Trip Log: Portugal Edition
Travel Day:
We left our house at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday May 29th. We drove around 1.5 hours to the Tampa airport and from there we checked in and went through security. It was an easy process and we had plenty of time to find a place to eat. Unfortunately there were no sit down restaurants, but we did each find something that met our standards. I had my feta wrap from Starbucks and the rest of my family went elsewhere. I wasn’t feeling the best as I had just gotten my Covid booster and had a late night with friends so I was ready to get on the plane and close my eyes. We boarded the flight somewhere between 3:45-4:30 and sat on the tarmac for awhile, however I wouldn’t have known because I was out like a light the minute my booty hit the seat. Next thing I knew we had arrived in Newark, NJ at around 7:15. Our next flight to Lisbon boarded at 7:45. We got cozy and situated and then I became starving. I just kept hoping for food service, but in the meantime I found a movie to watch. I watched “Little Italy,” which I had downloaded on Netflix and it was actually really good. Somewhere between 9-9:30 dinner was served! It began with warmed nuts and then came a salad, pretzel roll, and short ribs with carrots and mashed potatoes. It was so delicious. I finished up, ended my movie, got ready for bed, and closed my eyes. I awoke and it was time for breakfast. I ordered French toast and it was just that toast, one piece. I realized I wasn’t even hungry so I had a few bites and slept again until we landed. We got in at 8:30 and went through customs which was an extremely slow moving line with barely any air conditioning.
Day 1:
We made it through and we had someone to pick us up and drive us to our hotel. We dropped off our bags and met our tour guide who took us through the city of Lisbon. We saw everything from all different angles. We explored the neighborhood our hotel is in which is the Liberty neighborhood which includes the liberty statue, statue of Pedro IV, and the casa de Dom Joao IV. We were then led up to a high point of the city, the Barrio Alto, in which we could get a better understanding of where we were. On our way up, we saw all sorts of awesome graffiti. We learned that the government had decided instead of fighting this artistic form of expression, they would allow it to prosper. From there, we continued on talking about the history of Portugal and popping into different restaurants to take a look at the cuisine that is offered. We saw cute streets full of decorations in preparation for June 14, a holiday honoring Saint Anthony. Eventually, we hit the water and learned about the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge which was made in a similar style to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. After getting a great sense of this beautiful place, we checked out the oldest cafe in Lisbon, Nicola. As hunger rapidly set in, we trekked as quickly as we could to the restaurant “Jncquoi,” which was right near our hotel. I ordered the grouper which came with amazing grilled veggies and it was perfect. My parents ordered the Iberian pork, my brother got the barbecue ribs, and my sister got the ceviche. The food was some of the best we have ever tasted and I am so glad to say that my first taste of Portugal started here. I was ready to keep walking, but my family decided it was time to go back to the room and take a nap, and let me say this was definitely the right decision. We all slept for around 4 hours and were exhausted. We then woke up, showered, got ready, and headed downstairs to dinner at 7:30. We chatted about the day and any topic that may have crossed our minds. We ordered white asparagus with truffle and egg to begin as we had heard many things about it. To our surprise, it was a soup, which was good, but not what I was expecting. For my main course I ordered scallops which was a very small yet delicious serving. My dad got tuna which I am never that big of a fan, but it was actually super tasty. My mom ordered the seafood pasta and my siblings got the duck. We had such a fun time and the environment was perfect. Next thing we knew, we were asleep again.
Day 2:
We woke up super late which normally would freak me out because I would feel like I need to be up super early in the morning, getting right to the action. Instead, I decided to channel the European mindset. I wrote this journal to remind myself what the European mindset consists of, “part of being in europe is accepting the european mindset. over here they go with the flow. “no stress” as my tour guide commented. I have always thought that while traveling to europe you need to fit in as much as possible to experience the culture, but in reality, experiencing the culture means becoming one with the europeans. To do this, you have to live with their mindset. Relax, take a step back from the chaos, just be. I am setting an intention for this vacation: to live with the european mindset and thus be ok with whatever happens. I am learning to love the beauty that lies within surprise and spontaneity.” So, this is what I did. I relaxed and became happy that I was able to obtain the rest I know I needed. We quickly got ready and ate breakfast at the hotel. After this, we were on to exploring. We walked to the Sao Jorge Castle and explored within it. There were tons of peacocks that we kept watching. We took awhile here just soaking everything up and getting a lay of the land. Then, after walking the streets some more, we got hungry. I decided to take the reigns and lead us to a restaurant. I knew I wanted to go to the Carmo monastery so I looked for a good restaurant close by. We ate outside underneath a beautiful jack randa tree at a place called “Carmo.” We had a bunch of traditional Portuguese food: veal croquettes, codfish croquettes, shrimp in an amazing sauce, spicy tomato sardines, and portuguese sausage. From there, we went into the monastery and the museum that went with it. Next, I led the family to a beautiful church that was on the way to our hotel. It is called Igreja de Sao Roque and was absolutely magnificent. Once we finished here, we continued our walk to the hotel. We had some chill time so I decided I wanted to do a bit of research on the history of Lisbon as well as the history of Portugal as a whole. I truly felt as though things were becoming much clearer. Down below I will provide the research that I found and summarized…
“ Settled by the Celts, founded by the Phoenicians who named it Ulissipo. Then, conjured by the Greeks and Carthaginians. The romans and carthaginians were involved in the second Punic war (205 BC) where the romans won and took over this area, calling it Olissipo. The Roman Empire was in control from 205 to 409, but lost the city to the Alani who were then invaded by the kingdom of suebi which were then conquered by the Visigoths. Many of the fortification plans are visigothic.
711, the moors took over, calling it al-Usbuma. However, it was known as versions of Lisbon throughout this time. Until 1147, there was back and forth control. In 1147, the Christians retook the city.
Once winning Lisbon, King Afonso established his court atop cliff Coimbra.
From 1372-73, Lisbon was besieged and burned by the Castilians and forced King Ferdinand I to give up his alliance with England. The king created many new defenses which withstood Castilian attack.
The slave trade largely involved Portugal. Vasco de Gama in 1498 broke the Venetian monopoly on trade, allowing other regions to establish themselves in Lisbon. During this time, King Manuel I was the ruler (1495-1521). Through his reign, Portugal developed their gothic style which can be seen more specifically through the Tower of Belem and the Jeronimos Monastery. Manuel promoted urbanization and constructed the Ribera palace
John III succeeded Manuel who was ferocious in his persecution of Jews thus leading Lisbon’s connections to suffer.
Sebastian came after and was killed leading the King of Spain, Philip II to be the king of both places. In 1640, Lisbon nobles struck for freedom and restored Portugals independence, the rossio square is named for them.
I was quite proud of myself because I planned this whole day the previous night and was able to bring us successfully around the city.”
To finish the day we walked to a restaurant called Señor Lisboa which was a tiny restaurant with only a few tables. Many people were clawing to get into this pride and joy of Portugal so luckily my mom had made a reservation many months ago. As we waited for our table to be prepared, we had drinks on the street, took pictures, and chatted. When we got in we browsed the menu which was full of small plates to share. We ordered chimichurri octopus, cod volcano, codfish croquettes ,cuttlefish ink with squid and rice, cauliflower, beef tartare, and suckling pig. The food was ridiculously good. By the end of the meal we couldn’t have been more content. The service thus far has been impeccable and the people are so kind. We finished the night with a walk.
Day 3:
Today I was able to get a better understanding of how everything connected. Not only the chronological order of history, but also how the city connected. I learned that our hotel is very close to Rossio Square which connects to the Commerce Square via Agusta Street. We woke up at 7:30 to have breakfast and get ready before getting picked up at 9:00 to go to Sintra, about 40 minutes from Lisbon. Sintra is truly a fairytale land. Lush greenery and castles fill the land and you can see why the King and Queen of Portugal used this area for vacation. It was foggy and chilly, but stunning. We learned about the history from our guide and the research I did that day prior helped me understand significantly. After our tour, it started to rain so we got soaked and were quite cold. We went into a restaurant, dried off, and filled our bellies. I ate octopus which I love so much. We strolled the streets, went to the tower of Belem, and soon the day dwindled by. We were exhausted so we took a nap and got ready for dinner. We walked to Ramiro which is a seafood restaurant recommended by Anthony Bourdain. This seafood was phenomenal. The vibe inside is exactly what you would expect from Anthony Bourdain if you know of the amazing person he was. Super casual, kinda weird, but fun and a great experience. We had shrimp in garlic sauce, clams in garlic sauce, salty and buttery bread, prawns, oysters, and lobster. We sopped up all of the oily and buttery goodness with a delicious piece of bread. This meal was out of this world, but my stomach did not really appreciate it. So, if you come to Lisbon and come to this restaurant and have a sensitive stomach… you have been warned. We went to our hotel for a minute and then off to Jncquoi for drinks and a fun atmosphere.
Day 4:
We decided today would be a day to sleep in and have chill day because by this point we had explored a huge chunk of Lisbon. We ate breakfast, got ready, and got a taxi to Belem. We spent most of the day in this area, going to the Jeronimos monastery, checking out the church, Padrão dos Descobrimentos, and the garden. After more walking it was time to head back to Lisbon and grab lunch. We ate some small bites at Cervejaria Liberdade. I had the quinoa salad with vegetables and a few fries and my family ordered shrimp, clams, and fries. After this, we shopped around popping into all different stores. By this time, we had explored Lisbon to the fullest and came back for some chill time before dinner. We then went to dinner at Sala de Joao sa and embarked on a culinary journey through some of the flavors of the culture. This dinner was spectacular because we had enjoyed traditional Portuguese cuisine and this dinner brought a fun and elevated twist to their traditional dishes. They gave us three “snacks” to start and the best sourdough bread ever. The bread was served with caramelized butter which I thought was such a brilliant idea and one of the tastiest things too. I began with the green asparagus, cured egg yolk, and crispy pork dish. For my main my mom and I split the crispy smoked eggplant with tuscan cabbage and garlic cream as well as the octopus rice with toasted seaweed and citrus gel. I ended the night with an almond parfait, fig leaf, and miso ice cream. Let me tell you it was incredible. One of the many many things I love about Europe is the portion sizes. In America, the portions are gigantic and you sometimes feel as though you should eat the whole thing, but in Europe the sizes are perfect. They fill and satisfy.
Day 5:
Goodbye Lisbon, hello Douro Valley. We left Lisbon after breakfast and were driven four hours to our resort. I slept basically the whole time which allowed me to catch up on sleep. As we came closer and closer we kept seeing more and more acres of vineyards. This land is so incredibly vast and lush and magnificent. We stayed at the Six Sense resort in Douro Valley and this place was beyond heaven on Earth. As we got out of the car, smiles, waves, and more met us at the door. We were given beverages and snacks upon arrival. We took a tour around the property, observing the spa, wine library, and tea/ cake bar. We then went to the restaurant and I got a delectable ceviche. We took a walk through the forest that was made to represent the forest of Sintra, my brother and I went on the wooden swings, and we explored their fresh garden. After a bit, my dad, sister, and I got ready for our HIIT class. It felt so nice to do a workout. Although we had been walking almost all day everyday, it felt really good to get my heart racing. Once it finished, we got ready for dinner and headed down. To start we split confit mushrooms with egg yolk and truffle. This description does not do it justice in the least. It was so incredibly amazing. It was foamy and creamy, delicate yet rich. It had a bite from the mushrooms but they were cooked to perfection. I had a salad from their garden. One of my favorite things about this resort is their emphasis on sustainability and fresh, local, organic food. Then my sister and I split the miso marinated pork chop. I had the cake of the day which was carrot cake and it was super yummy and moist.
Day 6:
We decided to wake up at around 7:40 to go to the “Yoga Experience.” We weren’t sure what we were in for, but we were excited. This blew me away!! We started with oils and breathing and singing bowls. We did yoga and meditation. Then we had a cacao ceremony. The purpose of this is to open your heart. We drank this yummy, creamy, sort of spicy cacao. Then, we danced and sang. Now, the moment I had been waiting for was finally here. I had been looking at the Six Senses Instagram for months and their pictures were the only thing getting me to keep grinding through school. The pictures I was eyeing most were the pictures of the spectacular breakfast here. The breakfast totally lived up to my expectations and in fact exceeded them. There was a fresh fruit bar with every fruit you could imagine. Strawberries, cherries, nectarines, pineapple, mango, blueberries, and much much more. There was tons of granola and nuts and pastries. Immediately when we got to the table we were served fresh yogurt with granola, cherry jam, and mint. Also we were given bread with butter and jam, and a big bowl of fruit. I ordered kombucha and tea my two favorite drinks ever. I got the pea toast with an egg and enjoyed the yogurt, fruit, and pastries along with it. This day was packed with activities and I couldn’t wait!! My dad, brother, and I did rock climbing and repealing which was awesome and so so funny. I went biking through the vineyard with my brother and laid in the sun before my lunch. I have had a lot of salads with chicken, but this was the best one. I laid out and read some more before going to a pickling, yogurt, and sprouts class which was so interesting and cool. It was held at their Earth Lab… I want one now. There were dried herbs hanging all around, vegetables being pickled, micro greens being grown, and so much more. We made our own yogurt which I will for sure be doing when I get home na pickled our own vegetables which we get to keep. This class inspired me and gave me so many ideas for new recipes!!! It was also a great family experience. For dinner we went off property. It was about a 10 minute drive and then we slowly enjoyed a delightful meal. My family and I agreed it was one of the best of the trip. The restaurant was called Casta e Pratos. We had ravioli with foie gras, an Iberian ham platter, and seafood ceviche to start. Then, my sister and I slit the duck Margot and the sea bass… chefs kiss.
Side note: at lunch and dinner they gave us a new dip each day we had carrot, beetroot, and more.
Day 7:
LEUCK’S BDAY!!! Our original plan was to wake up earlyish and go to a fitness class, but no one else in my family wanted to do that and it was Leuck’s birthday so they all went back to sleep and I had a brilliant idea. Since I was no longer tired, I decided to run through the forest and the vineyard and all around the property. Magical doesn’t even begin to describe this experience. The weather was a little chilly, but absolutely perfect for running. I ran up and down hills and listened to a chill playlist. I hadn’t run in forever, but this was so much fun. Once I had finished, everyone else was up and we went down to breakfast. We were given all the typical things, bread, jam of the day, yogurt of the day (todays was with poached pears!!), etc. We placed our breakfast orders, I got a salad, scrambled eggs, and sausage because although this sounds boring, my brother got it the previous day and it was to die for. As we were waiting for our breakfast, the staff continued to pop in wishing my brother a happy birthday. Then came special pancakes with a homemade version of Nutella with candles on top. We sang happy birthday, ate our breakfast, and enjoyed the view. Then we took a family walk through the vineyard which was so much fun even though I had already run through the vineyard in the morning. The view and the landscape never gets old. Once we finished we changed into bathing suits and found a delicious piece of chocolate cake layered with rich chocolate mousse and decorated with local fresh berries waiting for Leuck. We laid by the pool, reading and relaxing and at around 3:00 we went kayaking on the Douro River. I went in a kayak with my brother and it was one of the best experiences because we got to view the environment from a completely different perspective while also getting in activity and soaking up the sun. After this, we all went our separate ways for a few hours. I went in the sun and facetimed my best friend and read some of my book. Soon after it was time for dinner. To start we had octopus, the same confit mushrooms from before, and a few other dishes that I cannot recall. We also split a bunch of mains which was a really fun way to have dinner. We had the lamb with Swiss chard and hazelnuts, turbot with cauliflower puree, hake with asparagus and risotto, and a bone-in ribeye! My mouth was watering the whole time and it didn’t stop when the vanilla cake with frosting and jam came out. It had the perfect balance of flavors and textures.
Day 8:
I woke up to an alarm again because I wanted to go for another vineyard run as it would be my last. I did interval training throughout the duration of my run and felt the cool air against my body. I met my mom, dad, and brother for breakfast because my sister wanted to keep sleeping. This is when I had the best breakfast ever. It was caramelized sweet potato with a runny egg, Swiss chard, mushrooms, and the best herbs you have ever tasted. I am still dreaming about it and I don’t think I will ever stop dreaming about it. We took a short walk through the forest and then my parents went to the spa while the kids went to the pool. I wrote for a little while and then we all decided to head to the spa and check it out. It was insane. There was a normal pool with jets, a freezing pool, and a hot tub. There were two saunas, a steam room, an herb room, and a salt room. We tried out all of the amenities and then our bellies started to scream. All five of us went up for lunch together and my mom and I split an eggplant dish with peach and Marcona almond as well as the juiciest most flavorful peri-peri chicken with smooth, creamy, cinnamon flavored sweet potato puree and broccolini. Back to the spa we go! My mom, sister, an I did a scrub making class in their Alchemy Bar. The way the bar is set up is so aesthetically pleasing and you have all different smells coming at you in the most wonderful way. Orange, lemon, rose, lavender, and more. We finished up and enjoyed more of the spa amenities before I had my peaceful and relaxing massage at 4. I melted into the massage table as all the tension was relieved from my body. The post spa experience was just as fabulous with apricots and chocolate and tea and nuts, anything you wanted! However, I am dying to get their tea recipe because it was warmth and relaxation in a cup with its cinnamon and ginger notes. From one relaxing activity to the next, it was time for yoga with my dad. I love being able to experience different styles of yoga with different teachers, in different locations. This time we did it outside among nature with the birds chirping and the resort dogs prancing around. These two dogs were some of the cutest dogs I have ever experienced. Agua greeted us the first day and we instantly feel in love. She was cuddly and cute, reserved and quiet. Then, we saw foxy who looks just like… you guessed it a fox. She is tiny and fun and playful, full of energy and always wanting some love. Anyways, after yoga my dad and I had about 20 minutes to get ready before a car was scheduled to bring us to dinner, so we had to hurry. We arrived at dinner and it was a spectacular view. Right on the water, the view of the 75+ vast acres of vineyards was in sight. We could see the village and the hills and the weather was perfectly sunny and enjoyable with the sun going down shortly after we arrived. This was probably my favorite dinner thus far, but we have had so many amazing dishes and my belly is so happy. They started us off with two amuse bouches. The first was crispy nori with tuna and avocado mousse and the next was an innovative spin on a bbq hot dog. I instead of a hot dog it was a carrot with the perfect texture, crunchy yet not too hard, sandwiched in between toasted bread with two different sauces. It actually tasted like a bbq hot dog, I was blown away. We split an egg, sausage, and truffle dish along with a scarlet prawn with rice, scallops with citrus, and smoked eel with dates and prosciutto. Yum, yum, yum. I was already loving the atmosphere and the food and the overall experience of this restaurant and then the mains came, and I was in heaven. My mom and I split the turbot with spinach gnocchi and the goat with crispy rice. Ok, I know how that sounds. Weird and also cruel, but it was one of the tastiest things I have ever placed in my mouth. It was cooked for 12 hours, making it extremely tender and a sauce with the essence of the flavor poured over top. Then, we had a pre-dessert dish which was an experience on its own. It was white chocolate with raspberry jam inside and pop rocks on the outside making it a raspberry explosion in between your lips. I had a caramel, banana, and peanut dessert which I mean, can you even go wrong with those flavors? NO! To finish, we were given a post-dessert treat of peanut brittle and a banana marshmallow. The attention to detail and dedication the was exhibited in these dishes did not go unnoticed.
Day 9:
Goodbye Douro Valley :(
We were so sad to leave this tucked away oasis, but on to our next adventure. Today is June 7 and we are currently on a plane. This morning we woke up at 7 with our bags already packed and got ready to leave at 7:30. Breakfast starts at 7:30 so they gave us huge boxes of food to take with us! They gave us fresh salad, yogurt with granola and fruit, an egg sandwich on sourdough with Iberian ham, juice, and coffee. I also filled my water bottle with their kombucha as they were setting up for breakfast because it is insane kombucha. Cherry flavored, so bubbly and refreshing. I ate and read and napped in the car and soon we had arrived at the airport. We quickly went through security and sat in a cafe for a bit. I had a few things I needed to get done so it was perfect, and now we are on our first flight. We fly from Porto to Lisbon, Lisbon to Seville because it was the only way to fit in Seville which we have heard is too amazing to not see.
I cannot begin to explain how much I loved Portugal and how kind the people were. Everyone wanted to share their culture and their country with the world. This is also your reminder to make friends with the people you see everyday. No, not just the people eating at the restaurant, but the staff. Ask them their name, ask about them. They are not just their to serve you or drive you around, they are people too. Anyways, everyday so far has been packed with so many incredible activities and I am running out of ways to say amazing, awesome, spectacular, magnificent… lol. If you plan on traveling to Portugal, which I hope you do, there are a few things I hope you will try. Of course I hope you visit all the sites we did because I honestly think we explored Portugal in the perfect way and I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it. Portugal is known for their octopus and cod which funnily enough has to be shipped in. We had so much of both of these and I am still not sick of it, nor have I had a dish with these that were not out of this world. They are also know for their pork/ ham, egg custard tarts, and sardines. Try it all! Be adventurous. Explore the food. Open your heart and mind, it will allow you to learn more about the world than you ever deemed possible.
I will leave you here, but we will have the Spain edition coming.