Entries about mercado

We had breakfast in the beautiful common room. There were a few pieces of bread and some water, so we at first got a coffee and sat down. We asked one of the employees if there were any croissants left, and she said “one second.” We were starting to get impatient with waiting for a single croissant when she came back in with two of these huge breakfast boards. We ended up having a delicious breakfast.

Some last pictures of Porto. Such a beautiful city.

After that we drove from Porto to Lisbon to meet Catherine’s parents and aunts and uncles, who got into Lisbon yesterday. It was a beautiful drive, although we were a little pressed for time and couldn’t really stop and take pictures.

Our room at the Intercontinental Hotel. It’s a beautiful room with a great view.

We went with Catherine’s parents to the Time Out Mercado. We got Thai food (which owes its spiciness to Portuguese trade, according to João our AirBnB host in Coimbra), and then went looking for a place to hear fado music.

But first we got dessert. Daniel had a pastel de nata, but everyone else had ice cream.

Tiny doors as we climb the Bica hill.

The busy Bairro Alto, which had numerous fado clubs and bars. We found one that let people in in small groups for sets of three or four songs. It was very enjoyable to hear it in an intimate, less formal setting.

The fado singer and musicians.
We went back to the hotel early because we have a bus tour to Fátima tomorrow and need our sleep.

A welcome sight: our room in Lisbon after our long journey! Before we could get there, we had to wait in a very long customs line. Then, when we finally got through the line, we couldn’t find our bags on any of the carousels. Eventually, another passenger from our flight (actually the family that had sat behind us) found theirs: it had been on the first carousel, but had been removed to allow the bags for a flight from Luanda. We got the shuttle to our hotel, and checked in and enjoyed the free breakfast.

The very steep street that our hotel is on. This little barrier slides down to allow drivers with the right card to get through, then slides back up.

We went to mass right down the street at the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Encarnação.

It is a beautiful church. The mass was rather quick and simple, but the surroundings were so beautiful that it enhanced the entire experience.

Another beautiful church, right down the street from the one we went to. There are several right in this area.

We visited the oldest continuously-operating bookstore in the world, Bertrand. It has been in operation since 1732. Most of the books are in Portuguese (understandably enough). There is a little cafe in the back of the rather cavernous bookstore.

An exterior view of the bookstore, with blue tile walls.

We bought one book, and plan to learn enough Portuguese to read it to our children one day.

It was nice to browse the store, but we were very tired already. We stopped by a little bakery and bought some pastel de nata and some whole wheat rolls (pão integral in Portuguese. Catherine says she agrees that it is integral for daily life) and then went back to the hotel and rested for a few hours.

We got up at around 8PM, and then went out for dinner. The man at the hotel told us about the Time Out Mercado, essentially a gigantic food court with a wide variety of options. It is located in the old fish market near the river. We decided to walk down there and see what looked good.

Lisbon is a very hilly city. A lot of people say it is similar to San Francisco, although it feels somewhat different.

A tiny door along the way.

The Mercado. There are tons of restaurant stands around a center area. In the center are bars selling drinks and tables for customers.

A spicy diavola pizza and two Super Bock beers, the other major Portuguese beer maker.

Dessert: Catherine got salted caramel with peanut and honeydew ice cream, and Daniel got passionfruit.

The streets in Lisbon.

A monument.

They seem to have very large insects here.

The Bica hill, home of the famous Bica tram.

The construction of some of the buildings.
After dinner we grabbed a drink right near our hotel, and then headed back to get some rest before
heading out to explore more of the country tomorrow.