Lisboa

I think the word that best describes this trip is YOLO aka You Only Lean Once. It has been a culinary journey from spain to portugal. 

It was a tiring journey to Lisboa with a 7am flight from Barcelona. Had to wake up at 4am with only 2 hrs of sleep and lug ourselves to the airport just because of our check in baggage. Vernon really went crazy with the shopping there.

Arrived in Lisbon half dead, fully concussed on the plane. The metro services the airport and i recommend buying a day pass for 5 euros since you'll be taking tram 28 or one of those elevators up the hills anyway.

Lisboa is a little quaint town different from the other cities i've been to. Its a beach side town filled with hills which can be tiring to walk. So one day, a lazy fella thought... why not build tram like elevators up the slopes! So tada, Lisbon became known for their iconic old school trams and elevator systems. 

the elevator up Rua Gloria

The Portuguese love their cod fish. It can be found in almost all the menus serving traditional Portuguese dishes. Cod fish with potatoes, grilled cod fish, baked cod fish, cod fish lasagna, etc. The place we had lunch at on the first day was a restaurant frequent by the locals. You can tell that the food is really good when the place is filled with locals and few or no tourists. A Licorista E O Bacalhoeiro (Rua Dos Sapateiros 218-224) served very home cooked meals. Love the hospitality of the Portuguese as well! They gave us free Ginja (their local cherry liquor) shots after the meal! 

Good portugese lunch at Bacalhoeiro

Spent the rest of the first day walking around the shops and didnt do much sight seeing till the evening cos of the rain. Alfama is a really nice area to walk around and get lost on the narrow cobblestoned streets. I tram surfing is quite cool! too bad i didnt manage to attempt it successfully.

How tram surfing is done

another tram surfer

Lisbon church. Apparently the graduating students of the university have their ceremony here. How cool is that!

Take a road trip out of the city and you'll enter another dimension. The city seems to be a mix of different cities. At Belem, there's a bridge that looks like the golden gate bridge and across, there's a statue that looks similar to Christ the Redeemer in Rio De Janeiro. But whats out there is the real treasure, wait for it.... THE MOST AWESOME PORTUGESE EGG TART which can be found at Pasteis De Belem (pronounced belei) at Rua de belem 84 -92. Driving along the Portugese costal road was nice, with the view of the beach and the waves ideal for surfers. It really reminded me as if i was in South America. Drove by Cascai on the way to Cabo Da Roca, the most western tip of Europe and were greeted with awesome views. Finally ended up our trip in Sintra where we arrived too late with most of the attractions starting to close. Had nice Portuguese pastries at Piriquita 1 (Rua das Padarias 1)

For those planning of doing the same itinerary, i suggest driving up the Sintra first and explore the moorish castle and the quinta da regaleira before heading down to cabo da roca and belem for some egg tarts. If i had the time, i'll definitely do a road trip from Lisbon to Porto! there're so many nice sights on the way north! Just that we didnt have time to fully explore em. 

Heavenly Portugese egg tarts!

At the most western edge of Europe!

Exiting the cave at Quinta Da Regaleira

Queijada and Travesseiro at Piriquita 1 in Sintra

Met up with our Portugese friends that we met in Krakow. Had more good food! Always love meeting up with the locals and exploring their local hunts! Food portions aren't that big (similar to tapas) but had a great variety of portugese food! Petiscaria Ideal (Rua da Esperanca 112-114) Had a really great time with them. They even brought us to an gelato place which served the best chocolate cake in the world! and no im not kidding, its name is the best chocolate cake in the world! ahha its actually quite nice too! one of the better choc cakes that i've eaten in europe!

Our awesome Portugese Hosts, Catarina and Jorge  

viva la barcelona

Recently, i've been having huge a huge inertia to blog about my travel experiences but i know i have to in order to remember my experiences years down the road and of course the food recommendations. hahaha 

Welcome to Spain. Most people relate to it as the place with the cheap shopping and good weather. But to me, its the place of good food! yes food again! haha i think that Mediterranean food beats continental european food hands down.

Unfortunately, I only had 2 pathetic days in the city of Barcelona. Kind of rush actually. Dont really like such trips. too tiring. especially after having little sleep the past few days, touring london in the day and rushing assignments till the wee hours of the morning in london. 

The hostel we stayed in was absolutely fantastic! Barcelona Central Garden Hostel. I'll definitely recommend it to anyone who comes to Barcelona. Place was cosy, rooms were clean and toilets were nice and spacious. It even looked like ones from hotels. Staff were friendly and very receptive to our questions. There was even a 10min run through of all the attractions in Barcelona!

Arriving late on Fri evening, we set out for our Spanish Conquest early on Sat morning, exploiting the good food at Mercat Boqueria along La Rambla. Dated back to 1826, it still houses what it used to sell then. Fresh meat, fresh seafood, chocolate, fruits and GOOD FOOD! 

Mercat Boqueria (along La Rambla)

Seafood so fresh that it is still moving!

I would recommend Breakfast at El Quim inside Mercat Boqueria. Try their house speciality, Huevos Chipirones. It's basically an omelette with baby octopus. (yes they love their baby octopus! it can be found everywhere). To eat it, burst the yolk and mix it around before eating. Eat with the bread provided. However, it comes with a heft price tag of 19 Euros, but its worth it. Share it. Also, try their sandwiches El Bocaquim stuffed with their local spanish ham and cubed potatoes with their special sause (Bravas Boqueria). 

Here's a crash course of Spanish eating etiquette, wine is usually drank first before your main meal (yes, even for breakfast) and coffee like most other cultures is drank for desert.

After such a hearty breakfast, have a walk around the market for more snacking and clearing your platter with fresh fruit juices for 1 euro!

Enjoying our delicious breakfast at the market

Huevos Chipirones (Baby octopus with omelette)

Besides eating, the next best thing to do is to shop till you drop. Okay shopping here is actually quite exaggerated. Its more for girls. The only cheaper stuff here are from brands like Zara, Mango, Pull & Bear and Bershka. 

Zara outlets here are huge!

The next thing that must be checked off your Spanish Checklist is to have Tapas. Tapas is basically something we chinese call as Dim Sum. It basically consists of very small dishes and you'll have to order a variety of them to fill your stomach. It'll cost about 20 euros to be full from it. At some places, sitting at the bar would be cheaper than sitting at a table or outside.

trying tapas at Tapas Tapas

 The variety of Tapas

With our stomachs half full, we set out to do some sight seeing of Gaudi's work. As you walk around the city and if you see weird buildings, there's a high chance that it's Gaudi's work. His most famous one being the Sagrada Familia, a must visit when touring Barcelona.

The Nativity Facade of Sagrada Familia

Walking back to the hostel, we came across another demonstration  Dont know what it was about because everything was in Spanish. 

Ended off the day with dinner at a local hunt which served imo the best paella in Barcelona. Restaurante Bosque Palermo (C/ Valencia 163) call ahead to ensure that you've a table to avoid disappointment.

 Racion Paella

The last day of Barcelona was spent touring the old town with the walking tour by travel bound. The Catalan people sure have a weird tradition for christmas and they sure love their shit. yes feces. On top of having a model crib of the night jesus was born, they have another model of someone taking a crap in the picture. if you want a authentic souvenir that represented barcelona, this would be the perfect gift. Also, where most countries have santa, the catalans have the shit log. a log which gifts out presents after you beat it with a stick. 

shop selling the shitting figurines from the typical Catalan boy to celebrities like the queen taking a shit.

stall selling the shit logs.

Barcelona is indeed a unique city of its own in Spain. In the center, we have the old town and the works of Gaudi littered around the city, but further south we have the beach which brings in a different feel to city. Exiting the old town and entering the Barceloneta area makes you feel as if you're stepping into a different city. Houses look different, seafood are aplenty, lots of space and the sunshine! 

 Barcelona Beach

However, when searching for food, do avoid the very southern tip of Barceloneta as their food are pretty much expansive.

While the 2 boys went to watch their Barcelona match, the rest continued in search for food and to our disappointment the seafood places were closed for siesta! Oh yah an i forgot to mention, siesta is from 1-3 and can extend to longer periods during weekends.

Met my friend Serene who was doing an exchange there. Went to watch the Spanish Flemenco dance and headed out for good tapas!

 The Spanish Flemenco Dance (basically super lightning speed tap dancing and coordination)

I guess the highlight of the day was food again with Serene leading the way to Cerveseria (Mallorca 236), a local tapas joint. I guess we were considered lucky to have a table. Try their veal tapas and the Huevos Cabreaos (below)

The 2 days in barcelona was just too short. Didnt manage to cover most of the sights nor siesta at the sun filled beach. Really enjoyed the cool weather but most of all, the awesome spanish food! Although most people claim that spain is cheap, it was my most expansive trip to date. to satisfy a platter for good food be prepared to spend beyond 20 euros.