3 Days in Lisbon

A week after Alsace, we headed to Lisbon to experience some Portuguese culture and cuisine.  We flew out on Saturday morning, and with my connections through work, we were picked up by a private car and taken to our hotel, the Tivoli Lisboa. We were greeted by our personal concierge and shown to our room, and were surprised when he took us to a suite! We had been upgraded! Woohoo!  We had some port wine and delicious local pastries, Pastel de Nata, waiting for us in the room. As always, after quickly getting settled, we hit the town to discover as much of Lisbon as possible.

We walked down the main street, Avenida da Liberdade, heading towards the water. The avenue was nicely lined with lots of green trees and ponds on both sides.  Some of the building architecture had an art-deco feel to it, and some had some more spanish influence, but overall, the city from what we had seen on this short walk was beautiful.









Travers had read about a festival going on in Lisbon that weekend, and we found the main plaza where it was taking place. There were food and drink booths throughout the plaza, and others selling trinkets and other local amenities.  We got in line at one food stall for one of the tastiest yet simplest sandwiches ever. It consisted of a large roll, and some cured/dried ham.  It was then topped with melted cheese that was taken from a large wheel of cheese that was put under a heat lamp to melt. The guy would scrape off the melted cheese right onto the sandwich, wrap it up and hand it over. Delicious!

We strolled through the crowded plaza, eating our sandwich, then continued our way towards the water, walking down a long street that had tons of small side streets off of it, giving glimpses into the Bairro Alto area of Lisbon. Reaching the water, we glanced to our right and lo and behold was another version of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge!  This was the 2nd one we'd seen outside of San Francisco, the first one being in Istanbul, and now this one!

We continued our walk along the water, eventually turning uphill into the Bairro Alto, in search of a few restaurants Travers had read about for dinner. We found a couple of them and decided they both looked good!  We stopped in Chiado, a large square near the Bairro Alto area, and sat outside at Cafe A Brasileira, drinking local beer and watching the mix of tourists and locals passing by.

Continuing our walk through the city, we explored Bairro Alto, finding the Jardim de Sao Pedro de Alcantara, which sits just at the top of a funicular and offers some great panoramic views of the city below and the Castelo de Sao Jorge, which sits on the highest hilltop of Lisbon.  Then we strolled further in, finding a quiet bar/cafe that was owned and operated by a brazilian woman who had moved to Lisbon a year earlier and had just opened this bar a week before we arrived!  She served us local beer in some clay cups and told us all about her experience so far living in Lisbon.

We left our new friend and headed back towards the plaza where the festival was taking place. We had timed it just right because a parade had been going on and this was their finishing point. People were dressed up in crazy costumes, some wearing animal furs, others with lots of feathers on their heads, and all sorts of other crazy costumes.  We loved taking part in the local culture and festivities!

After getting our fill of the festival, we headed back to the hotel for a quick rest and rejuvenation.  We made dinner reservations at Cantinho do Avillez, one of the restaurants we had passed by earlier in the day.  After getting ready, we headed upstairs to the roof where we had an apertif at the the hotel's SkyBar, which offered us more fabulous views of the city and ocean beyond.

We headed to dinner then, enjoying a modern take on Portuguese dishes, and drinking some amazing cocktails that were more of a creation than a drink.  Leaving the restaurant, we wanted to experience a bit of the nightlife that Bairro Alto is known for so we strolled through the streets again, seeing lots of people spilling out of bars, dancing, laughing, and chatting.  We headed up the hill to a bar we had heard of called the Chinese Pavillion. It has all sorts of trinkets and strange decorations throughout the bar, which can make a place claustrophobic, but it was actually very comfortable and welcoming, and served delicious drinks too!

The next day we hopped on a train to the nearby beach area called Cascais. After a short ride, we got off the train and strolled down the tiled streets, glancing at shops along the way.  We walked towards the beach, and continued our stroll, taking in the fresh ocean air, the warming sun, and all the happy people. We weren't quite ready to lay on the beach, so we continued exploring, walking a bit further from town, and ended up finding a private cove that had a small restaurant that overlooked the water. So we stopped in for a late lunch and some sangria, and gazed out at the ocean beyond.

After our leisurely lunch was over, we headed back into town and found a spot on the beach and napped for a bit before heading back to the train and back to Lisbon.

That evening, as it was Sunday, a lot of restaurants were closed, but we found several open on one of the more touristy streets of Lisbon. We typically try to avoid overly touristy spots, but we also have to eat, so we got a recommendation from the hotel, and made our way to it. We were one of the few patrons at the restaurant, but the food was just as delicious as probably any other restaurant we could have gone to, so we enjoyed ourselves sitting outside in the warm evening air.

The next day we took a taxi out to a UNESCO world heritage site, the Belem Tower, constructed as part of the defense system at the mouth of the Tagus river and a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. While not the largest castle or fortress we have seen, it gave beautiful views of the ocean. From there, we walked along the water back towards Lisbon, passing by the Gago Coutinho Monument, which is the plane that was used to make the first flight across the South Atlantic Ocean from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro.

Then we passed by the Padrao dos Descobrimentos (Monument of the Discoveries), which sits along the water's edge, and was much taller than the Belem Tower.  It sits in a large plaza that had amazing tile work throughout. We crossed the main road at this point and took a quick look at the neighboring botanical gardens, and the nearby monestary and archeology museum.











By this time, we were ready for a break and a snack, and we happened to be right near the famous Pasteis de Belem, where we bought two Pastel de Nata and two coffees and took a seat in the bustling cafe to enjoy them. And once we were done, we peeked around the corner and got to see them actually making the delicious pastries!

Feeling somewhat rejuvenated, we hopped on a tram for a short ride to a neighborhood Travers had read about called The LX Factory, which was a large manufacturing complex that has been turned into a creative and dynamic space for everything from art, fashion, architecture, music and food.  On Mondays, most things were closed, but you could tell just from walking down the street that we were in a hip urban part of the area and we only wish we could have enjoyed it on a busier day to see the space come to life. But we strolled through, amazed at the fun looking restaurants and shops and all the cool 'grafiti' on the walls.

From there, we headed out to The Docks, which is a newer complex on the water and just under the bridge that looks like the Golden Gate.  This was a more modern area with lots of boats docked on the water's edge and lined with restaurant after restaurant.  We strolled the docks, took some photos of the bridge that looked extremely similar to the photos we have of the Golden Gate, then chose a restaurant for lunch.

After a delicious lunch of some local cuisine, we headed back on the train to Lisbon city center, getting off and transferring to a funicular that would take us up the hill so we could board another tram, the famous Tram 28.  This tram goes through Lisbon, passing by all the major tourist locations.  While a bit overrated (it took forever to show up, was very crowded, and you couldn't see a lot from inside the tram - maybe we are spoiled by the SF cable cars), it did take us from one end of the city to the other where we got off to see the Sao Jorge castle and a couple Miradouros (viewpoints).

We first stopped at the Miradouro da Graca, that gave us views of central Lisbon and showed us where we had been earlier in the day. Then we found the Miradouros das Portas do Sol, which provided some more spectacular views of the city and water in the opposite direction.

From there, we headed into the Sao Jorge castle, where we were able to walk along the castle walls, taking in the views from the top of the highest hill in Lisbon.

Pretty tired from all the walking we had done this day, we eventually decided to make our way back down the hill to the hotel to rest for a bit.  We had made reservations for dinner that evening at Bistro 100 Maneiras, the second restaurant of chef Ljubomir Stanisic, who is one of Lisbon's top chefs and is known for his fresh foods and creative style.  Knowing this, we had high expectations of dinner there, and we were not disappointed! This is a definite must if you are ever in Lisbon.  After dinner, we walked to a nearby bar that we had read about, the Cinco Lounge. This bar gives off a speakeasy vibe, with the windows all blocked off with curtains so you can't tell from the outside if anyone is even in there, and from the inside, you feel like you've been transported to a private club, with the comfortable lounge seating, the dark lighting, and the extremely creative drinks.  If we hadn't been so exhausted from our walking and sightseeing earlier in the day, we definitely would have stayed for much longer!

Our final day in Lisbon was spent sleeping in, relaxing by the pool at the hotel, and having an easy lunch at the nearby cafes that lined the Avenida da Liberdade.  We had seen as much of Lisbon as we could in the 3 days we had there. And it was the best start to our summer!

TomTom and Wine

In an effort to get out of Geneva, Travers and I decided to check out the Alsace wine region in France for a weekend.  It is a short 3 hour drive from Geneva, so on the first Friday of May, after work, we rented a car and drove to Colmar, a small town on the southern end of the Alsace region.  A day before we hit the road, I went to the local Interdiscount store and bought a TomTom gps system. And I will say, it was the BEST purchase I have ever made!  Travers and I are known to get a bit lost while driving in Europe, particularly when leaving and returning to Geneva, and this of course leads to some arguments. So, in an effort not to argue, and to guide us in the right direction, especially when we planned to drive all throughout the Alsace region, I bought the TomTom, as recommended by a colleague of mine.  So we arrived at the car rental agency and picked up our car, and lo and behold, it had a built in gps system! (Typically you have to pay 50 francs extra per day to rent one, but this one came with the car!)  So now we had two gps guides and we set both of them up to test which one we liked better. And off we went!

Throughout the trip, we received updates from the TomTom and built in gps on the traffic, and we were pleasantly surprised that both systems re-routed us in order to avoid a lot of traffic.  All in all, we decided we liked the TomTom better as it gave us a bit more warning of upcoming turns and exits, and we could programme it with any type of voice we wanted (Somehow we chose a Scottish man named Sean to be our guide).

Arriving in Colmar at the Best Western Grand Hotel Bristol, we parked the car, dropped our bags, and immediately headed out the door to explore the town as we had limited time.  We strolled through the cobblestone streets, and admired the buildings' architecture of timber framing and tiled roofing that we would notice was all throughout the entire region.  We found our way to the number one rated restaurant on trip advisor in Colmar, L'un des Sens. We walked in without a reservation and luckily were able to sit at a table in the bar area.  The bartender/waiter came over and we ordered two glasses of Cremant, which is the region's sparkling wine, and a platter of dried/cured meats and local cheese. I had read that the two bartenders who owned and managed the restaurant are very good at selecting wines for you if you describe roughly what you want, so in part french, part english, we ordered a few more glasses of local red wine that the bartender would describe  each glass.  I was amazed that I understood roughly most of what he said in French, with a few words missing here and there.  And of course, everything we had was absolutely delicious.









We woke up early the next morning, packed our things, then grabbed some breakfast in town at a quaint little cafe where the owner and sole waitress was an older woman who seemed to know most of her customers personally, showing that this was a locals spot to grab a pastry and coffee in the mornings. We had some homemade croissants, and coffee, then decided to hit the road to find the next quaint little town.

Following our TomTom, we took the Route des Vins (wine route) from Colmar through Ingersheim, Kayserberg, and Riquewihr, stopping at Ribeauville for a lunch and wine break.  We explored the town which was lined with buildings built in the traditional architecture of wood framing and tile roofs, and wandered down narrow cobblestone alleyways, catching glimpses of the vineyards on the hills that surrounded the town. We found a wine cave that was offering tastings, so we headed in and stepped up to the bar. We ordered one tasting for the two of us to share, which consisted of 4 white wines, a riesling, a muscat, a pinot gris, and a gewurztraminer.  These wines are typically known for being really sweet, but in this region, these wines are known to be drier, which I prefer in a white wine.  So after tasting all four, we decided to buy a bottle of the Muscat, which Travers liked best, and a bottle of the Riesling, which I liked best!

We then found a great restaurant in town called Chez Martine for lunch where I had a local specialty called Choucroute Garnie, which is a famous recipe for cooking sauerkraut with sausages, other salted meats, charcuterie and potatoes. It was a hearty meal where the meats and potatoes balanced the sauerkraut just perfectly and I nearly ate the entire thing!  And we topped it off with another delicious regional pinot gris!

We hit the road again after lunch and headed along the Route des Vins through more wine filled towns called Rorschwihr, Saint-Hippolyte, Orschwiller and finally Dambach-La-Ville.  Each town we drove through was unique and quaint in its own way, and when we arrived at Dambach-La-Ville, we just had a feeling and decided to stop and explore!  So we drove through an archway and walked the cobblestone streets, eventually finding one of the skinniest buildings I've ever seen to do some more wine tasting! This time we tried some more Gewuztraminer, doing our own blind taste test, which led us to walk away with a bottle of the Grand Cru Gewurztraminer, which we both liked!

The rest of the afternoon, we continued our drive, listening to Sean our TomTom guide, take us through the region, passing by many different towns and vineyards. We ended our drive in Obernai, one of the larger cities of the Alsace region.

We stayed at a cute boutique hotel called Le Colombier, right in the heart of town. We walked around town a bit and found a few restaurants that we had read about for dinner.  We made reservations at a few of them and would decide later which one we felt like dining at.  The town was similar to the others we had seen that day, but a bit larger and busier. But the architecture was still the same, and we found narrow passageways and cobblestone streets everywhere we went.  We eventually made our way to a bar around the corner from one of the restaurants we were eyeing and decided to sit, enjoy some people-watching, and wait for the sun to start setting.

That evening, we ended up choosing to have dinner at Winstub Le Freiberg, a great local restaurant that had large wooden beams and stone walls and was deceptively large on the inside. We were seated at a corner table in a room filled with a few other large parties, so we felt the liveliness of the place but still had some privacy from most of the other guests. We had more delicious food, starting with the local Tarte Flambee, which is a thin pizza essentially, but topped with creme fraiche, bacon and onions. Yumm. We followed that by having a Vol-au-Vent, and a Filet of Beef. And topped it all off with some delicious profiteroles.

The next morning we were blessed with spectacular weather, so we walked the town, stopping into a patisserie to buy some yummy pastries and coffees to go. We sat on a bench in the main square, enjoying watching the sun rise and wake the town up.

We said goodbye to Obernai, and set our TomTom on a course to Ottrott to Le Mont Sainte Odile, a 760m peak of the Vosges mountains. At the top, there is a monestary that provides breathtaking views of the Alsace valleys below.  Travers and I wandered the grounds, taking in as much of the views as possible. It was a little hazy out so we weren't able to see too far, but it was still amazing as we were able to make out part of the drive that we had done the day before from Colmar to Obernai.

From there, we drove to a castle called Haut Koenigsbourg, a medieval fortress at the top of mountain near Orschwiller.  We drove up the mountain, parked the car, and headed up to the castle.  Travers loves castles and always takes the opportunity to explore them when he can. We walked through the castle, up and down stairs, through narrow passageways, up to the top to see some beautiful views of the valley below, and paused to take a few photos along the way.
































After Travers got his fill of the castle and fortress, we headed back down the  mountain to find ourselves a late lunch in Kayserberg, one of the prettier little towns in the Alsace region.  Unfortunately, being Sunday, a lot of restaurants were closing for lunch at 2pm and we had arrived right about then. So after searching and searching, we finally found a small restaurant on one end of town where we could sit outside and enjoy the sun. As our last meal in the region, we had a few local dishes again, splitting a meat and cheese plate and another tarte flambee. And Travers had a refreshing beer and I had a glass of Cremant!









After lunch, we wanted to do one more wine tasting before heading back to Geneva, so we found a cute yellow building where the woman doing the tastings was extremely friendly and spoke excellent English.  We wanted to buy a bottle of Cremant, so we did a Cremant-only tasting.  She brought out 4 different types, two sweeter ones and two drier ones.  We grabbed a table outside and enjoyed sipping our sparkling wines trying to determine which we liked best.  We eventually chose a Brut to take home with us. And ended our tasting on one of the more unique wines, called a Vendange Tardive, meaning Late Harvest. It is a dessert wine that my colleague who's parents are from this region, said it was a must to try. It was extremely sweet, but very delicious, and a great dessert to end the day on.









We drove back to Geneva after that, using the TomTom to get us safely back into Geneva to drop the car off.  For once, I actually drove as the car we had wasn't a stick shift (I know, I really need to learn how to drive a manual sometime). And we didn't get lost or get into any arguments along the way. Thank you TomTom!  The Alsace region is a definite must if you love wine and good food.  Its somewhere I would absolutely go back to someday so if anyone wants to come and visit us, we would happily take you there!