The Lovely Lisbon
Feeling like we needed to get away from rainy old England, my boyfriend and I went on a quest to find a nice cheap break to somewhere that neither of us had been to before – here’s where we stumbled upon Lisbon, the capital of Portugal and boy am I glad we did!
We started off by walking around the town to see what it had to offer and to our delight we came across what would be our first taste of traditional Portuguese life. Unsure of exactly what we were queuing for, we joined a big line to what seemed like a little shop, where people were coming out with a shot of drink – excited to see what all the fuss was about we continued to queue! It was a big triumph when the shot ended up being the traditional Portuguese liqueur – Ginjinha – which is made using sour cherries and sugar – from this night forward this fruity shot became tradition after every meal!
As for the food, it was absolutely delicious, from chicken to shrimp cakes to steaks, all covered in my favourite…garlic. What topped it off for me though was their traditional ‘pastel de natas’ – a Portuguese egg tart pastry. This mouth-watering, delicate treat, which is not only offered as dessert but also sold across their traditional ‘pastelerias’ – little coffee houses full of tasty treats – was truly one of the highlights of my holiday.
Lisbon was full of culture, beautiful sights and great night life but what really made it for me was the small, picturesque restaurants, bars and cafes.
All in all we had a fantastic break and I’ll definitely be looking to go back to Lisbon to do more exploring!