Lisbon - Day 2

Our second and final day in Lisbon began with a walk to the nearby bullfight ring, Campo Pequeno. No bullfights were scheduled for today which is a good thing because this ring is no longer designed for them. The bulls would need to hustle outside.

Come to think of it, this is the first bullring I've seen. Don't think I've come across one in Spain... either that or I wasn't paying attention.

We passed Campo Pequeno only because it was close to our chosen lunch venue, Fogo De Chao. That's right, you guessed it - a churrascaria. This time we were given a little block of wood - one end coloured red, the other green. At first we thought, 'wtf is this for?'. It was pretty obvious thereafter that red meant 'Stop with the meat, man' and green meant 'Bring on that animal muscle fibre'.

Smee beside the large photograph of meat skewers. Mmmm ... inviting...

The food was as you'd expect - meaty. The salad bar in these places are a poor accompaniment and are more often just a display case of boring, wilting salads and sometimes, even more meat! People seriously can't eat like this everyday. They would die of... erm... tired jaw muscles from masticating all that meat.

I made the most of the non-protein food on offer - grilled fresh pineapple. Refreshing!

Banana fritters. One of my faves. I asked for extra!

That's one mean looking Passador, but really, he was quite friendly and kept giving us the best cuts of meat.

Afterwards, we toyed with the idea of going to the airport early but instead we jumped in a cab and headed towards the area of Belem to see THE symbol of Lisbon. I would have been quite upset to have come all this way and not have seen it in it's stony flesh. The cab ride was only about 15-20 minutes which was much better than the 1 hour public transport alternative.

So what was I fussing about? The Belem Tower! It was built in the 1500s as part of the city's defense system.

Looks pretty good for a 500 year old building. I could post up about 50 other photos of the tower, but that would just bore you to pieces.

Nearby was the Monument to the Discoveries. You gotta remember that Portugal was a superpower a few hundred years back. That was pretty cool too. I thought it was constructed not too long after Belem Tower but then I found out it was built in 1960.

A close up of the Portuguese explorers, including Henry the Navigator and Vasco da Gama.

We didn't have time to explore the nearby monastery, but it looked pretty spiffy from the cab. Neither did we have time to stuff ourselves with tarts at Pateis de Belem, the 160 year old patisserie.

Our cabbie was super-friendly and clearly wanting to practise his English skills. He helpfully pointed out some pickpockets at the tram stop (and cursed their presence) and then proceeded to give us a verbal tour of Lisbon. He drove us past the aqueduct which remained standing after the destructive 1755 earthquake. All very interesting. I'm starting to sound like a textbook.

With that, we bid adieu to Portugal. I might visit again.....or probably not.

Lisbon - Day 1

We planned a self-guided walking tour for first day in Lisbon. A wintry day in Portugal meant rain, rain, rain. It just wouldn't stop. At it's best it was reduced to spitty rain, but for the majority of the afternoon it just pissed down.

Our first stop was the Praca do Comercio.

Then we paused for a pastel de nata aka Portuguese Tart.

These ones didn't have pastry for some reason.

Enjoying my tart with a blue tiled man.

We made our up the hilly streets, past the tram cars....

... took note of the tiled footpaths. Yes, reminiscent of Macau.

Then we passed the Lisbon Cathedral.

Very Notre Dame-ish.

At the peak of the hilly Alfama region was the Castelo de Sao Jorge. The views from the castle overlooked the city and onto the river Tagus.

The mess of the rooftops looked like the buildings were going to fall over each other. I can see how charming this would be in nicer weather.

Afterwards, we made our way to the central and Bairro Alto areas of Lisbon. We passed by several patisseries on Rua de Augusta, all tempting us with their tarts in their display windows.

We ended up buying eight from the shop above and had two as a snack, saving the rest intending them as midnight treats. Heading to the Bairro Alto area, we had hoped to find it buzzing with people in bars and restaurants. The torrential rain stopped all that and it was deserted, dark and wet. This only made the area look like a junkie zone. We sought shelter under a shop front and patiently waited for the rain to abate but no luck. We then decided to make our way to the nearest Metro and go back to the hotel. In the chaos of avoiding puddles and sharing a tiny umbrella we realised we left our six spare tarts at the shopfront :( I could have cried then and there.

The rain really put a downer on the day and we resorted to eating in the hotel. Boo hoo. Some lucky person will be scoffing down our tarts.

A Portuguese Christmas

For the Christmas period, Smee and I decided to go to Lisbon and Porto in Portugal. Thankfully, our flight wasn't delayed by the annual fog that affect many flights at this time of year and we jetted into Lisbon with no issues. After checking into the hotel, we pretty much went immediately to Oriente Station where we caught a 3 hour train to Porto.

We'd been invited to experience Christmas the 'Portuguese' way, whereby large family dinners are held on Christmas Eve.

The first course consist of boiled bacalhau (codfish), potatoes and cabbage. Sounds plain but very tasty combination especially when served with olive oil and onion.

The fish and potatoes were enough but the second course of lamb came along and we all had a nibble.

One of the nicest red wines I've had - Chryseia 2004.

The excessive desserts. There were more than this! I made sure I sampled a bit of each one as I'm a big fan of custards, cinnamon and eggy desserts.

(T-B, L-R) A milk custard with cinnamon. Bolo Rei - a traditional Christmas cake. Creme brulee - no idea what the Portuguese word is. Malasada donuts - ooh, so squishy!
There were also some rabanadas, similar to french toast which were just delish!

Father Christmas then came at the stroke of midnight to distribute gifts to the kiddies. He spoke fluent Portuguese and a bit of broken English. We retired slightly tipsy and full from all the goodies.

The following day, we followed our Portuguese buddies for Christmas Day lunch at the in-laws. It was just a repeat of the previous night's feast except at midday rather than dinner. But first, we stopped by the sandy beach.

It's so nice to see a sandy beach again. A bit chilly but you couldn't tell from the blue sky.

Lunch was again a huge feast of fish, meats and desserts. Mmmm I could just live on creme brulee, creme caramel, custard flans.....

We fitted in the minimal tourist stuff with a night tour of Porto.

The purdy Christmas lights.

The following day, Boxing Day we thought we'd try something different, Churrascaria. Ok, it's not that different, it's just feasting on barbecue meats.

Smee outside Churrascao Gaucho. The meat variety here was one of the best we've been too. The garlic beef was just mmm.. mmm....mmm!! Too bad I can't find a website.

After lunch we boarded a train back to Lisbon. Touristy stuff to do!

Mick Jagger

London has been... well London-ish since I've been back. Grey, rainy, cold.... the typical winter. Today was a little exciting because of our work's Christmas lunch at Theo Randall. Having not eaten breakfast, it wasn't a good idea to drink two champagnes and a mixed spirit before sitting down. I was already dizzy, slurring my speech and had to concentrate really hard to read the menu.

But before settling at our table, we stood near the private dining room which was slowly filling up with guests. My judgment was quite cloudy and evidenced by my loud observation and pointing, "Hey, that guy looks a lot like Mick Jagger".

Well duh... cos it was Mick Jagger.

At the conclusion of our lunch while we were waiting for our jackets, he brushed past all of us. Of course, we were all too-cool -for-school and we were all nonchalant.

He's a very small man. Not much taller than me. He looks like his photos, saggy skin and all.

His daughters were supposedly there. Me......too drunk to notice.

Making Up for Lost Time

We jetted into Hong Kong yesterday mid afternoon-ish which left us plenty of time for feasting. Last time there was no chance for the usual seafood gorge at Sai Kung. To make up for lost seafood fest time, we headed over there for dinner. On our next trip, we'll probably test out the gorging ability at Lamma Island. But for now... this will do....

A dubious looking clam.

An equally dubious looking abalone. Well actually, it's quite normal looking.

Razor clams - gimme gimme!

Razor clams, you are mine.

Damn, the gang of dubious clams strikes again. Ok, their real name is Geoduck.

The geoduck served. It is cooked steamboat-style and has a texture similar to abalone. Quite tasty too!

You would think that I was sick of pippies. No... not the case at all.

I know it's a bit odd, but cheesy lobster is so nice!

This time we went for a classic dish - salt and pepper squid.

So we went a little overboard with the number of dishes but at least we didn't fill up on rice.

Our hotel was nothing fantastic but at least it was nice to know this:

We only had time for lunch today before heading off to the airport and no I wasn't sick of seafood. In fact all I wanted was sushi - Itamae sushi to be specific. This time I did take my camera and here are my morsels.

Conch, sea urchin, eel, mackerel, kingfish, seabass and other fish types I don't remember. Yummo!!!!!

Now, off to the airport for the cramped flight home. I'm hoping it won't be full but the chances of that are very slim.

Free Upgrades Rock!

Our trip back to London included a one night stopover via Hong Kong. Yes!!! I have been given the opportunity to compensate for the food poisoning endured on the previous leg. While checking in at the airport, Smee approached the customer service desk to query if we could skip the masses and check-in at the members counter instead. Lo and behold his old high school friend was sitting at the desk. She then proceeded to give us a complimentary business class upgrade :D This meant that our luggage was no longer over the limit. :D The bad thing was that she couldn't upgrade us on the leg that mattered; the HK to London bit. I would trade my business class Oz-HK leg for HK-London business class anyday.

Me being the long haul business class virgin had to ensure that I made the most of this opportunity. Like an annoying child, I pushed all the buttons on my chair, used the different massage functions, took my Bose headphones on and off their hook, pushed my TV in and out and read the magazines on offer. Of course, I also had to photodocument my first ride.

Here I am demonstrating the supine position.

Large screen TV, olives and a mocktail if you please. Yes that is a table cloth on my tray table.

Pondering over the aeroplane's class divide. Oh how I pity those in cattle class.

My friendly next door neighbour, Smee.

Yes indeed, I would like to have my lunch now.

Needless to say, the eight hour flight just FLEW by. Do you hear that *whooshing* sound? I slept soundly on a plane for once. I might have even snored. Not looking forward to the 12 hour economy flight from Hong Kong to London.

Final Days in Oz

My last few days in Oz were spent running errands, hanging about (hello ten-pin bowling) and ensuring that I fulfilled my food cravings.

A bowl of pho from Springvale. Mmmm mmmm mmmm... smell that broth. Ok, I kinda ruined the photo by putting all that basil on top.

Hanging with the homies at Strike Bowling Alley. Coolest bowling shoes ever.

The scoreboard. My shite score!

Smee thought we should do something a little different and so we drove out to the Yarra Valley for some lunch at the Oakridge Estate. The weather wasn't on our side but pleasant enough to sit outdoors.

Gimme some of that red wine.

My lamb with mint yoghurt on cous cous.

Smee's squid ink pasta.

Of course, I could not leave town without eating at least one banh mi.

My teeth marks don't make it the nicest pic, but I only remembered to take a photo after I started devouring it.

Now..... I gotta start packing my stuff for the trip back to London.

Last Day in Sydney

Our final day in Sydney was a short one. But look who I bumped into.... Lymbo! Ok, this 'bump' was planned. We ate at Menya - nuff said.

Then I found a Toast toy in one of the best book stores ever, Kinokuniya.

*sigh*... Time to leave. But no doubt, I'll be back soon enough!

Sydney Adventure Time Continues...

An obligatory visit to the relos yesterday meant that I indulged but didn't take photos. Too busy.... eating... I later caught up with ##s and VV and we had a good old gossip about all the peeps from college days.

Today we returned to the fish market. Yay! Can't get enough of cheap, fresh seafood!

Yes sashimi, I ruv you very muchies... Doing my best 'The Price is Right' pose.

Crab with noodles and strawberry clams. Very meaty!

It was a biiiiig catch up tonight with the Sydney crew. Time flies so quickly - I hadn't seen most of them in three years! For old times sake, we stopped by Privilege *shudder* but then moved onto the rooftop bar at Skygarden. It was a typically warm night (oh how I miss them) and the rooftop was just the right place for drinkies.

Yep, yep, it was so so so good to see everyone again!

Dinner was at a nearby Korean restaurant. It was only so-so which is a little odd given that Sydney usually does decent Korean food.