Lisbon, Portugal

We left the ship shortly after 10:00 for our 11:00 food tour, because the meeting point was a 50-minute walk away. Needless to say, we did NOT walk! We'd planned to get a taxi, but there were none right at the terminal. We walked a block or so and finally settled on taking one of the many tuk-tuks.  Our driver didn't seem thrilled to be taking us so far, but Charlie's generous tip cheered him up.  Here are a couple of pics:

Can you see us in the mirror?

He dropped us off at the entrance to Estrella Park, across from the Basilica.

The park itself is quite large, with nicely labeled specimens of plants from everywhere Portugal once had colonies. Here are a few that caught our eye:

Silk Floss Tree (or Kapok, as our guide called it)

Hibiscus

Moreton Bay Fig

Dragon Tree

The other tour guests arrived -- a couple from San Francisco, and a mother and teenaged sons from Geneva. Our guide, Kika, told us she was 45 and had taught kindergarten for 14 years before changing careers. Here's a photo she took of our group:

This was our third Culinary Backstreets tour, which we highly recommend. They have wonderful, informative guides.  Kika first took us to a shop that has been in the neighborhood for three generations for a light breakfast and a history lesson.  While we enjoyed fresh goat cheese and green melon (both delicious!), she drew a map of the world and gave us a quick history of Portuguese exploration.  She continued to pull out the map at each stop, showing us where the ingredients originated, adding in some politics and sociology, so it was very interesting.

Our first stop

The melon and cheese aren't photogenic, but were delicious!

Interior of the shop+restaurant

Next, we walked to another neighborhood for the first of two traditional Portuguese lunches.  It was clearly a popular spot with the locals, with tables crammed closed together, filled with workers and businessmen. Our table was in a corner, so we were out of the fray. 

We started with bread, fresh cow's cheese, and olives

And a deliciously light green wine

Monkfish stew (in pot) with swordfish and veggies on the platter

Dessert was floating island with custard and cinnamon-dusted

Exterior of first lunch stop

Along the way, Kika pointed out the old buildings covered in colorful tiles, noting where some tiles had been replaced to match or coordinate with the old ones. You may need to click to enlarge the photos to really see the patterns.

Our second, lighter (thank goodness) lunch was at A Padaria do Povo, a historic, cooperative bakery, cafe, and now community center. A knitting group was meeting in the room across the hall from the cafe where we enjoyed a pork stew over rice, with more wine (not pictured -- sorry!). The second pic shows our group in front of a copy of a statue inside.

Next, we stopped at a shop selling the famous hams. The butcher was carving thin slices directly from the legs (complete with hooves) for pigs fed solely on acorns and others fed only on chestnuts. After sampling them, we could tell the difference, though both were really good! 

Then we took a short break at a bookstore with a downstairs meeting room. Kika told us about the period of fascist rule under Salazar (1933-1974), when many books were banned. The owner of this bookstore moved those books to a hidden room Kika showed us. When sold, he wrapped them in the brown paper and string used by the fishmongers so patrons could carry them out covertly.

Door to secret room (originally covered with glued-on book spines)

Display of some of the banned books

Our penultimate stop was at a famous bakery for the delicious egg custard tarts called pastel de nata. They were really delicious, with a super-crispy, laminated crust. The dough is so time-consuming to make and requires such a hot oven to bake properly that no one makes them at home, according to Kika.

Finally, we went to a local market that has transitioned into more of a food hall to try a variety of candied almonds in several flavors. All of those were really good! 

Kika kindly walked us a block or so to find a taxi to take us back to the ship.  The taxi cost less than half the cost of the tuk-tuk, so I guess we were had!  Lesson learned!

We were hot and tired, so took showers and dressed for dinner before heading to Happy Hour.  Dinner was in Giovanni's again, and we enjoyed yet another meal.  Should we buy pants in larger sizes at our next port? Stay tuned!