Traveling with Laura

It’s Valentine’s Day and I’m in love. With Lisbon, Portugal, that is. And if my first day in Lisbon is any indication, I’m only going to fall more in love with this city as the week goes on. 

My journey to Lisbon started last night, with a flight to Dublin shortly after 5PM. Aer Lingus is one of a few airlines to offer “throne seats” in business class and I was lucky enough to snag one for the first leg of my journey.

The flight to Dublin took about five and a half hours, which I spent eating, drinking, reading, and attempting to nap. A glass of champagne welcomed me on board and was soon followed by a pear and ginger chutney with parmesan and black pepper biscuits. I wasn’t thrilled with the main course dinner choices in business class, so I asked for a pasta meal from economy and they were happy to oblige. Being that Aer Lingus is the flag carrier of Ireland, I was obviously quite happy to enjoy a Magner’s cider along with my meal.

I attempted to sleep for a couple of hours and then it was time for “breakfast”, which took place at 2:30AM Dublin time, or 9:30PM Boston time. Either way, it was an unconventional time for my first breakfast of the day. Yes, you read that right… it was a multiple breakfast kind of day. Breakfast was a bacon roll, apple danish, and yogurt with granola and apricot compote that were all incredibly delicious.

An early departure from Boston meant we arrived in Dublin around 3:30AM. The airport was relatively quiet at that hour, so I walked around for a little while and then settled into a quiet corner of the Aer Lingus Lounge for a couple of hours. My second breakfast consisted of a scone with butter and jam and another dish of yogurt with granola and berry compote. 

The sun was just beginning to lighten the sky when my flight departed for Lisbon at 7:15AM. I was very tired by that point and dozed/napped for most of the flight. I had read horror stories about the immigration lines at the Lisbon airport and was prepared to wait for a while. Maybe it was the time of day, or maybe luck was on my side today, but I spent more time waiting in line for the bathroom than I did to get through immigration. In less than 5 minutes I was through the electronic passport line, newly stamped passport in hand, and picking up my luggage from the baggage carousel. I’m not opposed to navigating public transportation in a new city, but given how popular and cheap Uber is here, I opted to just get a ride directly to the door of my hotel this morning.

I dropped my luggage at my hotel and changed into some fresh clothes before heading out in search of food. On my way to stop at an ATM to get cash, I walked right by Neighbourhood, a restaurant on my list of places for breakfast this week. Which is how I came to be eating my third breakfast of the day. We’ll call this one brunch, as it was almost noon by the time I ate. I ordered the Carnitas Benedict, which consisted of Mexican pulled pork with spicy hollandaise on sourdough toast, and an iced mocha. One bite of the Benedict and every single worry I had about whether I would find food I liked and/or was willing to try in Portugal went right out the window. The meal was an incredible introduction to food in Lisbon, with just the right amount of heat from the pork and hollandaise sauce. And it provided much needed fuel for the rest of the day.

I couldn’t tell you exactly where I walked after brunch. I just turned down streets that looked interesting and eventually made my way to Praça do Comércio and up into the hills of the Alfama district. On the way, I was oohing and aahing around just about every corner. The pretty tile work, tiny restaurants, cobbled streets, and yellow trams left me feeling like Lisbon might just become one of my favorite cities.

Lisbon is built on seven hills, so my legs got a bit of a workout today. All over the city there are miradouros, or lookouts, with hilltop views looking out over the city. Lisbon definitely has a “grittier” feel than many other European cities; crumbling tiles, historic architecture, and occasional grafitti give it a raw and authentic feeling unlike any other city I’ve visited.  

I made my way back to my hotel, checked into my room, and immediately went back out for something to eat. I read good reviews of A Merendeira online, where one can get a full meal with soup, a sausage roll, and drink for less than €10. While I’m not a soup person, I enjoyed a pork sausage roll and Coke Zero for a very early dinner. It wasn’t nearly as good as brunch, but I also was too tired to care much about what I ate tonight.

It’s barely 7:00PM and I’m ready to call it a night. My first impressions of Lisbon were nothing but positive, and I’m looking forward to exploring more of the city in the coming days. Having not really slept in over 24 hours, my hotel bed is looking awfully comfortable tonight!