There are so many aspects of travelling that excite me - meeting new people, visiting beautiful monuments and hearing the stories behind them, even learning new languages! But the one I always, always enjoy (and would never stop talking about) would definitely have to be being introduced to new cuisines. It's also something I was really looking forward to on my first visit to Lisbon, Portugal. I've watched way too many videos on both YouTube and TikTok, which has now become my ritual for the months leading up to any trips.
Now the great thing about this trip was that I had @dontcare89 with me so we sometimes stopped each other from acting on impulse. Sometimes is the key word here π
We both heard Time Out Market was the place to visit when it came to delicious foods as it's home to all the great chefs, so after checking LX Factory out, we headed over to Time Out.
The place was packed, but we both knew it would be so it didn't really phase us. We knew we'd find a place sooner or later so we did a quick tour to see the different restaurants, then split up so we can both order what we felt like trying. For me, that was the infamous Francesinha.
I heard about this sandwich from a YouTube video and the second I saw it, I knew I'd have to try it. It's a traditional Portuguese sandwich that originated in Porto. It consists of two toasted slices of bread, in between which you will find meat, ham, sausage, chorizo etc., topped with loads of cheese and the cherry on the cake - a sunny side up egg. All this is dipped into the most delicious spicy beer sauce.
I got the Francesinha from the Miguel Castro e Silva stand along with a side of fries, and a Porto Pink sangria. I definitely recommend the place as everything tasted heavenly! I was a happy camper after this brief break we took, and the Francesinha definitely helped give me some strength to climb the hills on the way back.
Thank you for reading all the way through - much appreciated! And if you're ever in Lisbon, make sure you get yourself a Francesinha - you won't regret it π€°π»π
All photos in this post belong to me!
I often research places obsessively before I visit them. Just remembered when we visited Lisbon, the first time, we were only there for not much more than an hour before picking up the hire car to travel down to the Algarve. Why not just fly to Faro? We were visiting my parents who were staying on the coast for a couple of weeks, spent a few days with them before driving back to Lisbon for a few days of our own there. It worked out very well. The driving was lovely and we had a good car for the time we were there.
Trouble was, no sooner had we stepped off the flight from London to Lisbon, gone through security, collected luggage, sorted the car hire, a process I loathe because of all of the questions, taking an inprint on your credit card etc. We emerged from the car park straight into the city. I had to keep my nerve. Luckily the road running along the river up to the Vasco da Garma (apologies if spelt wrong) bridge which is huuuuuuuuuuge and looooooong was a breeze and then one on the motorway, we took no more than 3 hours to reach our next stop.
Great adventure!
It does sound like quite the fun journey! I love researching and having a list of places I wanna visit, but during our trip, we also ended up discovering so many hidden jewels just because we decided to take a few hours and just walk around. Discovering another country, whether by foot or car, is such an intoxicating feeling!
I feel you on the rest too though. I love vacations but I dread airports. The airport in Lisbon was pure chaos. I'm not even sure how I managed to find my gate on time π€£
P.S. I'd love to be in your parents place for those few weeks! We're stuck with cold weather here π
Faro airport is worse but that was awhile ago and the refurb is probably finished.
I never heard about francesinha dish before but looks really super yummy, it's more than a sandwich looks really si rich, by the way when I travel I love too trying new cuisine, I never never search for Italian cuisine abroad!!
Thank you so much for the comment π
Yes, it was very rich and one of the most delicious Portuguese sandwiches I've had! But my dream is to visit Italy so for sure I will be looking for Italian cuisine recommendations π
Well, first let me reach Lisbon, will see the other thing afterwards...
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haha there are for sure many other things to see and taste in Lisbon π Thank you for the support! π€