Lisbon is Well Worth a Visit

Location: Lisbon, Portugal
NP: Chris Rea - Looking for the Summer
Mood: Wistful

What a wonderful time we've had in this run-down, easy-going and utterly charming city that is the capital of Portugal. There's plenty to see, the people are friendly, the food is tasty and it's warm for most of the year. What's not to like?

Belém Tower has served as a fort and later as a lighthouse that used to be the last sight of Lisbon the Portuguese sailors of old saw as they sailed out into the Atlantic Ocean

Pickpockets, perhaps. We've heard there are some around but nothing of our's has been stolen so far. Out and about we've been careful.

The sights here are plentiful. To name a few, we've visited MAAT, Standard of the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos), Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery.

Standard of the Discoveries

Jerónimos Monastery

We've also visited São Roque Church with (possibly) the world's most expensive chapel (Chapel of St. John the Baptist), the Santa Justa Elevator and the Lisbon Aquarium.

In addition to the sights, Lisbon offers surprises as the age of the city reminds you of itself. You walk around a corner and are suddenly faced with an incredibly ornate and old-looking building. Next to a cafe. Next to a residential building. Next to a restaurant.

Yes, the tourism shows in parts of the city but overall it's still a wonderful mix of new and old and authentic. And getting around with the metro is incredibly easy and convenient.

I will miss Lisbon. It's a city one might consider living in.

Bacalhau Bacalhau - Food in Lisbon

Location: Lisbon, Portugal
NP: Bobby Womack - Across the 110th Street
Mood: Hungry

Based on restaurant menus offering local food, the Portuguese diet seems to consist mainly of seafood, potatoes, bread, sausages (chorizo), pork, beef and greens. Lunch is typically eaten around 1 PM and dinner around 8 PM which is a tad later than I'm accustomed to. But these times actually work better for my schedule.

Breakfast at our two-star hotel, Ibis Lisboa Jose Malhoa, is a flexibly timed buffet. You can go have it anywhere between 6:30 AM and 12 PM. The extension of time till midday is awesome for those of us who like to sleep late. The selection at the buffet is pretty typical for western hotels except that there's no bacon, boiled sausages or scrambled egg on offer. But they do serve the Portuguese custard pies (Pastéis de Nata) in addition and have a machine for squeezing oranges and make your own glass of fresh orange juice.

Breakfast at Hotel Ibis Lisboa Jose Malhoa

Cod (bacalhau in Portuguese) is the favourite fish of Portugal and seemingly available everywhere in Lisbon. As are other types of fish. Apart from yesterday, so far I've eaten fish grilled or in pastries every day here.

Codfish

Seabass

Typically fish dishes seem to cost around 13-15€ in touristy restaurants but I've seen prices around 7-8€ in some places filled by locals.

Fish was available near MAAT, Standard of the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos), Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery - all of which are nice sights to see in Lisbon, the last two in particular.

Fish and meat pies at Velha Taberna

Decent swordfish at the scammy Garphus where they bring additional dishes to your table even if you didn't order them, and charge a lot extra. Avoid.

It certainly seems to be a city rich with fish and sea food in particular but those are not the only things on offer. O Poke (Kiko's Place) in El Corte Ingles offered a mix of nice Hawaiian and eastern food.

Hawaiian Iberian Pork (with broccoli puree, pineapple and "farofa")

Nero Rice with King Crab and Mussel (with green papaya salad)

Yet the best dish to my taste so far has been a good old pepperoni pizza at a touristy but friendly place (with a great waiter) called Luso Central. It was surprisingly tasty with wonderful tomato sauce and delicious mozzarella.

All in all, Lisbon has turned out to be a great place for eating and the Portuguese cuisine definitely something to go for.

Run-down Charm of Lisbon

Location: Lisbon, Portugal
NP: LP - Lost on You
Mood: Drowsy

Nestled at the mouth of the Tagus river by the Atlantic Ocean, Lisbon is Europe's westernmost capital city and has been inhabited continuously since c. 1200 BC. The river mouth forms a safe harbor for this romantically run-down city with a population of half a million within city limits, or nearly three million in the Lisbon metropolitan area.

We chose a hotel from the Campolide area, out of the way from the very center of the city. This area seems calm for a city of this size and mixes modern business buildings (hotels and banks) smoothly with slightly worn residential buildings.

On our first day we were jet-lagged and only ventured out for food and managed to try sea food dishes at Pastelaria Baloico which sells local food in addition to pastries. Unfortunately they seemed to have higher prices on their English menu than their Portuguese menu.

Grilled cod fish with potatoes in deep oil at Pastelaria Baloico (about 14€)

The second day was also largely spent resting but we did manage to see the central mosque and visit El Corte Inglés shopping mall with a major attraction (for me): Decathlon. It's a French sports store chain selling inexpensive but superbly comfortable clothes that I visited back in Barcelona a few of years ago. Unfortunately they don't have a store in Finland nor do they ship items abroad so this was a must-stop for me.

Central mosque

El Corte Inglés

Central Europe has been experiencing a heat wave in June but now arctic air is expected to sweep through and cause thunderstorms. Portugal, however, is just now experiencing the scorching temperatures and yesterday it was 38C in Lisbon. No wonder even my heat-loving wife seemed to struggle outside.

Despite our tiredness and inexperience with Lisbon and Portugal in general, I have to say that so far I'm impressed with the laid-back feeling of this ancient city.

Levi and Luleå

Placeholder.