My post is a little late for week three as my parents came to stay for a long weekend. This was my favourite week so far – it got off to an odd start, packing all my things and spending my birthday waiting 45 minutes in the rain for a taxi I’m sure the company forgot to book. But I eventually got to the new accommodation and was met by the landlady who gave me fresh towels and sheets! (I had to take my own to the previous place.)
It seems the accommodation here is very hit-and-miss. Why I was put in an awful place when a lovely place was available at a day’s notice, I’ll never know. But I’m here now and it’s good so far. However I did wake up on the third day with some mosquito bites and had to spend a small fortune on those things you plug into the wall.
Wednesday was a nice day, as my office found out that I kept quiet about my birthday on Tuesday. Somehow in the hour I was out for lunch, they got me a gift and a card that everyone signed. I don’t know how they knew that a colour-changing dachshund mug was the perfect gift for me, but anyone who knows me well would agree this is absolutely spot-on! In the evening I met some of the January Erasmus+ group at the Asian restaurant Nood. It was a nice change from all the traditional Portuguese food!
On Thursday my parents arrived. Luckily they timed their trip well before travelling went a bit mad with all this coronavirus panic. I recommended they stay at Marques de Pombal which they agreed was a great spot. It’s out of the main tourist centre so nice and quiet, but it’s also between Parque and Avenida da Liberdade which you might miss if you stayed in a more tourist-y spot.
They arrived mid-morning and I knew they would need coffee and a snack (can you tell where I get it from?) so I sent instructions to find the nearest Padaria. I tried to explain (over Whatsapp) that the Portugese have their own names for coffee here – it isn’t the standard americano, cappuccino etc that you find in France or Italy.
My mum is of the same opinion as me that milk and sugar don’t belong in coffee. So I told her to order an “abatanado” which is a black coffee somewhere between an espresso and an americano. Obviously something got lost in translation as she later told me the woman had no idea what she was saying, other than what sounded like the Flintstones’ catchphrase.
I was working Thursday and Friday so gave them recommendations of where to go and met them after work for dinner. On Thursday we went to Sea Me, an amazing fish place. I’ve been pescatarian for most of my life, but spent the last two years as vegetarian. At first I felt a bit guilty going back to pescatarianism but you don’t have to spend long at Sea Me for the guilt to disappear because the food is amazing. Most of it isn’t on the menu – they take you to the counter full of wet fish and you choose one to share between you, which is slightly bizarre but a fun experience.
On Friday my parents took a boat trip which stopped at Belem so I told them to get off there and explore. What I described as a “church” is why they claim to have got lost because it’s actually an enormous monastery. Regardless, they loved Belem, even if they didn’t try the Pasteis de Nata. In their defence the queue is usually an hour long – but it’s the place they were invented so in my opinion, worth the wait.
After work I met them off the boat and took them up Rua das Flores (one of my favourite streets) to Landeau Chocolate. This is the place the New York Times called “devilishly good” and it doesn’t disappoint. Literally all they sell is chocolate cake and hot drinks.
Discussing where to go for dinner, I said there was a tapas place at the top of the road, Taberna, that looked nice whenever I passed. It’s off the tourist tracks and always busy. Time Out and The Guardian both had write-ups about it, saying they don’t take bookings but it’s worth the wait.
We got there at 7pm (early for Portugal) and were advised it was an hour’s wait. I knew there was an excellent wine bar a few doors down (this is why it’s one of my favourite streets – it has everything you could possibly need food and drink wise). An hour easily went past in By the Wine, and somehow three glasses of excellent wine was only €9.
By 8pm we were seated and the waitress talked us through the menu (which is a blackboard, changing daily). The service is fantastic – not only their English but their memory of what flavours come with each dish. We ordered six to share including fish, seafood, and veg. I can’t recommend this place enough, everything was amazing (especially the codfish, and the chocolate mousse with olive oil and salt – sounds weird, tastes delicious).
On Saturday I warned my parents to prepare for a hilly and exhausting day. You can’t visit Lisbon without going to Alfama (the old town), but the transport struggles to get up there so walking is the only real option. Luckily I knew a short cut through a supermarket where you can take the lift to the sixth floor to Miradouro do Chão do Loureiro. It skips a lot of stairs.
Alfama can be quite confusing if you don’t know where you’re going, partly because it’s so hilly. Lisbon has many beautiful viewpoints and there are several in Alfama that are definitely worth hiking up the hills for. We went up to the castle and around the neighbouring streets, then back down via Miradouro de Santa Luzia and Miradouro do Recolhimento for views over the Church of São Vicente of Fora.
In my opinion the best viewpoint is Miradouro da Graça which I saved for last (partly because it’s also the highest one so naturally made sense to be at the end of our route). My parents agreed that it was the best view as you can see right over the city including the castle and the bridge.
It was time for coffee so we of course went to a branch of my favourite place (the Copenhagen Coffee Lab). I’ve already filled a loyalty card which in only three weeks is a bit embarrassing…
For the rest of the afternoon I took them on the 15E tram to LX Factory. Somehow I’ve been there twice and didn’t know about the rooftop bar until someone told me about it at the weekend. It’s a busy bar with amazing views over the roof terrace. As it faces Christ the King, they have a ‘response’ to it in the form of a female mannequin.
Landeau Chocolate has another branch at LX Factory so we avoided the busy bar and went down for a hot chocolate, which my dad later described as the “best ever, anywhere”. For dinner we decided to go back to Taberna where they remembered us and kindly seated us earlier than the hour promised.
Sunday involved a trip to Sintra which was colder than I’d remembered. We got the train from Rossio and wandered about, stumbling upon a lovely authentic restaurant, Tulhas. My mum has a knack for finding excellent places among more tourist-y options. After this we did the Comboio de Sintra trip which is less expensive and less intense that the bus that goes to every palace, castle and hill.
Further testament to my mum’s good nose for restaurants and cafes, for Sunday evening she found La Trattoria which is within walking distance of their hotel. It’s a nice relaxed setting and they do pasta and pizza with local influences (I recommend the scallop risotto).
On their last day I was back at work so recommended a quieter day exploring some areas out of town. Marques de Pombal is a short walk to the Gulbenkian Museum which I’d visited before and knew they would love. Even if you’re not that into art, the gardens and setting are beautiful. The walk there is via El Corte Inglés, a lovely department store with eateries on the seventh floor.
After the Gulbenkian I told them to walk back through Parque Eduardo VII which I used to pass on the way to the metro from my old accommodation. There is an excellent viewpoint at the top, quite different from Lisbon’s other views. They loved it there and said it was one of their favourite days exploring parts of the city outside of the centre.
I felt sad when they left as it was really nice having a bit of “home” over here and having people to show around. But I think it was best they left when they did as it was only the following day that WHO declared a pandemic. I’m getting into week four now, which I’ll save for the next blog!
Chamo-me Hannah 