Lisbon, Lisbon, Lisbon...

What a city! Last year I decided that instead of a party with friends to celebrate my birthday, I wanted a quiet celebration with my husband abroad. Scrolling through expedia I came across a deal for Lisbon!! I had never been and had heard from family and friends that it was a must go destination. Feeling excited I booked it! We were going to Lisbon baby, well I actually booked the trip 6 months in advance so we weren’t go for a while.

As the time approached to go on our three day adventure the ‘Beast from the East’ as it got known as hit London. This was the biggest snow storm to have hit the UK in a very long time. Literally everything was white and as it is London, everything stopped working. I started getting a bit anxious about travelling but my husband reassured me that I was mad and shouldn’t worry.

So, we made it to the airport ok and the flight was on time, so far so good. While sitting in the plane I thought haha Beast from the East we have beaten you, we are off to warmer climes.

Lisbon was definitely warmer but in March, I warn you, it is WET. Armed with an umbrella our adventure began, first mission, the Portuguese custard tart. I can’t tell you how much I love these tarts and found an excuse to have them every day while we were there. The place we found to have the best tarts was Manteigaria, usually there is a queue going around the corner for these beauties but the line moves quickly. When you get to the counter you have the option of having cinnamon sprinkled on your tart or not. I opted for the sprinkle as I’d never had cinnamon on an egg tart before and by GOD was it good.

Next on the food agenda was finding the original chicken nandos! With some research, we found out that there is a restaurant in the centre of the city that has legend status and most popular dish is half a chicken. You can’t book and you have to chance it, going down an unassuming side street you find Bonjardim. There is no fancy interior, but you quickly learn this is where the locals come and some well-informed tourists. We are ushered to a table and given a menu, the waiter comes back and just utters the words “chicken” we say yes and the menus are gone within a flash. The waiter returned swiftly with a very large bread roll, cheese and butter, everything in this restaurant is done with great speed! We had been walking all over the city so we devoured the bread roll and eagerly awaited the main attraction THE CHICKEN. A few minutes later the chicken was upon us and I can’t tell you how good it tasted, they had evidently put some kind of garlic/chilli rub underneath the chicken’s skin, whatever it was it worked a treat. For extra zing, you could add their special sauce which was an oil based sauce with chilli and other herbs, I would highly recommend splashing the sauce on. All in all, a fantastic meal.

The last place I would like to tell you about is the Timeout market in Cais do Sodré, YOU HAVE TO GO! The selection of food, the atmosphere, and endless choice makes this a foodie’s heaven. Ok, I have to admit, it took me forever to choose what I wanted here and after sampling quite a few dishes I still felt I could have tried more! If I could go back right this minute and I wish I could, I would go back to the croquet stall. It is out of the main area and on a corner, unfortunately I’ve forgotten the name but it only does croquets and just get a selection and enjoy.

I hope this helps your adventure in Lisbon and do let me know if you have any other recommendations.