was time to call it a night.
We asked the restaurant to box up our leftovers and added a dessert to take with us.
Then we headed straight back to the apartment so Kiya could get comfortable and relax in bed.
Later, Mom and I sampled the coffee cake we’d brought home.
It was absolutely delicious.
As an added bonus, we now had enough leftover dinner for our final night in Lisbon, which meant no cooking and no searching for another restaurant.
Our peaceful evening did come with one new development.
We apparently have new neighbors in the apartment above us.
And they are stompers.
Very enthusiastic stompers.
Evening stompers.
Early-morning stompers.
At least after seven weeks of trains, planes, taxis, heat waves, broken elevators, missing assistance, cobblestones, and everything else this adventure has thrown at us, a little stomping above our heads isn’t going to defeat us.
Another wonderful—and very full—day in Lisbon was complete.
passporttopossibilitycom 