Life's a Stitch

We indulged in our pastel nata (Portuguese egg tarts, literal translation = cream pastry) breakfast.

Afterwards we Ubered to Lisbon’s cruise ship terminal. We are sailing on a budget line (NCL) and every step of the process is slow compared to other companies. It took 90 minutes to check in with preferred access. 

It’s a brand new ship with an elegant modern feel. The cabins are quite nice.

Greg and I did significant city walking including a bit of shopping, a visit to the Christmas Market and a trek uphill to a viewpoint.

Day 2 started with a magnificent sunrise.

C woke up with a significantly swollen ankle from a slip at our previous hotel. There was no twist, or fall, just a hard knock against the wall so he was out for the count today. The room steward brought him a bag of ice and C spent the day with his foot up.

Walking to the train station we passed to art installations in progress, one of sand one of stone.

Taking the train to the suburb of Belem, Ellen, Greg and I went on a pastel nata crawl. First stop was Pasteis de Belem, one of the originals, using the same recipe since 1837. 

We crossed the street to try them at Manteigaria.

They may look similar, but the clear winner was Pasteis de Belem. A step above any I’ve had in the past. The crust was extra crispy, even the bottom, and the custard was less sweet, a relief from several desserts we’ve had here that contain sweetened condensed milk. With added cinnamon it tasted just like my grandmother’s custard.

Our mission accomplished, we boarded the train back to the center of Lisbon. It’s hard to believe this city has a population of 545,000, it feels much larger. 

E and G headed back to the ship and I had my own adventure, first stopping in an exceptional art supply shop. Willpower prevailed and I didn’t buy a thing. As if I need anything anyway. 

Next stop was Rei do Bachalao (Bacalao King) for a delicious Pastéis de Bacalhau, a potato and salt cod fritter.

I was not expecting to like it as my past experience was the fishy smelling salt cod my grandmother would cook in Puerto Rican and and overly salty, also fishy version we had on a previous trip to Portugal. A friend explained that neither had been soaked properly. I found it interesting the Romans preserved cod through salt drying in the 3rd and 4th centuries.

After a bit of Christmas shopping it was time to return to the ship. One hour after the end of the port strike tonight we will start our six days at sea.