Our Portuguese canned fish bounty
Canned fish has gone gourmet in Portugal. There are many speciality shops throughout Lisbon and Porto and you can’t help but be drawn to all of the colorful packaging! We bought quite a few to take with us to enjoy back in Belgium!
Marisqueira Cervejaria Ramiro on Wednesday night
Marisqueira Cervejaria Ramiro was one of our must-visit restaurants in Lisbon! We first heard about on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations when he was in Lisbon to taste an array of local seafood ending with a prego, or steak sandwich, for “dessert”. It was so delicious we went back again – normally we never repeat restaurants on vacation! But we just had to have those scarlet shrimp again!!
The Time Out Market in Lisbon
I don’t think anyone goes to Lisbon without visiting the Time Out Market. To quote their site:
Have you ever heard of curated burgers? Curated nigiri? Curated pizzas, sandwiches or even curated cod? Probably not. After all, Time Out Market is the first market in the world where everything has been chosen, tasted and tested (with four or five stars, and not one star less) by an independent panel of city experts: Time Out’s own journalists and critics. More than 40 spaces with the leading representatives in all the food categories that help make Lisbon what it is – and tastes – all together under one roof. Find out everything you need to taste – and what Time Out had to say about it.
A Ginjinha
I read that in Porto you have Port wine and in Lisbon you have ginja, so of course we needed to try this sweet cherry liquor! Like most of the people waiting in line for a shot at A Ginjinha, we first heard about it by watching Anthony Bourdain in Lisbon. Located on Rossio Square, you can try ginja for only a couple of euros – with or without cherries (we preferred with). It was delicious enough for us to drink 4 each, but when it came to bring back a bottle we passed. And be careful – the sweetness makes it easy to go down and then hits when you once you start walking to your next destination 🙂
Our orange house
Sometimes things just work out. While planning for our trip to Portugal, it can get overwhelming try to decide on where to stay in each city. For Lisbon I had debated between Alfama – the eastern part of the city – or a central neighborhood like Chiado or Baixa. Luckily in the end I chose Alfama! What a romantic, beautiful neighborhood!
Legs of Ibérico
Jamón Ibérico, the famous cured ham from Spain is a must-eat while in Barcelona. We had a cured ham bar right around the corner from our apartment, so we feasted on delicious ham sandwiches and patatas bravas for breakfast.
Grilling chorizo on the balcony
One great thing about attending an international business school is that I get to meet students from all over the world. And what brings people together like food? A couple of nights ago Koen and I went to Ines and Francisco’s apartment for a Portuguese dinner of chorizo and a bacalhau and potato casserole – and of course Portuguese wine!
