Many of you have probably read about the surprising amount of snow in Rome we have had the past few days.

I was unsure about writing this post as some of you may even be tired of hearing and seeing photos of Rome covered with snow but waking up to snow outside your window is worth noting down.

It has snowed before in Rome and the last time I remembered anything worth mentioning was in 2010 but that only lasted half a day.  In general, Rome experiences light snowfall and the last time it snowed this much was in 1986.

At the beginning of the week, the weather forecasts did say there was a possibility of snow in Rome.  There was some excitement about this news as well as apprehension as Rome is not a city that fares well in extreme weather conditions.

Friday morning as I was finishing up my post on castagnole, I happened to look out the window at about 11am and saw it was snowing! At the same time, Luca called to tell me the same!  As I have always lived in countries that are warmer than Italy, seeing snow is always fascinating.

This time it snowed for real with huge snowflakes and at 2pm when I saw the park was starting to get a blanket of white, I started worrying about how Luca will get home.  It was still snowing and there was already traffic around the neighborhood as cars were not able to make the slight uphill drive.

Later that evening,  Luca drove as close as possible to the house but with traffic absolutely at a standstill, he managed to find parking and took a 10-minute walk.  It really could have been worst!

In the evening news, it was all about the excitement and chaos that the snow was causing but on days like this, getting around, except on foot, was always going to be a challenge.  Forecasts mentioned that we would wake up to a snow covered city and had warned that if you are planning to take the car from midnight to Sunday 12pm, snow chains or snow tires are mandatory.

Early this morning at 4am, I heard some activity going on outside which sounds like garbage trucks picking up trash but I thought it was probably more likely they were clearing the streets.

The first thing I asked Luca when he got up was “Did it snow?” He said yes and that made me jump out of bed to see what it looks like.  It sure was a beautiful sight and looked like a winter wonderland – silent and not a soul to be seen!

I had to beg to step out of the house as I have been home the past two weeks because of a fever, cold and laryngitis.  Luca thinks I am crazy to want to go out on one of the coldest days of the year but with a sight like this, it was just too tempting not too.  Anyway, I was also going to see my nieces whom I haven’t seen for ages.

As we stepped out, it was clear that it would be impossible for us to go get the car.  Therefore, we went on foot to the supermarket.  It was crowded and some food items, such as eggs, were out of stock. This is probably because the trucks had a hard time getting to their destination.

Walking around the neighborhood, there was a holiday-like atmosphere as people were outside taking pictures and in good spirits.

Children and adults alike were throwing snowballs and others tried sledging in the park. My nieces were eager to head out and were all dressed before their parents!

From some videos shared by others, people sure had fun in the snow!  Check out the video below of Circo Massimo – it was a ski day for many in Rome!

For those living in Rome – how was your day in the snow?

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Last month just as the Christmas holidays were coming to an end, I was reminded it’s Carnevale time when I saw frappe and castagnole in bakery shops. Bakery shops in Rome sure know how to move from one festivity to another without losing a beat.

As I have made a commitment to eat healthy after the serious food marathon we had during the Christmas holidays, I have refrained from them until yesterday!

Some of you may know that I am still recovering from laryngitis and have been home for the past two weeks.  Feeling much better and craving some castagnole, I decided I can try to make some at home.  The question was whether to make castagnole al forno (baked) or classic ones which are fried.

Personally, the closest thing to frying for me is stir or pan frying as the smell of grease at home bothers me too much.  However, with some time on my hand, I decided to make both and will share my verdict with you at the end of this post.

Carnevale Treats:  Castagnole al Forno – Recipe

Adapted from http://www.ricettariocucina.com/2011/02/castagnole-al-forno.html

Ingredients

3 eggs
250 grams  flour
80 grams sugar
70 grams butter
250 ml water
Icing sugar

Directions

1. Put water in a pot with butter over medium heat.

2. When the butter has melted, add flour and sugar. Then turn off the fire.

3. Mix rigorously until you get a homogenous dough.

4. Add eggs in one at a time and mix well to make sure they are well incorporated.

5. Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.

6. After 30 minutes, with the help of a teaspoon, form balls and place them on a baking sheet.

7. Bake them at 180C for 20-25 minutes.

8. Generously dust with icing sugar.

Notes:

The idea of adding flour and sugar to the butter mixture seems similar to making profiteroles and I wasn’t sure how this would turn out.

In fact, it turned out very well and you can see that it’s crisp on the outside but nice and fluffy inside. I also made only 1/3 of the recipe using one egg and it worked out perfectly.

Castagnole Recipe – Fried

Adapted from http://www.ricettariocucina.com/2009/01/castagnole.html

Ingredients

300 grams of all-purpose flour or in Italy 00′
200 grams sugar
70 grams butter
2 eggs
Grated lemon rind
5 grams baking powder (lievito)
Oil to fry
Granulated sugar to coat the castagnole

Directions

1. In a bowl beat eggs and sugar.

2. Add melted butter and lemon rind.

3. Add flour and baking powder (lievito).

4. Mix well to until the dough is smooth and homogenous.

4. Leave it covered for 40 minutes.

5. After 40 minutes, add oil to a frying pan over low heat.

6. While waiting for the oil to be hot, with the help of a spoon, form balls. When the oil is hot, drop in the balls of dough and cook until light brown. Note: The next time, I would make the balls smaller!

7. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on a double layer of paper towels.

8. Roll them in the sugar.

Notes:

When frying the castagnole, make sure the flame is low so the outside won’t burn while the inside remains uncooked.  Also keep an eye on it constantly – mine were a bit burnt! Here’s how the inside looks.

Verdict: al Forno (baked) or Fried

The first recipe I made was the castagnole al forno and I was very happy with the results.  However, I did find it a bit dry but wasn’t surprised as it’s, after all, baked. As for the fried castagnole, they were definitely more moist.

All said, I would say that even though the fried castagnole were tastier, I would probably make the castagnole al forno again rather than their fried counterparts.  It’s mainly because I don’t like frying and the difference in taste was not substantial enough to convince me otherwise.

So if you decide to make these for Carnevale, would you choose the baked or fried versions?

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In the middle of January, I decided that I was going to learn how to make Chinese dumplings for Chinese New Year.

To be honest, I dread going to Chinese restaurants in Rome because Chinese food here is simply too greasy and when it comes to dumplings, I am not sure what’s inside the filling!  Yes, I am a bit paranoid so when I crave Chinese food, I try my best to make them at home.

Unfortunately, things happen (had a fever and laryngitis) and I never got around to making them until today.  While I am still recovering from laryngitis, I figured I can still at least cook and blog about it.  That’s about the only consolation in having to stay at home.

So with my husband’s help in getting some ingredients from the Asian supermarket in Piazza Vittorio yesterday, I went about making these chinese dumplings today. These dumplings are also called potstickers and similar to japanese gyoza and korean mandu.

What I will say is that, for a first-time attempt, they turned out pretty decent but making tortellini and pumpkin ravioli is much easier than chinese dumplings!  At the end, I made my own wrapper and chose to make a vegetarian filling as I could recreate them for friends who love Chinese food but are vegetarian.  One day soon, I will make them with ground meat.

How to Make Chinese Dumplings – Vegetarian Filling

(Makes approx. 36 dumplings)

Filling

100 grams fresh mushrooms (this is what I had in the fridge) or shiitake mushrooms

200 grams Chinese / Napa cabbage

250 grams firm tofu

10 grams ginger grated

salt and pepper to taste

oil

1. Dice the mushrooms, tofu and finely chop the cabbage.

2. Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add some oil and cook the tofu.

3. Cook the cabbage and add a 1/4 cup of water.  Make sure it’s well cooked. Drain the cabbage and reserve the liquid for the dipping sauce.

4. Cook the mushrooms and if necessary use a strainer to drain any liquids.  You can discard  the liquid.

5. Combine all the cooked ingredients together with the grated ginger.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Wrappers – From Scratch

2 cups (185 grams) of all-purpose flour

3/4 cup of water

1. Mix the flour and water together.  Don’t add all the water at one go.  Add 1/2 cup and add the rest as needed.

2. Knead for about 15 minutes, cover and leave them to rest for about 30 minutes.

3.  Using my pasta machine (thank goodness!), I rolled it out to the 2nd narrowest setting.  This was the perfect thickness.

4.  Use a 7cm round cookie cutter to get the round wrappers.

Note: Yeah, I cheated using the pasta machine and round cookie cutter!

Assembling the Chinese dumplings

Put a teaspoon of filling in the middle and I used the following to help me wrap the dumplings.

This step requires a lot of patience and making tortellini was much easier than wrapping Chinese dumplings.  There was a lot of folding involved and as you can see, I didn’t do too badly for a first attempt.

Cooking the dumplings

The dumplings are panfried then steamed but you can do this all in one pan.

1. Heat a pan that has a cover and coat the pan with some oil over medium heat.

2. When hot, place the dumplings and cook for 3-4 minutes then check to make sure the bottom is browned.

3. When browned, add 1/2 cup of water, cover and cook over low flame for about 8-10 minutes until all the water has evaporated.
4. Remove cover and cook a minute more to ensure the bottom is crisp.

Dipping Sauce

As I tend not to like salty food, I chose to use the liquid from the cabbage to dilute the soya sauce as the dipping sauce.  Basically, it’s one part soya sauce and three parts liquid from cabbage (2 tablespoons of soya sauce, 6 tablespoons of liquid from cabbage).

Final Thoughts
There are many different recipes for the filling and the next time around, I will also add glass noodles as suggested by my cousin.  Even though it was a long process, it was worth it.  I doubt I will make it weekly but a monthly treat would be possible especially since there are so many different types of filling to experiment with.

From my experience, the easiest part in the whole process was making the wrappers and the most time consuming was wrapping the dumplings.  I know some of you are experts at making Chinese dumplings and would like you feedback as to how to improve them.

Do you have another method on how to make Chinese dumplings?

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I only have praises for this Gourmet Walk that we had with Inside Lisbon.  For the price of €25 per person, we had an crash course on Portuguese food, history and culture in just one evening.

Ok we got lucky. How?

We signed up for the group walking tour and when we showed up at the meeting point, it was just the two of us – making it a private tour!  Initially, I had thought about not joining this walk as our schedule would be very tight and we would be doing this walk the day we got into Lisbon which could be tiring.

This was such a last minute decision that I had to call Inside Lisbon to confirm they had received our booking as it was made less than 48 hours prior to the start of the tour.

Getting back to the tour itself, the description of the Gourmet Walk is perfectly stated on the Inside Lisbon website and while it doesn’t indicate the duration, our walk lasted more than 3 hours.

One of the main reasons I decided to do the walk is to learn more about Portuguese food.  That was accomplished for sure and Paulo, our guide,  is a walking encyclopedia on Portuguese food and its history. He shared with us so many interesting facts and his wealth of knowledge about Lisbon made this walk incredibly educational.

Besides being filled with information, we also had a good share of tastings.  While it wasn’t as plentiful as a food tour I did in Rome, it was more than sufficient that I could skip dinner.

The Gourmet Walk started off with a bang as we stopped to taste Port, cheese and marmalade.  The Port was so smooth and for a person who doesn’t usually drink, I found myself wanting to taste more Port!

As for the marmalade, I have never seen marmalade in slices and when I bit into a slice, wow it was sweet alright and this is from a person who has a sweet tooth.  For my husband, I could see it was excruciating sweet for him!

During the Gourmet Walk, while we did not have the opportunity to step into every bar, cafe or store, we stopped by well-known eateries for Paulo to point out the specialty they offered.  One such place is the famous Confeitaria Nacional which is famous for its King’s Cake (Bolo Rei).

He had mentioned that people would literally wait for hours to get their hands on one for Christmas Day!

With all that teasing of baked goods, we finally headed to taste pastel de nata.  We had already had one for breakfast but that didn’t stop us from having another one!  Looking back, we had more than our fair share of pastel de nata the 3 days we were in Lisbon.

Of all the tastings, one that I thought we would enjoy the least would be the cod fish cake.  Wrong!  It was absolutely delicious, to the point we came back on another day to have them again and to try the other goodies.

To end the evening, we had savories and tapas at Casa do Alentejo which is an attraction by its own right. And to wrap up, we had a sip of cherry brandy. That for me was the least enjoyable tasting as it was way too strong for my taste.

What was also a plus was that Paulo recommended some  restaurants in Bairro Alto and Chiado. Although we only had a few days and knew it would be difficult to eat at all those places, we made an effort to have dinner in Cervejaria Trindade the following day despite our extreme tiredness.

Overall, this Gourmet Walk with Inside Lisbon was a great start to our trip and seriously, for only €25 it was money very well spent!  That’s the reason for writing the post because it is always a pleasure sharing positive experiences and this Gourmet Walk is definitely value for money.

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Last week I was able to finally meet my sister-in-law for a quick bite at a place she has been wanting to bring me to for quite some time.  She had mentioned several times that they have very good arancini here as well as brioche siciliana.

As I have mentioned before, I usually work during lunch hours and quick bites or a home-packed lunch are the only things I have time for.  That afternoon, we had a late lunch at 2.30pm and with only 30 minutes to spare, dropping by this Sicilian place was the best option.

You could easily walk by this place and the only thing that grabs your attention is the vertical sign that indicates there offer also savory bites.

While they had a nice selection of pastries, I have to say that the variety at Sicilia e Duci was much more impressive.

For lunch we ordered an arancini and a bun filled with vegetables.  Both were very good and eaten up before I had the chance to take a photo.  What made the arancini even tastier was that it just came out from the kitchen and was nice and warm.

This bar has a few tables setup so it was nice to take a seat rather than eating at the counter.  Just note that I am not sure if you will be charged extra if you sit at a table here but I believe we were not charged.

When the time came for us to decide if we wanted to end with something sweet, we opted just for one pastry!  After all the food we had during the holidays, we were both trying to be good.  Unfortunately, the one pastry we chose was a bit disappointed as it was dry.  However,

I am not going to rule this place out just yet as one pastry is not sufficient to make that judgment.  She too was disappointed as she usually has the savory bites and the brioche siciliana.

The next time I am around here, I will also definitely try their brioche siciliana which I have heard is soft and fluffy as well as some pastries.  When that happens, it will be updated here.

Nobel
Via delle Mercede 19
00187 Roma
Tel: 06 42013195

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After a pleasant experience in Barcelona with Friendly Rentals, we opted again to rent a holiday apartment in Lisbon through them.  This time around, arrangements were a bit different as a representative met us at the apartment instead of us going to an office to pick up the keys.

For us, the apartment in Barcelona was in the perfect location and we were looking for something similar in Lisbon – central but also quiet.  It took us a while to finally make our decision and we settled for an apartment in Principe Real.

The location is definitely quiet and it is a lovely neighborhood. The listing on Friendly Rentals describes this charming one bedroom accurately. The thing you have to keep in mind is that Lisbon has steep hills and this apartment is uphill climb to the apartment from Bairro Alto and Chiado. As a result of it’s location, you do get treated to a gorgeous view of the rooftops of Lisbon.

From the airport to the apartment, we decide to take the Aerobus and got off at Av. da Liberdade. With the help of Google maps, we saw it was a 11 minute walk and with just a hand carry baggage each, it shouldn’t be a problem.

We heard that Lisbon is built on 7 hills but little did we expect them to be steep.  Google maps can be deceiving because this was a serious uphill walk to the point that we were regretting not having taken a taxi!

Anyway, with some huffing and puffing along the way, we finally made it to the apartment.  The apartment is exactly as the photos shown on the website and we were satisfied.  When we stepped into the main entrance, it was rather narrow but that’s not a biggie.

Our one small complaint is that although the days were warm, the mornings and evenings got chilly and the two electric heaters were not sufficient as one was barely working. Fortunately, there is an electric heater in the bathroom which works well.

There were some lovely touches to the apartment, such as useful information guide on where is the nearest grocery shop, near by attractions and a handy TimeOut Lisbon guide as well as some brochures on a few places of interest. And you have got to love their very equipped kitchen!

The apartment is not located near a metro but there is Bus 790 which can get you to Pc. Luis Camoes where there is a metro stop nearby.  Much to Luca’s disappointment, we found out about this bus on our final evening!  After a whole day out, we would not look forward to the climb back to the apartment.

When checking out of the apartment, a rep from Friendly Rentals met us at the apartment at the agreed time when we first checked in.  Both reps from the company were helpful and very professional.

As we also decided to take the Aerobus back to the airport, this time around, we decided to walk to Elevador da Gloria, took that down to Restauradores and waited for the Aerobus to the airport which passes every 20 minutes.  This was a better option that we should have taken when coming from the airport.

Overall, we were happy with our stay in this apartment and now that we now about the bus, we would likely book it again if we do drop by Lisbon again.

P.S. In case you were wondering, we paid for this holiday apartment in Lisbon and just wanted to share a positive experience.

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Formal Italian language sometimes puzzles me and the perfect example of this was the recent phrase that has got worldwide attention: Vada a bordo cazzo (Get back on board, damn it!). So much so that the t-shirts with these wording are becoming a hit.

Most are familiar with this quote and if you are not, here is some background information on this before explaining why formal Italian language baffles me.

These words were said by the coast guard officer to the Captain of the Costa Concordia, the cruise liner that was capsizing, when he found out that the Captain had abandoned ship while passengers were still onboard. The coast guard, rightly so, demanded that the captain vada a bordo cazzo.

Source: MarshallRamsey.com

Formal language in Italian is used when addressing people you meet for the first time, strangers, some one older and some one you respect.  At least, that’s my understanding.

Vada is the formal imperative form for the verb “andare” which means “to go”. The informal use of this verb would be the “tu” or you form which is “Vai”.

So here’s what gets me.

More than once, I have heard Italians argue with strangers all using formal language.  I mean if you are screaming at the person and swearing at them, why even bother using formal language.  After all, you have no respect for the person so just give them the “tu” or informal you form!

That’s my two cents on formal Italian. In general, I do use formal language when addressing strangers but fortunately I am not fluent enough in Italian to have an argument yet. That said, my commitment this year is to bring be more fluent with the Italian language.

Is there anything that puzzles you about the Italian language?

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It’s given that you can get some really good pizza in Rome.  What Rome is well-known for is pizza al taglio or pizza by the slice. It’s not a slice of a round pizza but rather these pizza are rectangular and you can decide how big or small of a slice you want.  You would then pay based on the weight of the slice.

As you can see from the above photos, there are many varieties of pizza to choose from and you could actually get a small slice of several different types of pizza.

Pizza in Rome: Pizzeria da Simone

Not surprisingly, there are plenty of pizzerias in Rome however, some claim that Pizzeria da Simone is one of the best.  It is not located in a touristy area but instead in Monteverde near the American University in Rome.  Although off the radar for tourist, this place is often crowded!

Since it’s not along the Metro routes, you will need to get there by bus which drops you right in front of the pizzeria.  You could take bus 44 from Piazza Venezia (Montalcini) or 75 from the Colosseum in the direction of Poerio/Marino (Note: Take the bus from the same side as the Colosseum).  For both buses, you would get off at the Carini/Bonnet stop.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) for me, I discovered this pizzeria by chance as I am here for work once a week.  Every time  I get off at this stop, I often have to force myself to not enter this pizza haven.  What I love about this place is that they offer more than just pizza.  They also have hot food and on certain days of they week they have specials.

The downside to this place is that there don’t have tables for you to sit and enjoy lunch.  Inside, it is rather narrow and they have a counter where you could have your lunch standing up.  However, food-wise, you won’t be disappointed.

While it can be troublesome to take the bus to Pizzeria da Simone, let me give you another reason to do so.  Last November, the same owner opened a pastry shop just a few shops from Pizzeria da Simone called Gelateria – Pasticceria da Nonna Nani.

Their pistacchio gelato and pastries deserve a mention.  The pistacchio gelato was very tasty and creamy but I am not sure about the other flavors.  When I tried their nocciole, it was just average for me and haven’t had the opportunity to try others.  As for their pastries, they have a good variety and those that I have tried were good!

They offer the usual pastries but also offer specialties depending on the festivity.  At Christmas they advertised that they make their own panettone and last week, they were already selling castagnole and frappe for Carnevale.

Another plus is that the people at this pasticceria are friendly.  In Rome, don’t expect the service that you would usually get in the US – just be thankful that you get a smile!  As you can see, the bakers here are playful and asked if I could take their photo.

Pizzeria da Simone
Via Giacinto Carini, 50
00182 Rome
Tel: 06 5814980

Gelateria/ Pasticceria da Nonna Nani
Via Giacinto Carini, 35
00182 Rome, Italy
Tel:06 5809370

These two places to eat allow you to kill two birds with one stone. It’s definitely worth that bus ride! You can get great pizza in Rome and have an equally good gelato and pastries just right next door.

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With gazillion miles under my belt, I would never have thought that I could make such a stupid mistake.

We had booked the train journey to the airport and looking at the various arrival time at the airport, we chose one that left at 6.40am and got into Fiumicino at 7.19am.  The flight leaves at 8.55am and as we only had hand carry and already checked in online, this gives us more than an hour to get through security and to the gates.  Plenty of time right?

That’s a given provided we had taken the right train.  For whatever reason, I was focused on the arrival time of the train into Fiumicino at 7.19am and when we were setting the alarm for that morning, I told Luca to set it for 6am and we would leave the house by 7am.

(Note: We didn’t take the Leonardo Express which is direct from Termini to Fiumicino as we felt it would have taken the same amount of time since we would also need to get to Termini)

Getting to the train station, we checked the train departure screens and didn’t see any train for Fiumicino at 7.19am but rather there was one at 7.25am. At that time, it still hadn’t hit us as to the gravity of our situation.

Boarding the 7.25am train we setoff and at one point we even thought we were on the wrong train. However, at the next train stop that fear was unfounded.

Seeing that there were many stops on the route, we realized that it was already 7.45am and the train was still within Rome! Luca took out the train tickets to double check the times and it was then that it hit us.  With a sense of panic, we realized our mistake and the likely possibility that we wouldn’t make our flight.

What seemed like ages, we finally pulled into Fiumicino at 8.05am and made a dash to the assigned terminal. We literary ran from the train station to the security gates only to be disillusioned by the long line there.

Then it really struck me that this could be the first time I miss a flight!

With not much alternative, the only way to make the flight was if we jumped the queue. I am not one to cut lines but this was an emergency!

I kindly explained our dilemma to the person in front of us and asked if we could go ahead of them. They willing allowed us to do so and I had do this with rest of the people who were ahead of us! (It took a while and most were cooperative – I am so grateful for those understanding passengers who let us through!).

When we got to the front of the queue, the security personnel checked our boarding passes and as he saw we were headed to Lisbon, he stopped everyone else who already had their belongings in the trays and had us go through the security check first.

It wasn’t easy to rush through security as we had to also take off our jackets and shoes. When we got through, the security personnel said “Run”.  We ran alright but we couldn’t find any information screen to find our gate.

As we had to a make a choice between going left or right, fortunately Luca went left and after passing two other gates, we by chance saw the one for Lisbon!

It was only when we got on the bus to transport us to the airplane that we breath a sigh of relief. Relief from the run (heck of a workout!)and the fear of not making it to Lisbon. That would have been a real tragedy as we already had everything planned down to the minute.

You have to idea how relieved I was to be on this flight to Lisbon!

I know some people who intentionally get to the airport just in time so as to not waste time waiting at the airport but they have missed their flights more than once. I, for one, prefer getting to the airport in ample time to ensure I make my flights.

The lesson to be learnt from this experience is that regardless of how often you have traveled, check, recheck and triple check your travel arrangements to avoid mishaps like this. For me, this is definitely one experience I would never forget and hopefully, never occurs again.

Have you ever cut it close or missed your flight?

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While planning our trip to Lisbon, I found out there were tons of things to do in Lisbon and trying to fit everything in 3 days was just impossible.

After my trip to Lisbon, I would say that Lisbon is a hidden gem in Europe as the city has so much to offer and at affordable prices.  Lisbon may not have the draw of Paris nor the impressive monuments of Rome but it has its own way to charm visitors.

As you know, I tend to put an itinerary together especially for short trips in order to cover as much as possible.  Not the best way but if you only have 3 days to see a city for the first time, you’ve just got to make the most of them.

I was only able to finalize the list of things to do in Lisbon a few days before we left as we were indecisive about a few attractions. We didn’t managed to do everything but that just gives us an excuse to come back again.

Things to do in Lisbon

1.  Tram 28 – We took it from from Barrio Alto to Baixa and walked to Praca do Comercio. It’s a touristy thing to do but going to Lisbon and not taking the tram is like coming to Rome and not seeing the Colosseum!

2. Rode up Elevador do Bica -  This was our 1st ride and it was thrilling.

3. Miradouro de Santa Catarina – The views were gorgeous but it was a bit of a disappointment compared to how it was described in the guidebooks.

4. Largo do Chiado – walking along Rua Garrett. Pleasant stroll as it’s flat and this area was buzzing.  Since it was a warm winter, people were sitting outdoors enjoying their drinks and meals.

5. Convent do Carmo / Carmo Archaelogical Museum – Fascinating how the structure is still standing and wished there had an audio guide to give us a more detailed description of what we were looking at.  There were some brief information and just this piece of paper as a guide.

6. Estacio do Rossio – The horseshoe arches and intricate carvings of neo-manueline style.  There was a Starbucks here and that was good news for Luca.

7. Rossio – is what most people call it but its lesser known name is Praca Dom Pedro IV. The wave-like effect created by the cobblestones was magnetizing.

8. Inside Lisbon Gourmet Walk – We met our guide at Rossio.  Outstanding walking tour that lasted more than 3 hours and definitely value for money.  More on this in another post.

9. Elevador Gloria – to get you to Miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara which I personally think was the nicest viewpoint. Also don’t forget to visit the Igreja de Sao Roque which is richly decorated

We did all that in just one afternoon! The next day would be a road trip to outside Lisbon.

10. Pasteis de Belem – Started the morning right with the original custard tarts from Belem.  Absolutely the best we had in Lisbon and we tried many.

11. Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, Belem – Enchanting and sense of serenity but feel I have missed out on a lot as there was no audio guide to provide the details.

12. Belem Tower – This is one of the icons of Lisbon and it looked smaller than what you see in photos.  There is a narrow staircase that gets you to the top of the tower.

13. Palacio Nacional da Pena – The brainchild of Ferdinand of Saxe Coburg-Gotha, Prince of Bavaria and husband of Queen Maria II, this magical castle rewards you with an extraordinary view.

The entrance fee is €9 and from the entrance of the Palace to the actual Palace itself, there is still an uphill walk. If you legs are already worn out from the day before, take the shuttle which costs €2 (roundtrip).

There are buses from Sintra town centre which gets you to the entrance of the Palacio for a small fee.  When driving up, we saw some people were courageous to walk to the whole way but since there are no proper sidewalks, I would suggest taking the bus up.

It took a lot of convincing before I agreed to take this photo!

Here is a link to the municipality of Sintra which gives you details on the attractions and transportation to and around the town.

14. Castelo dos Mouros – As we were short on time, we had to skip it.  We could see it from the Palacio Nacional da Pena and its mystical look is very inviting.

15. Palacio Nacional de Sintra -  Another attraction we didn’t get to visit but managed to take a picture while passing by.

Palacio Nacional de Sintra

16. Cabo da Roca – This is the westernmost point of continental Europe. A friend told us that view was fit for a postcard. Although we only had 3 days in Lisbon it was too tempting to miss. The scenery was beautiful and glad we made it here.

Cabo da Roca

17. Cascais – We stopped by this town on the way back to Lisbon.  For a small town, it was crowded but nonetheless, very charming.

18. Estoril – Unfortunately, we just drove through this town which is right next door to Cascais. It was quieter and definitely look more upscale.

19. Cristo Rei – A site that we wanted to see and also a reason to drive through the Ponte 25 de Abril ( 25 de Abril Bridge).  In the background, you can see a statue that which is of Jesus overlooking the city of Lisbon.

Ponte 25 de Abril and Cristo Rei

That was Day 2 and we exhausted but managed to make it to dinner at Cervejaria Trinidade.

20. Elevador de Santa Justa – If you have a ticket for the day, it is also valid for this elevador. You basically get a 360 degree view of the city from the top.  When you get to the top with the elevator, there is a stairway that gets you right to the top but you have to pay a small fee.

21. Praca da Figueira – Nothing special here but you get a wonderful view of Castelo de Sao Jorge. Most buses stop here and Tram 15 which gets you to Belem.  There are also cafes with outdoor seats.

Praca da Figueira

23. Rua do Carmo  – Window shopping in this area and stopped to taste what we were told were the best gelato in Lisbon and best chocolate cake in the world. Verdict:  The gelato in Rome is way better and the chocolate cake was different but not the best!

24. Baixa area: Rua de Aurea / Rua Augusta / Rua Prata just stroll around this area and get a feel of Lisbon!

25. Lisbon Explorer Alfama Tour – another fantastic 3-hour tour which included a visit of Castle of Sao Jorge and a walk through the streets of Alfama to get a feel of the atmosphere in this neighborhood.

After the end of the day, we were just spent and called it a day!

Lisbon Travel Tips

Aerobus -  From the airport to the city, take the Aerobus which costs €3.50 per person.  Here are the stops on the routes and make sure you validate them when you get on the Aerobus. The ticket is valid for 24 hours from when it was validated and good on all public transport except the metro.

Maps – This city has steep hills has steep hills and often not shown on maps.  TimeOut Lisbon has a good map which gives some details as to stairs or steep areas. The official map of Lisbon can be improved as it’s hard to read. I relied more on the maps in Timeout Lisbon.

Transportation -  Get a 7 Colinas Card that you can recharge daily. The card costs €0.50 (one time fee) and for 24 hours of unlimited travel on all public transportation including the metro it costs €4.60.

It is valid for 24 hours from when the card is validated. You can recharge the cards for several days at a time instead of daily.  To recharge you can do so at a post office or at the metro stations.

This means, if you validate the card at 10.00am it will be good until the next day 10am. Unlike the Integrated Day Ticket in Rome which is valid only until midnight of the day it was validated. Just keep in mind that the 7 Colinas card is not valid on the Aerobus.

You can purchase the 7 Colinas card at post offices or metro stations. We got ours at the post office at Largo do Camoes near the tram stop.  For more details on getting around, here is good resource on transportation in Lisbon.

Quick Bites – The pasteleria in Lisbon are similar to Italian “bars”.  They serve pastries and bica (similar to espresso) for breakfast which you can have at the counter and for lunch and dinner, tables are set for the crowd.

Bica and pasteis de nata

Like in Italy, these pastelerias also offer sandwiches or if you prefer to take a seat, try their special of the day (prato do dia).  Some even have their set lunch at the counters.

Packed for lunch

The first day, we got sandwiches to go and they were very good and on the last day, we sat down for lunch at a pasteleria and they were fast.  The pasteleria we went to was packed with those from the nearby offices and as far as I could tell, we were the only tourists.  The costs of lunch where we had grilled meat, rice and chips as well as fish with tomato rice with a glass of wine was €13.50. Very reasonable, won’t you say?

Hopefully this list of things to do in Lisbon and travel tips will get you started and as you plan your trip, you will likely find many more to add to your list.

If you have been to this city, what would you add to this list of things to do in Lisbon?

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