Today’s adventure started early at Praça da Figueira (Square of the Fig Tree) in Lisbon Baixa by the Equestrian statue of Dom Joao (King John). Here we met our tour guide Cecilia an Argentine transplant who fell in love with Lisbon and stayed.

Our first stop on the Tastes & Traditions of Lisbon Food Tour is Confeitaria Nacional established in 1829. Our 1st treat was Pingado (espresso with a drop of milk), Pão-por-Deus (bread of God) and Bola de Berlim (the Berlin ball). The coffee was perfect – smooth; not bitter and just the right amount. The pastries were tasty but not too sweet. A great start to our eating adventure.

The next stop is Bacalhoaria Silva established in 1890 known for their fish, meats and cheese as evident by the pictures. Here we learned about Loja Com Historia (Shop with History) and how they were designated by the government to protect these shops and their history. A quick search results in 191 lojas in Portugal.

Our tour included a taste of Presunto ibérico (Jamón ibérico) which was curated 2 years and sheep cheese from Evora a popular town we intend to drive through on our way to Algarve and Penny will bike to over the course of 4 days (overachiever 😏).

By noon an aperitif was in order so we headed to Ginjinha Sem Rival (which means no rival). Another Loja Com Historia. Ginjinha (or Ginja) is a Portuguese liqueur made by infusing ginja berries in alcohol and adding sugar sometimes with spices such as cloves or cinnamon. The taste is cherry but straight up it is strong and a bit astringent. We had bought some the day prior but added a touch of it to seltzer water. Alternatively, a mix of vodka and Ginja makes a nice cocktail. Personally, I preferred it in these two ways rather than straight up.

Our next stop is lunch! From left to right: Bacalhau à Brás (shredded cod with eggs and potatoes. You would never guess it was potato. It looks and tastes like fried rice – very tasty. The middle photo is Porco Alentejana (Portuguese pork and clams) with a side of homemade fries (a favorite)! Last is Alheira, a sausage of breaded white meat usually chicken and served with spinach puree, egg and fries. According to our tour guide, the Jews invented it to pass as pork sausage in order to mask themselves as Catholics instead of Jews during the Nazi invasion of Germany. They hung it from their doorways. Our tour guide was an Art Historian so we found her food stories fascinating.

We head down another step hill to our last stop of the tour with our tour mates who we forgot to exchange names with but really enjoyed talking too. .

We made it to our last stop – Time Out Market (Mercado da Ribeira) at Cais do Sodré. Mercado da Ribeira means market by the river. Our tour ends with a taste of the traditional Pastel de nata (pastry with custard). Yes, we devoured them😋! Also, a gift of traditional sardines from our tour guide. 👋🏽 Cecilia – obrigado (masculine) / obrigada (feminine).

OK, so technically that was not the last dessert even if it was the last tour stop. Oh Jesse … no tour can end without gelato. What did he get?!? A medio (medium) with mango, lemon and chocolate. No we did not have the donuts (yet😙) but we had to feature them on this post. Ashok, I had to take the picture of the Peanut Butter Dream for you 😘. Wish you were here …

From the Day’s Tour: Amazing art we came across along the way.

Things Ashok would have enjoyed: Força Portugal (a futbol shop), Cristiano Ronaldo (life size mannequin) and cool shoes!

Post-Tour: Jesse is off to work while the girls hanging out in the other room: reading while washing & hanging laundry on the balcony (Penny), napping (Sue) and blogging (Savitri of course!).

The final activity of the night is dinner at Frade dos Mares around the corner from our hotel. Are you surprised that it involved eating?!?

I have to say, this was the best restaurant we have gone to so far in Portugal. The appetizers from left to right are: tuna ceviche, Prawns “à Frade dos Mares”, and fish soup. All three were delicious but the prawns dish was out of this world! It was clear why they named it after the restaurant!

Since this restaurant features seafood dishes, we decided upfront to have a seafood night and it was well worth it. Each dish was unique and flavorful. Refer to each photo caption for a description of each person’s dish. I paired my cod fish with Portugal’s specialty wine variety vinho verde (green wine) from the Northern Region.

Of course we had to cap off the night with dessert. We only ordered one dessert but were served two. We selected Pudim Abade de Priscos which is a pudding (tastes and has the consistency of a firm flan) served with lemon ice cream, port wine and a sprig of fresh mint. Lovely! The restaurant’s treat was ginja in a homemade, dark chocolate cup which I manage to snap and spill all over myself. Luckily, Jesse does not drink alcohol so I still got to try it. He of course, had my broken pieces of chocolate. It was a good trade.

After all of yesterday’s mishaps, today turned out to be a great day full of sightseeing, history lessons and great food. Eating tasty food was definitely the feature of the day. Until tomorrow’s adventure!