Healing From Lisbon, Portugal

I’ve been writing posts about Japan for so long that it would almost be easy to forget there are other countries out there. But we did spend two weeks in Portugal this spring. That feels like it requires a bit of an explanation.

For those of you who were paying close attention, we moved to Senegal in August of 2024 – and we couldn’t have been more excited. After two years in the United States, we were ready to get back to what felt like real life: Life overseas.

Ghana had been an amazing experience for us. While Amman, Jordan was my favorite city that we’d ever lived in, Ghana was home to our favorite international school. With Senegal, we were hoping to recreate that experience. So I guess, part of the problem was ours, because nothing in life can be replicated. But honestly, I think it was more than that.

Being bitten by parasitic sand flies really didn’t help. After exhausting treatment options within Senegal, we flew back to the US over the winter. I documented that experience in a previous post about the horrors that ICE inflicted on Minnesota. We returned to Dakar with hearts heavy from what we’d seen, but also hopeful that our medical issues had turned a corner.

Our happy homecoming was short-lived. Our doctors at the Mayo Clinic hadn’t been thrilled to hear that we planned on returning to Senegal, but when we explained that we were simply hoping to finish our contract they gave us a list of conditions that would help prevent a re-occurrence and keep us physically safe.

Initially, our school was responsive. That quickly took a left turn and it became clear that our health was of little interest to our school. We made the difficult decision to leave early. This ended up being our only option when we later discovered that we’d be returning to the Mayo Clinic for additional treatment anyway.

But in the meantime, we found ourselves between jobs in mid-March. We’d spent so much time in hospitals, school meetings, and then discussions with shippers, that we suddenly found ourselves in a void.

Enter: Portugal.

When we left Texas in 2024, we’d talked with family and friends about vacationing in Europe and Portugal kept coming up on everyone’s list. Now, I’m a ride or die fan of Italy, but I also love experiencing new countries.

Which is how Chandler and I found ourselves enjoying the loveliness of Portugal this spring. We spent our first week with my sister and the second week with family friends and while I wouldn’t tell anyone to put Portugal at the top of their list, we had a perfect vacation.

The reason is quite simple – Portugal is incredibly chill.

We didn’t arrive with a heavy to-do list and that allowed us to do what felt right in the moment and never feel like we were in a hurry.

Our first night in Lisbon was the only night in Portugal that we were on our own. We found ourselves in a natural wine bar that has seats for eight people. We were the first to arrive and when the bartender/owner asked what we were celebrating, we said we were toasting the end of toxic jobs.

We spent the rest of the night drinking with strangers whose life stories we now know intimately – like the Australian couple who spent years living in New York or the Californian who was on her first international holiday with her Irish boyfriend of seven weeks (you never know, they might still be together!). And we found ourselves unloading the past disaster of a year to a supportive group of people we will never encounter again.

By the end of the night, Jamie charged us a fraction of what we’d drank and leaving Salty Lisboa felt like leaving Cheers, where if we’d ever return everyone would already know our names.

With that, we took what felt like our first steps into our new lives.

We spent just over a week in Lisbon, split between the beginning and end of our trip. We woke up most mornings and just picked a direction to walk in. Most of our days centered around food (because good food had been so hard to come by in Dakar), but we visited a few tourist attractions as well. The loveliest being Jerónimos Monastery.

There was some initial confusion, because while the church opens at 10:30, the cloister opens at 9:30 (and honestly, it’s what I came to see!). But most of the websites start selling tickets at 10:30 to coincide with the opening of the church. We got our tickets on MEO Blue Ticket so we could be there when it opened.

Some things to be aware of: The cloister is busiest in the morning and people arrive early just to line up. That said, if you wait until the end of the day, they open up the number of tickets they’ll sell (at 9:30 they let in 350 people, at 10:30 they let in another 375 people. At the end of the day – 3:30, they let in 700). So, pick your poison.

First thing worked for us, because while we certainly didn’t have the cloister to ourselves, it’s a large space and people were still coming in behind us.

The cloister was absolutely lovely. The monastery was built at the request of King Manuel I, who reigned from 1495-1521. No expense was spared. Master architects and sculptors were brought in from around Europe. Apparently there was no better way to show off a golden wave of maritime successes.

Each step reveals new patterns as sun angles were factored in to produce shadow lace on carvings. Our day was a bit overcast, which the internet says flattens contrast and brings out the micro-reliefs. I’m not an expert – the internet may be making that up – but I can say that Jerónimos Monastery was the most beautiful thing we saw in Lisbon.

It was classified as a National Monument in 1907 and joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983.

At the opposite end of all this history, was another, much more recent tourist site. Our research hadn’t brought this to our attention, but our friends told us about LX Factory. A former “industrial wasteland turned creative hot spot.”

All it took was mentioning a legendary bookstore and we were in. Thus, we found ourselves at Livraria Ler Devagar. It truly is a lovely space. Filled with books, music, and art, I’m still kicking myself for not buying Michael Morris’ Madam Valentino: The Many Lives of Natacha Rambova. It was a great price, but too heavy! I consoled myself with buying the new edition of Natsume Sōseki’s I Am a Cat – not my taste at all and soon left on a library donation rack.

The rest of the space is artwork, cafes, boutiques, and the ever mercurial “vibes.”

We did walk away with a pair of hand-painted tile magnets from Qim Handicrafts.

Many people know that Portugal is home to some of the most stunning tile work in the world. And while Lisbon isn’t its best-known city for it, I had a blast documenting my favorite pieces as we wandered the city.

The tiles certainly aren’t on every building – and even when they do exist, they often only make up part of the facade. It wouldn’t be until Porto that we’d see the really impressive buildings (and some of the most stunning churches are actually found in the small towns in between).

What Lisbon is less-known for is its street art. I know there are still those out there who consider street art/graffiti a defacement, but I’ve always thought it adds much needed color to otherwise bland spaces.

And we found an abundance of fun pieces in Lisbon.

But, of course, we encountered plenty of traditional scenes on our walks as well – from beautiful fountains to colorful flower markets. Nearly every park was filled with markets on the weekends. Narrow staircases that made me swear I was back in Rome to large plazas by the sea.

I’m sure you could get a tour of Lisbon, but I don’t see why it’d be necessary. Lisbon is an incredibly wander-friendly city. We took a few trams, but most of our transport was on foot.

I’m actually a little amazed I have as many photos from this trip as I do. I left my camera in Minnesota during our winter stay and only had my iPhone 16 for the trip – but when you’re on your feet all day, you’d be surprised at how many things you can photograph!

We made our way to the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara lookout a number of times, but the most memorable was the last. Like all good lookouts, its up on a hill. But at the base of said hill is A Ginjinha – a Lisbon institution and small bar with no seats. They sell only one thing, a shot of ginjinha. It’s for anyone wanting to sample the sour cherry liquor. Shots were purchased, shots were consumed, and then we walked up a hill.

Many comments were made about the intelligence of that decision (especially once we found drink stands recently set up in the park). However, the views, like always, were spectacular.

But, like mentioned earlier in this post, the true highlight of Lisbon was the FOOD! If you’re in the “food is fuel” camp, you can probably stop reading at this point. But if you’re a lover of food – or plan on eating in Lisbon in the near future, this is my favorite part.

Hands down best coffee in Lisbon? Dramático. Now, take this with a grain of salt – Chandler and I don’t drink coffee at home and we don’t believe in Americanos. Chandler strictly drinks espresso and Portugal introduced me to my current obsession: The cortado. I find cappuccinos, lattes, and flat whites to be too milk forward, while macchiatos can be nearly as strong as an espresso. But a cortado has a 1:1 ratio of espresso to warm steamed *oat* milk. Perfection.

Doesn’t hurt that Dramático has killer croissants as well. The only note is that the coffee shop is tiny and not a place to linger after you finish.

Confession time: I struggle to eat sweets for breakfast. I prefer my donuts or pancakes at brunch at the earliest. So both times we went to Manjerica it was later in the day. But I can personally vouch for the perfection of both their mini pancakes and pumpkin & oat pancake. And if you’re looking for a healthier option, their avocado toast and acaí bowl are both excellent as well.

And if you’re taking a noon train to Porto and looking for a tasty snack? Crush Doughnuts all the way. I’m still dreaming about their tiramisu donut (it was essentially a double-decker donut).

More brunch/lunch options that we’d be happy to repeat:

Ludo’s was one of the busiest restaurants we went to. Their all-day brunch felt more lunch-y to me, but I absolutely adored their halloumi sandwich and the outdoor seating was lovely (even if we could have used a slightly larger table!).

Granos Espaço Vegetariano serves healthy traditional Portugese food from a tiny menu (so you know it’s good!). We ordered the daily special and dug in (not photographed).

A fun find with outdoor seating on a staircase, Organi Chiado. The vibe is almost microbiotic, so it felt pretty healthy. I went for the tofu espiritual (usually made with salt cod) and Chandler ate the lasagna (which is only made three times a month because they marinate it for eight days!).

The only restaurant that we probably wouldn’t head back to was Plant Base. We went late at night, so maybe the cook didn’t put their heart in it, but between the mac ‘n’ cheese, tacos, and veggie burger, I’d only order a burger again (though it was one of our fastest meals).

We also had amazing momos at Restaurant Odaan, a Nepalese and Indian restaurant with a large vegan section. What it lacked in decor, it made up for in flavor (not pictured)!

Transitioning into our dinners, The Food Temple was our closest meal – we simply had to walk across the courtyard. They were booked the first night we walked by, so we simply made a reservation for the next evening.

Claiming to be Lisbon’s first vegan restaurant (13 years ago), what I can confirm is that we ordered the majority of the menu and it was all delicious.

A restaurant we barely made it to – and one that had the most colorful stories: O Gambuzino. The interior is very homey, but often fully booked. We were able to sit outside, which is how we found ourselves watching the most organized drug deals. Cars would drive up, stop in the street, and within 30 seconds a man would leave the apartment building, put a brown paper sack in their passenger seat, and then the vehicle would drive off. But it was also one of our best meals in all of Portugal (so maybe just book ahead?).

Earlier I mentioned my love for Italy and obviously that includes their cuisine, so we made our way to Come Prima one evening so that I could partake in their truffle tasting (I ordered it without the second plate to make it vegetarian). The appetizer, pasta, and desert all contained truffles and each was divine (if occasionally bordering on bizarre).

The chef is from Naples and holds the title of Knight of the Truffles and Wines of Alba in a list of only 20 in the world with this honor (who knew?). Apparently it’s one of the 70 best Italian restaurants in the world.

We also went to Forno d’Oro, also owned by Chef Tanka Sapkota. His love for pizza is almost as deep as his love for truffles. The pizza dough is fermented for 36 hours and is incredibly light. Of course, there were truffles on my mushroom pizza and I made sure to save room for the tiramisu (not photographed).

While both our Italian meals were spectacular, it is always a true highlight when we encounter a vegan Italian restaurant, and that’s exactly what Al Sanpietrino Trattoria is. Luckily, there were three of us so that we could order to our hearts content: Homemade rigatoni, tagliatelle, and spaghetti, plus sourdough with vegan cheese spreads, tiramisu, and a bottle of Grillo (not photographed).

This was the most difficult restaurant to find as Google Maps sends you to the kitchen, not the restaurant, and it’s not a straightforward switch to make! The spot also required a reservation, which we had luckily made.

Sometimes, only something sweet will do. One afternoon we wandered past A Brasileira Chiado and found ourselves able to walk in and be seated. This isn’t always the case as this cafe – one of Lisbon’s oldest – often has lines out the door. Some come for the coffee and pastries, others an entire meal. I enjoyed French toast and hot chocolate.

Some days, the weather was just a bit chilly, other days it scorched. We ate gelato twice. First at Nivà Lisboa (Principe Real), where I went for a scoop of ricotta and fig plus a scoop of coconut (not photographed).

Even better was Giola Gelato. But they are not joking around – I ended up with four scoops, which I enjoyed in the park across the street (apparently there’s another shop at the LX Factory).

While our first wine evening was with Jamie at Salty Lisboa, we also had a fantastic time at Locals & Nomads. We didn’t connect with any of the other patrons, but we did get to drink some unique finds like a volcanic Portuguese white and a sparkling red.

Our final night found us at Outro Lado, a haven for craft beer, and I wish we would have heard about it sooner (recommended to us by a bartender in Porto). My fruity gose was amazing and if it wasn’t our last night, we would have sampled quite a bit more!

There’s a part of me that can’t believe I had this much to write about Lisbon – it felt like we had nothing on our itinerary and yet we found ways to spend every day. It was the perfect vacation at the perfect time.

The sunsets didn’t hurt either.