Tag: portugal

One Last Wander Through Lisboa

We decided to take it easy on our final day in Lisboa.

After seven weeks of traveling, sightseeing, walking, trains, planes, taxis, and more cobblestones than I ever need to see again, no one was in a hurry. We let Kiya sleep until 11:00 and enjoyed a slow morning at the apartment.

Once everyone was awake and ready, we headed out to revisit a few shops we’d discovered a couple of days earlier. There were several things that had intrigued us, and this was our last chance to go back and get them.

I had one particular mission.

I wanted to find a little cloth Portuguese rooster keychain. They are so cute and colorful, and every time I see one, it reminds me of Heihei, the crazy chicken from the movie Moana.

The Rooster of Barcelos is everywhere in Portugal. According to legend, a man wrongly accused of a crime declared that a roasted rooster would crow to prove his innocence—and it did. The colorful rooster eventually became a Portuguese symbol of good luck, honesty, justice, and faith. Today you can find versions of him on just about everything.

And speaking of finding something on everything…

Sardines.

Lisboa loves its sardines.

You can find sardine shirts, jewelry, bags, artwork, souvenirs, and, of course, actual sardines packaged in some of the most beautiful tins I’ve ever seen.

We returned to a sardine shop we’d visited earlier in our stay. When we left the first time, I had told the woman working there that we’d be back.

As soon as I walked through the door, she recognized me.

“You did come back!”

I did!

I bought a pair of sardine earrings, and I couldn’t resist bringing home one of the beautifully designed tins. The artwork is so colorful and detailed that the tin itself feels like a souvenir.

From there, we wandered through several more shops and eventually made our way onto one of the busier boulevards.

Suddenly there were people everywhere.

It honestly felt like a cruise ship had pulled into port and unloaded every passenger at once. After several days of relatively easy wandering, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by crowds.

We escaped down a little side street and accidentally stumbled upon an open-air market.

Those unexpected finds have been some of my favorite parts of this trip.

One vendor was selling handmade aluminum jewelry, and naturally we had to stop. We ended up buying rings, earrings, and a necklace.

As you already know, Kiya has fallen in love with her fabulous orange, diamond-studded sunglasses. Mom had been searching for an eyeglass strap for her, and today she finally found one.

Even better—it matched Kiya’s sunglasses.

Perfect.

There was also one food stop we knew we had to repeat.

Earlier in our stay we’d discovered a café serving a delicious fruit bowl in orange juice and honey. It had been so good that we made a point of going back.

It was just as yummy the second time.

Then we had another important repeat destination—the Time Out Market.

There was really only one reason we needed to go back.

Those pork al pastor tacos.

We’d been thinking about them since we ate there the first time, so we ordered another round.

Yep.

Just as yummy the second time too.

After lunch, we slowly wandered back toward the apartment. There was no need to squeeze in another attraction or race across the city. We had seen so much of Lisboa over the past several days, and it felt good to simply enjoy one final walk through the streets.

Then came the familiar ritual we’ve repeated over and over during this trip.

Packing.

Once again, we spread everything out and began figuring out how to fit our clothes, souvenirs, scarves, earrings, artwork, and all the other little treasures we’ve collected into our suitcases.

This time, though, something was different.

When I packed for this seven-week adventure, one of my biggest worries was making sure we had enough of Kiya’s prescription formula, medications, pull-ups, wipes, and medical supplies. Running out of something she needed while we were traveling through Europe wasn’t an option, so I intentionally overpacked.

And I definitely overpacked the formula and pull-ups.

Some of those will be staying behind in Lisboa. I’m going to contact the apartment manager and see if they can be donated to a care center or another organization that can put them to good use rather than throwing them away.

Looking at what remains, though, I feel pretty good about my planning.

I packed almost exactly the right amount of medication and wipes for seven weeks of travel. Considering how much thought, calculating, weighing, and worrying went into those medical bags before we ever left Montana, that’s a pretty satisfying feeling.

Tomorrow morning our ride will arrive at 8:00 a.m. to take us to the airport.

We’ll fly from Lisboa back to Dublin, bringing us full circle to the city where our European adventure began seven weeks ago.

The suitcases are a little more battered.

They’re definitely filled with more souvenirs.

We’re a lot more tired.

And we have seven weeks’ worth of incredible memories packed in with everything else.

Tomorrow, we begin the journey toward home.

Seeing Lisbon from Top to Bottom

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.

Day 2 in Lisboa: Sunglasses, Sailing, and Sweet Pastries

We all slept in a bit this morning.

I think all of us needed it.

The air conditioning in our apartment is incredible. Poor Kiya about froze sleeping next to me! After weeks of battling heat waves across Europe, though, I wasn’t about to complain.

We took our time getting ready and headed out with no real agenda other than exploring the neighborhood around us. One of the things we’ve learned on this trip is that some of the best memories happen when you aren’t rushing from one attraction to the next.

Our apartment is just a short walk from the famous Pink Street, so we took advantage of the quiet morning before the crowds arrived to snap some photos. By later in the day, the street would be packed with people enjoying the cafés, restaurants, and nightlife, but early in the morning we almost had it to ourselves.

From there, we wandered in and out of little shops.

Kiya kept putting her hand in front of her eyes every time we stepped into the bright sunshine, so we decided it was time to find her a pair of sunglasses.

The first couple we tried on weren’t winners. She immediately dropped her head.

Then we found them.

Bright orange with little diamond accents.

She lifted her head, smiled, and never tried to take them off.

When we finished paying for the rest of our purchases, the shop owner smiled and said he wanted to give us a deal.

Then he handed Kiya the sunglasses for free.

Those little acts of kindness are something we’ll remember long after we’ve forgotten what we bought.

As we continued exploring, we noticed something that seemed to be everywhere—sardines and colorful roosters.

Portugal is famous for both. Sardines have been an important part of Portuguese life for centuries and are especially celebrated during Lisbon’s June festivals honoring Saint Anthony, when they’re grilled on nearly every street corner. Shops throughout the city sell beautifully decorated sardine tins that have become iconic souvenirs. The colorful rooster, known as the Rooster of Barcelos, is one of Portugal’s national symbols. According to legend, a rooster miraculously crowed to prove an innocent man had been wrongly accused, making it a symbol of honesty, faith, justice, and good luck.

We wandered into one of the sardine shops, and honestly, the artwork on the tins was almost too pretty to open. Each can looked like a tiny work of art. While browsing, we picked up a couple pairs of earrings and some anklets before continuing on our way.

By then Kiya was ready for lunch.

We stopped at a little café where we enjoyed fresh lemonade and a fruit bowl unlike any we’d had before. The fruit was served in fresh orange juice with a drizzle of honey over the top.

Simple.

Fresh.

Absolutely delicious.

From there we made our way to Praça do Comércio, one of Lisbon’s most famous squares. Once the site of Portugal’s royal palace before it was destroyed in the devastating 1755 earthquake, today the enormous plaza opens directly onto the Tagus River. At its center stands a grand equestrian statue of King José I, who led Portugal during the rebuilding of Lisbon after the earthquake.

Standing at the northern end of the square is the magnificent Rua Augusta Arch. Built to celebrate Lisbon’s reconstruction, the arch is decorated with sculptures representing Glory, Valor, and Genius, along with important figures from Portuguese history. Walking beneath it feels like stepping through a grand gateway into the heart of the city.

After stopping for another wonderful lunch, we made our way to the marina for our afternoon cruise along the Tagus River.

What a relaxing afternoon.

There weren’t very many people onboard, so everyone had plenty of room to spread out. We found seats on the upper deck where there was plenty of shade, open windows, and a wonderful breeze blowing off the water.

As we sailed down the river, we passed one famous landmark after another.

The 25 de Abril Bridge stretched across the Tagus, its bright red color often reminding visitors of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. Opened in 1966, it connects Lisbon with the southern side of the river and has become one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks.

Next came the MAAT—the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology. Its modern flowing design almost looks like a wave rising out of the riverbank, beautifully contrasting with Lisbon’s historic buildings.

We cruised past the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, or Monument to the Discoveries, built to honor Portugal’s great Age of Exploration. Prince Henry the Navigator stands proudly at the front, followed by explorers, cartographers, missionaries, and other important figures who helped shape Portugal’s maritime history.

Nearby stood the elegant Belém Lighthouse, marking the entrance to one of Portugal’s most historic waterways.

Across the river we could see the towering Sanctuary of Christ the King. Inspired by Rio de Janeiro’s famous Christ the Redeemer statue, the monument overlooks Lisbon with outstretched arms and has become a symbol of peace and hope since its completion in 1959.

One of the most fascinating sights wasn’t a monument at all.

We watched an enormous cargo ship loaded high with shipping containers slowly make its way into port while several tugboats carefully maneuvered it into position. Watching those tiny boats control something so massive was impressive.

After returning to shore, we wandered back along the waterfront boardwalk, browsing the local artisan booths. We found several beautiful photographs that we thought would look perfect hanging on a wall back home, a wonderful reminder of our time in Portugal.

Before heading back to the apartment, we made one more stop at the bakery just around the corner.

Their version of pain aux raisins was absolutely delicious, so naturally we bought more.

While we were there, we couldn’t leave without picking up Portugal’s most famous pastry—the pastel de nata. These little custard tarts date back over 300 years to the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, where Catholic monks originally created them. Because the monks used large quantities of egg whites to starch their robes, they searched for ways to use up the leftover yolks. Their solution was a rich, creamy custard baked inside flaky pastry. The recipe eventually spread throughout Portugal and has become one of the country’s most beloved treats.

We also picked up a pizza for dinner before heading back to the apartment.

After another full day of wandering, exploring, cruising, eating, and discovering the charm of Lisbon, we were more than happy to relax in the wonderful air conditioning and call it a night.

Lisbon: One Forgotten Suitcase, One Missing Pillow, and Our Final Country

On to Lisbon!

We loaded up our mountain of luggage and were happily on our way to the Madrid airport when the phone rang.

We had left a suitcase behind.

And, of course, it wasn’t just any suitcase. It was Kiya’s.

Around we went in the taxi, back to the apartment, where we grabbed the forgotten suitcase, loaded it up, and started for the airport again. Our little detour put us about half an hour behind schedule.

Once we arrived at the airport and started unloading everything, we realized something else was missing.

Kiya’s brand-new pillow.

Seriously?

I quickly sent Angel a message to let him know we had left it behind. Once again, he proved what an amazing host he was. He was incredibly gracious and found a way to package the pillow up and mail it all the way back home for us.

Kiya doesn’t know it yet, but her new pillow will be waiting for her when we finally arrive home in Montana. After seven weeks of traveling, I think she is going to be very happy to walk into the house and discover that her pillow made its own journey home from Madrid!

Gabe stayed with us at the airport until it was time for us to head toward our boarding area. Then came the hard part—saying goodbye. He went off to find his own gate and wait for his flight back to the United States, while Mom, Kiya, and I hurried to find our gate for Lisbon.

We had already missed our priority boarding.

Earlier, we had specifically asked the young man at the check-in counter whether we needed to put any special tags on Kiya’s medical suitcases or her transport chair. He told us we were fine.

Apparently, we were not fine.

When we arrived at the gate, there was quite the hubbub over Kiya’s transport chair. No one seemed to know what to do because it hadn’t been marked that she needed the chair taken all the way to the plane.

So there we stood off to the side while practically the entire plane boarded without us.

Finally, an assistance supervisor arrived and escorted us down to the plane.

By this point, Kiya was sound asleep.

I picked her up and carried her down the aisle, trying not to whack anyone with Kiya, my purse, or my backpack as I maneuvered past all the already-seated passengers.

The crew decided her transport chair wouldn’t fit in the cabin and would need to be checked. We hefted her medical suitcases into the overhead bins, settled Kiya into her seat, and finally sat down ourselves.

We departed Madrid at 10:25 a.m.

We arrived in Lisbon at 10:41 a.m.

Now that’s a fast flight!

Of course, there is a one-hour time difference between Madrid and Lisbon, but seeing those times still made us laugh.

The flight itself was wonderfully uneventful, which was exactly what we needed.

We had arranged for a transfer to pick us up when we arrived in Lisbon—or at least we thought we had.

Before arriving, our apartment management company had contacted me about paying the required tourist tax. I had already made the payment through PayPal. Apparently, however, €2.56 had been deducted somewhere in the transaction, leaving our payment short.

Because of €2.56, they wouldn’t finish processing our apartment check-in.

They also hadn’t arranged our transfer.

So there I was at the Lisbon airport, on the phone with management for nearly 30 minutes, trying to figure out how a €2.56 shortage was keeping us from both our apartment and our ride.

At one point, it sounded as though they weren’t even going to allow us to stay because the tourist tax hadn’t been paid in full before our arrival.

I sent screenshots showing the payment I had already made, explained the situation over and over, and eventually paid the remaining €2.56.

Finally, everything was approved.

They arranged transportation to their management office, where we could store our luggage until the apartment was ready.

We quickly discovered something about Lisbon.

It has hills.

Lots and lots of hills.

And naturally, the management office was up one of them.

Once we dropped off our luggage, we decided the best thing to do was find somewhere to sit, eat, and regroup.

We found a cute brunch restaurant and ordered a meal that included an açaí bowl, mini caramel pancakes, and a ham-and-cheese sandwich.

Everything was delicious.

There was only one problem.

Both the açaí bowl and caramel pancakes came covered in coconut.

I do not like coconut.

Apparently, our waitress noticed me carefully picking every little piece of coconut off my food. Without me even asking, she brought over a little fruit pancake without coconut—on the house.

It was such a small act of kindness, but after the morning we’d had, it meant a lot.

After brunch, we wandered up and down the surrounding streets for a few blocks. Lisbon immediately felt different from Madrid. The streets were narrow, the buildings colorful, and there seemed to be something interesting around every corner.

Eventually, we decided we’d had enough wandering and would simply return to the management office and wait.

Wouldn’t you know it?

Just as we arrived, we were told our apartment was ready.

We ordered another ride and set off across Lisbon.

Driving through the city was an experience in itself. Some of the streets are unbelievably narrow, and we were in a fairly large vehicle. There were moments when I wasn’t entirely sure we were going to fit!

Eventually we arrived, figured out all the door codes, and stepped inside.

What a relief.

The apartment was lovely, spacious, comfortable, and—most importantly—cool!

We were only about two blocks from the Tagus River and very close to the Time Out Market and several historic areas of Lisbon. It was going to be a wonderful location for exploring our final city.

The temperature change was also amazing. We had left Madrid at around 102°F and arrived in Lisbon to temperatures around 78°F.

What a difference!

We spent some time unpacking, figuring out the apartment, and simply relaxing.

Eventually we ventured back outside to explore the neighborhood, find somewhere for dinner, and pick up groceries.

Right on our corner we discovered a wonderful little bakery, so naturally we stopped and bought breakfast for the next morning.

Then we found a Mexican restaurant for dinner, picked up a few groceries, and headed back to the apartment for the night.

And can I just say how wonderful our beds felt?

In Madrid, Gabe and I each had extremely narrow single beds. They were the kind where you picked one sleeping position and stayed there all night because rolling over came with the very real possibility of landing on the floor.

Now I could actually spread out!

Kiya was also happily reunited with Mom for sleeping arrangements. She had slept with Mary in Madrid and wasn’t particularly thrilled about the arrangement, but she suffered through it.

LOL.

After a forgotten suitcase, a missing pillow, airport confusion, wheelchair drama, a €2.56 tourist-tax crisis, and hauling our belongings through yet another city, we were finally settled into Lisbon.

Our last first country.

Our last first city.

The final chapter of our seven-week European adventure had officially begun.