Apparently, Lisbon was settled even before Rome, and has been continuously inhabited longer than any city in Europe except Athens. Who knew?!
We tried to have lunch at a churrascario (traditional Portugeuse BBQ place) on our way to Lisbon, but they were closing for siesta, so we ended up at a hot dog food truck. It didn’t feel very authentic, but they did have bifanas, delicious Portuguese pork sandwiches.
Our place in Lisbon was absolutely TINY, but the location right in the center of downtown was perfect.
We started our first day in Lisbon with a tuk tuk tour of the city. Our guide, Carolina, was great, and told us a lot about Portuguese culture as she was showing us the sights. The extensive tile work on the buildings made Lisbon feel different from other European cities we have visited.
River and I went into the church dedicated to Saint Anthony, patron saint of lost things. He is said to be from here, so Lisbon considers him their own patron saint. His birthday is in a few days, so the city is preparing with festivals.
We stopped at the highest point in the city, and had a beautiful view. The city below was really pretty with its white buildings and red tile roofs. We could see cathedrals in the distance, and the ever-preset Moorish castle. They have a bridge that looks like the golden gate bridge.
There were a lot of flowers in the city, making it feel really elegant in some areas.
There was also a vibrant tradition of street art in Lisbon. We saw a lot of fantastic art, and a fair amount of graffiti in the grittier parts of town. We drove by one plaza that our guide said we shouldn’t visit after dark.
We went to Belem to visit the shop that invented Lisbon’s iconic dessert, pasteles de nata. This shop is the only one that can call them pasteles de Belem. They were delicious, as advertised. We got some other pastries as well, because we believe it’s important to sample local delicacies when we travel. Also, we like pastries.
After a little siesta, we went to a pastel de nata baking class at Nat’elier. We started with flour and butter, making the puff pastry from scratch. Then we made the custard, pressed the puff pastry into little pastel de nata tins, and used a cool funnel thing to fill them with custard. After a few minutes in a super hot oven, we ate our own pastries. They were delicious!
