Forty, Fado and Far Too Much Port – A Mini Break In Lisbon

As many of you are aware, this year I turned the big four-oh! To celebrate this/drown my sorrows my lovely wife arranged a trip to Lisbon in Portugal, Just the two of us, the little one would be living it up with her grandparents.

All this came during a very busy time, so I was relieved of the break when we sat in the bar at Birmingham airport with a pint of Leffe… Starting the trip in style!

I knew nothing of the details, everything was a surprise, all I knew was we were going to Lisbon, my wife had sorted everything! I had nothing to worry about as this sort of thing is her super power!

I have often said she should do it as a business, her ability to find the coolest little places to stay never ceases to amaze me, so when we arrived in a little square in Alfama and ascended up the steps (this was to be a trend of the weekend) to our little apartment I was charmed by all the bars, restaurants and little shops, I knew we were in for a treat.

At a blue door she punched in a code and led me upstairs to a little studio which overlooked the city, she had nailed it! I paused at the window to take in the view of the city, the anticipation of the fun we would have was building up inside me.

Out of the other window I marvelled at the grandeur of the Cunard line Queen Victoria! An absolute beauty of a ship!

Anyway, we were eager to get out and explore, so we changed and headed out, making our way to Praça do Comércio a huge square lined with shops and restaurants, of course we took a tour around the beer museum and enjoyed a local ale afterwards!

That night we enjoyed fantastic local food and Fado, which is a type of local performance where singers go from place to place singing their traditional songs. After a slap up meal we found a little wine bar, where I ordered a glass of port… When in Rome Portugal…. The measures were to my liking, in other words, HUGE!

The next morning I woke with a clear head… he lies! However, no time to wallow in self pity, we had sights to see, one of them being a journey on the famous Route 28 tram ride… An old fashioned yellow tram which snakes its way up and down and around the old windy roads of the city, this tram gives you a very cost effective way to get a snapshot of what the city has to offer, you can hop off and explore more if you choose to, or you can ride the whole way taking notes of area’s you would like to return to, we went for this option as our driver was very entertaining especially when a local blocked the route and he would verbally bash them until they moved. Not a single f**k given!

The tram dropped us off at the end of the line in Praça Luís de Camões, we took a walk back stopping off at Castelo de São Jorge, Lisbon Cathedral and of course Hard Rock Cafe.

That night we enjoyed more local food, and found our way back to the wine bar, where I had MORE Port! I must admit, I took advantage of their liberal portions and was a little bit squiffy…

This slowed me down the next morning, where the plan was to enjoy breakfast at Breakfast Lovers, an amazing breakfast restaurant in the Moorish Quater, Unfortunately my delicate disposition prevented me from enjoying an elaborate breakfast, so I nursed a lovely coffee as the Trams passed inches from my head…

My hangover slowly dissipated and we continued to walk up, down and around (although I must admit, mostly up) the city exploring the various viewpoints, attractions and eateries this wonderful city had to offer, including the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument of Discoveries) and the Belém Tower, both incredible and interesting buildings.

That evening whilst sat in a romantically lit town square of cobblestones and festoon lighting we enjoyed More traditional Portuguese food and Fado. With full bellies we of course headed to our favourite wine bar where the owner gave me a fist bump! I had been accepted – Result!!

I did not overdo it this time, instead I paced myself as I wanted to enjoy the wonderful breakfast offered by Breakfast Lovers, you know the place I missed out because I was suffering from Port induced system failure? It was well worth the walk back even if we did sit inside this time.

Sadly this would be our last day, but we spent it in style enjoying a beer at the top of the Elevador de Santa Justa, basically a big elevator built in 1900 s erving as public transport to connect the lower districts with the higher… A genius concept as I’m sure anyone who has visited would agree! If you haven’t read between the lines yet, its really bloody hilly!!

Anyway, we enjoyed that beer and took a look at the Carvo Convent that was semi destroyed by the Great Lisbon Earthquake and an important site of The Carnation Revolution.

I was sad to be leaving, part of me desperately wanted another couple of days in Lisbon with my wife, but another part of me couldn’t get home quick enough to see our little one! I guess that’s parenthood, we’ll all admit to craving a few days away, but then when we do get away we miss them like crazy!!

Like I said, we missed her like mad but there was something really nice about it being just the two of us again… Before we were Mummy and Daddy, we were us. We travelled together, went out for dinner, the cinema, to the pub and explored everything we could without having to consider nap times, bedtimes or changing facilities!

For a few days in Lisbon we got to be US again.

We walked for miles, sat in bars and watched the world go by, we talked and I mean properly talked and it was awesome! It’s amazing how much more you open up when neither of you are being distracted by a small human trying to tell you what each Paw Patrol character does or turn you to stone with a magic wand fashioned from a stick from the garden!

I don’t think our marriage needed fixing or anything dramatic like that, but spending a couple of days just the two of us definitely did our relationship some good, we came home feeling closer with a promise to each other to make time for us!

All in all, I’d had the best time! Walked holes in my shoes, seen some incredible sights, sank more ports than the Spanish Armada (thanks to my mate Mike for that one) and eaten enough food to keep a small army going.

But it was time to be Daddy again, time to get home, give the little lady a huge cuddle and continue to celebrate with family and friends!

Take it Easy

TM

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