sintra – passporttopossibilitycom

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.

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.