Had a fantastic girlie weekend in Lisboa with Arlie and Aimee. First off I have to just comment on what a great place Lisbon is. I was truly blown away by the people, the food, the city. Everyone was so friendly and helpful to us at every place we went. I would recommend that anyone go and visit this city and check it out for themselves. I will definitely be returning during the summer to check it out…
Thursday night
Arlie and I arrived at exactly the same time, so I got off the plane to find my little friend smoking in the baggage claim area. Grabbed our stuff and went off to the apartment that we rented for the weekend (for such a reasonable price). We were very happy to find that we were located in the center of all the action. Seriously couldn’t have asked for a better spot to stay. Grabbed a siesta and waited for Aimee to arrive. Since I had eaten a huge dinner the evening before at Abac here in BCN we decided to forego our original dinner plans at Casa di Comida and just go to Casa de Mexico for some margaritas. The food was pretty good. The service was great. And the pitchers of margaritas left us somewhat drunk. The shots of mezcal left us a little more drunk. But the icing on the cake was truly the flaming shots that they brought us at the end of dinner. Quote from Aimee – “Never drink the flaming shots after dinner.” Went back to the apartment and passed out.
Friday
Spent the morning sleeping and hoarding water. Finally ventured out with a rumbling in our tummies begging for salt cod – the Portuguese speciality. On the advice of eGulleters, we headed to a restaurant called Marítima de Xabregas. Ordered up some vino de la casa and bacalhau assado (salted cod with roasted potatoes all served up with garlic and tons of oil). Utterly incredible food! The best. And the service at the noisy place was so much fun. Flirty waiters and everything. I’m sure it doesn’t really hurt to be three foreign girls… After the cod we even opted for a poached apple that was covered in sugar. So delectable that I almost forgot how full I was from the cod…
Spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around in the Bairro Alto doing some sales shopping. Found a great shoe store called Happy Days and bought the cutest pair of shoes made by Irregular Choice. In love with the zapatos and 30% off sale to top it off.
Another evening siesta, then off with my new Cinderella shoes to Bica do Sapato for dinner. Bica is part-owned by John Malkovich Malkovich and set down on the waterfront. Ordered some cosmopolitans and then sat down for more cod… I went with the starter of baby octopus and the “trilogy of cod” for my main. Mouth-watering. Only problem was that I was completely full still from the great lunch. None of us could actually finish our food – which was a bit of a shame. Aimee chowed down on suckling pig that had this great crispy pork back fat. Yummm. And Arlie opted for the “trilogy of shrimp”. They certainly love the trilogies at that restaurant.
Afterwards, we jumped across the pier to the nightclub that everyone had been recommending to us called Lux. It was still relatively early so the typical Lisobian crowd hadn’t quite descended upon us. Had a few v&t’s before some Scottish gentlemen offered up the champers and light conversation. Ended the evening by going to some Brazilian bar and being accosted by several older Portuguese gentlemen that were in love with my shoes.
Saturday
Rose around noon dying for some sushi. We all walked down the street where a sushi restaurant was conveniently located. And conveniently closed. Ended up back at Bica do Sapato to try out the brassiere side of the restaurant (actually they also have a sushi restaurant on the second floor which we were hoping was open). Spent the next 3 hours indulging our gullets with more great food. This time I went for a tomato and onion soup and then a fish cottage pie. Arlie and I shared a chocolate cake filled with fudge for dessert. FULL AGAIN!
Went back and napped again. Dinner reservations for Bonsai – the sushi restaurant – at 21:30. What a great place. We all went for the mini kaiseke that consisted of sushi, sashimi, sukiyaki, miso, tempura and rice. WOW! The sukiyaki was absolutely perfect. Again, I was so full that I thought I might die. I really wish that I had a Japanese this good in BCN. I would be fat as a little piggy.
Post dinner, Aimee went off to bed so she could catch her early flight and Arlie and I headed outward into our hood to get a feel for what all the shouting at night was about. Ended up in a great neighbourhood bar that was only big enough to fit about 12 people into it. Painted red walls (we didn’t – they were) and a live DVD of Ben Harper playing his sexy ass off. Ordered fresh passion fruit and rum beverages and chatted about Arlie’s phone for the next 2 hours or so.
Sunday
Woke up. No toilet paper in the house. Gave into our evil American impulse and went to McD’s for lunch to debate Super Size Me and the delicate balance that it takes to create the perfect Fillet de Pescado.
Abac Barcelona
Rec, 79
+34 93 319 6600
[url=http://www.lisbon-apartments.com/accom_description.php?AccomNr=804]Lisbon Apartments[/url]
Restaurante Bica do Sapato
Armazém B
Cais da Pedra à Bica do Sapato
+351 218 810 320
Marítima de Xabregas
Rua da Manutenção, 40
+351 218 682 235
Bonsai
Rua da Rosa, 248
+351 34 62 515
