When last we spoke, some very interesting things were afoot out here in Europe. Interesting things are still going on, but this time it's interesting things of the good variety! Lisbon, as it turns out, is awesome.
When we left off, Jon and I were at Kiado, killing time before heading to the airport, and had just fournd out that kaZantip in Portugal was closed. The news was...confusing, to say the least. What now?
In the short-term, the answer was easy: get on the plane to Portugal. But then what? We had no idea. The airport was surprisingly busy for 5am, but we passed through security easily and fell asleep as soon as we settled in on the plane. After a brief layover in Barcelona, we arrived in Lisbon. KaZantip was supposed to bus people from the airport to the event, so we had no plans to spend any time in Lisbon. Fortunately the airport had wi-fi, so we were able to book a hotel for the night.
Off we went via metro, which was fast and modern and clean. +1 for Lisbon. When we arrived at our destination, we were introduced to one of the most notable aspects of Lisbon: the hills. There are lots of them. And they are not so fun when you're dragging around luggage and it's super hot out. The hills make for a beautiful city, as does the weather, but they are a tough combination!
When we found the hotel, we were greeted by a drunk man who proceded to ring every buzzer for the building simultaneously and shout for the owner at the top of his booze-soaked lungs. "Antonio! Antoniooooo!!" Antonio looked less than pleased with our escort, but was more than nice to us. Apparently he'd given the drunk a beer once, and now he can't get rid of him. At least he makes an interesting welcome party for guests. :)
The hotel proved to be quite cool for a last minute find. It felt more like staying in an apartment than staying in a hotel. There was a terrace, and a tearoom, and a kitchen for guests to share that was stocked with a few essentials like coffee and cereal. Everything was decorated in old Portuguese style, and all the furniture was from the 18th century. Not too shabby. Antonio was insanely friendly and accommodating, but to a New Yorker it was the kind of nice that's too nice. New Yorkers find it disconcerting when someone is that helpful!
His niceness came in handy, though, because he recommended a great restaurant for our first dinner in town. I had high hopes for Portuguese cuisine, and so far I have not been disappointed. Portugal is all about creating delicious dishes from very little. It's all simple, hearty food, but so well prepared. Seasonings and sauces are kept to a minimum, so that the real food - the vegetables and the meat - can take the spotlight. We decided to go with something that Epic Meal Time would appreciate: a plate full of pork products. There were two kinds of sausage, "bacon" (thicker slabs of meat than the thin slices we would call bacon), and the best black pudding I have ever had. Who knew congealed blood could taste so good? :)
The other great success of the meal was its liquid accompaniment: a 6 Euro bottle of wine. "€6?," you say. "That must have been awful!" Nope. In fact, it was one of the better whites I can remember having. I'm not usually much of a white drinker, but this one was dry and perfect. Portugal takes wine very seriously, so I guess I'll have to drink plenty more before leaving.
Fun Facts: in addition to wine-making, Lisbon is also known for...
Our first night out was spent in an especially vibrant neighborhood called Bairro Alto. The streets were packed with people...it was actually kind of hard to spot the actual bars through the crowds! Eventually we heard live music emanating from a door, and popped in just in time to hear the band play a hilariously amazing version of "Baby One More Time." I managed to catch a video of part of it, which you can see in the Flickr account I posted recently.
After that we took our giant mojio (0.75L!) and joined the throngs in the street. We spent the rest of the evening wandering around, getting a feel for our new city. The highlight was stumbling upon a very awkward Canadian attempting to woo a local girl. I have never witnessed a more unfortunate date in my life...it was so hard to stifle the laughter. I hope he at least got a kiss out of all that hard work!
When we left off, Jon and I were at Kiado, killing time before heading to the airport, and had just fournd out that kaZantip in Portugal was closed. The news was...confusing, to say the least. What now?
In the short-term, the answer was easy: get on the plane to Portugal. But then what? We had no idea. The airport was surprisingly busy for 5am, but we passed through security easily and fell asleep as soon as we settled in on the plane. After a brief layover in Barcelona, we arrived in Lisbon. KaZantip was supposed to bus people from the airport to the event, so we had no plans to spend any time in Lisbon. Fortunately the airport had wi-fi, so we were able to book a hotel for the night.
Off we went via metro, which was fast and modern and clean. +1 for Lisbon. When we arrived at our destination, we were introduced to one of the most notable aspects of Lisbon: the hills. There are lots of them. And they are not so fun when you're dragging around luggage and it's super hot out. The hills make for a beautiful city, as does the weather, but they are a tough combination!
When we found the hotel, we were greeted by a drunk man who proceded to ring every buzzer for the building simultaneously and shout for the owner at the top of his booze-soaked lungs. "Antonio! Antoniooooo!!" Antonio looked less than pleased with our escort, but was more than nice to us. Apparently he'd given the drunk a beer once, and now he can't get rid of him. At least he makes an interesting welcome party for guests. :)
The hotel proved to be quite cool for a last minute find. It felt more like staying in an apartment than staying in a hotel. There was a terrace, and a tearoom, and a kitchen for guests to share that was stocked with a few essentials like coffee and cereal. Everything was decorated in old Portuguese style, and all the furniture was from the 18th century. Not too shabby. Antonio was insanely friendly and accommodating, but to a New Yorker it was the kind of nice that's too nice. New Yorkers find it disconcerting when someone is that helpful!
His niceness came in handy, though, because he recommended a great restaurant for our first dinner in town. I had high hopes for Portuguese cuisine, and so far I have not been disappointed. Portugal is all about creating delicious dishes from very little. It's all simple, hearty food, but so well prepared. Seasonings and sauces are kept to a minimum, so that the real food - the vegetables and the meat - can take the spotlight. We decided to go with something that Epic Meal Time would appreciate: a plate full of pork products. There were two kinds of sausage, "bacon" (thicker slabs of meat than the thin slices we would call bacon), and the best black pudding I have ever had. Who knew congealed blood could taste so good? :)
The other great success of the meal was its liquid accompaniment: a 6 Euro bottle of wine. "€6?," you say. "That must have been awful!" Nope. In fact, it was one of the better whites I can remember having. I'm not usually much of a white drinker, but this one was dry and perfect. Portugal takes wine very seriously, so I guess I'll have to drink plenty more before leaving.
Fun Facts: in addition to wine-making, Lisbon is also known for...
- Being the cheapest captial in Western Europe.
- Being the westernmost capital in Western Europe.
- Being the oldest capital in Western Europe.
Our first night out was spent in an especially vibrant neighborhood called Bairro Alto. The streets were packed with people...it was actually kind of hard to spot the actual bars through the crowds! Eventually we heard live music emanating from a door, and popped in just in time to hear the band play a hilariously amazing version of "Baby One More Time." I managed to catch a video of part of it, which you can see in the Flickr account I posted recently.
After that we took our giant mojio (0.75L!) and joined the throngs in the street. We spent the rest of the evening wandering around, getting a feel for our new city. The highlight was stumbling upon a very awkward Canadian attempting to woo a local girl. I have never witnessed a more unfortunate date in my life...it was so hard to stifle the laughter. I hope he at least got a kiss out of all that hard work!
No comments:
Post a Comment