Brits, Germans and pastry
I’m not sure we had a ‘typical’ Lisboa breakfast this morning, but it was home made by our host Luis and much appreciated: Eggs, ham, fresh bread, fresh squeezed OJ and really great espresso. (Side note for Christian: Coffee here is real smooth and strong. It’s basically espresso … they drink it with milk, so it gives it a nice latte-type taste). After spending some time talking to a young couple from England (also guests here at the B&B), we were off for another full day. (Another silly side note: the Brits didn’t think we were American. They didn’t even speak English to us right away … not sure what they thought we were, but I think that works to our advantage a bit?)
We got our train pass and took a cable car, mostly because it was right infront of us and we didn’t really have a plan. So we hopped on and rode it to the end. We got off and wandered around and area called Estrela. We were joined by an older German couple, who were on holiday in Portugal for 3 weeks. They were suprised that we thought we could attempt Europe in only one month, but they were still kind to offer their home in Frankfurt to us if we were traveling through!
After wandering aimlessly for a bit, we took another tram to Belem. This was a lovely area…it was very touristy, maybe a bit like Battery Park, lots of monuments and parks, but of course these momuments are from the 1400’s so it’s way more worth it! Of course, to my delight, Belem is also known for it’s pastry! There is one famous pastry that is aptly named ‘Pateis de Belem’, it’s a real flakey crust with custard inside which tastes a bit like creme brule. They come six in a long box, of course we didn’t want to offend and just get two, so we got a whole box and took to the park to relax and eat. It’s 5:30 now and we’re back in our room resting a bit before we journey out for some dinner. More later…
September 5th, 2006 at 11:33 am
brits? goooood.
germans? goooood.
pastry? goooood.
as for the espresso, please live vicariously for me! sounds wonderful. please do a taste test comparison between portugese, french, & italian coffees. i’d like a report on my desk on or before october 1.
have fun!