LISBON, PORTUGAL

2015-11-04, 12:14, JASON

STAY: LISBON OLD TOWN HOSTEL

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Since moving to London back in September 2013, we've been to Portugal one other time: Porto. Loved it that time. Decided to go back this time with our friend Marcus, whom we were living with, to have one last hurrah before we headed back to California. Of course, we go on the cheap so decided to book Lisbon for our last rendezvous.

We get in that day, and then go for a brisk walk. The city is more modern than Porto. We walk along the seaside bit, but it was raining and so empty. Keep in mind we went in November. We do some general sight seeing, and then head back to the hostel.

If anything, the most memorable things are twofold. First, the bacalhau, some fried fish popular dish. The Portuguese know how to do their fish, it's tops. Even the local chippy we went to in Pimlico, where Thorin and I stayed, was owned by some Portuguese folk, and they knew how to do a good light batter, serve it with a XXL serving of "chips" (fries, you'll never hear me call it chips, only to Brits and in this context), sprinkled heavily (is that an oxymoron?) with malt vinegar. Haddock for 5 pounds, please, I'll take my calories to GO.

The second is the wine. I'm not a sommelier, I don't know good wines. I know red and white, prefer the former, and like to drink cheap. We started off the night in our hostel with what I believe was a bottle or two of reds between Marcus, Thorin and me. Halfway through, we started picking up a decent crowd of hosteliers and needed to get more. Marcus and Thorin go to some local shop to buy 3 more bottles of wine. I wasn't there with them, but they came back with 3 more bottles of red, and a story that goes something like (told via Thorin): "So we were in the shop and bought three bottles of their wine, went to the checkout, and the lady asked us for 3 Euros. So, Marcus said, "No, we bought 3 bottles" -- to which the lady said, "Yes, 3 Euros." This went on for about two back-and-forths until we realized: wine is CHEAP here.

So, somewhere along the night at the hostel, we were gone girls. We met this French girl who we spoke Spanish with, some other French people (I promise you they are everywhere), a guy from Beijing living in Berlin or Hamburg or some X main city in Germany, and a girl from Colorado (Maddie). Maddie comes up later.

We decide to go out and check out the night life. Marcus was climbing on top of cars parked on the street, and the gay lot of us were just walking around. We then went to Bairro Alto, a main party area. Marcus ducks into a bar and they have a 4 Jaegerbomb - 4 Euro special which he insists on buying, so he ducks in there. Gone girrrrrl.

Of course, a big European city must have some gay bars somewhere. Marcus looks up the address to this placed called something or other, and we head there. Halfway along the way near some jardim (park), we meet these New Yorkers who had diaspora'd into various parts of Brasil. They tell us there's "um bar muito gay" (a very gay bar) closeby called Icebar, and told us to go. We get excited by the name. I think 30 min later we find it, go in, and to our disappointment find out that it's really only a bar with blue lighting cast on white walls, to make it look cold. Nevermind that it was already raining, guys..

In there, we meet a bunch of Brazilians, and Thorin talks to them in Spanish and me to these girls in my broken Portuguese. We chat about.. don't know what.. and then realize, what seems like minutes but could be seconds, that Marcus is not there. So, we just keep talking. He comes out later, looking oddly sober, and says: You guys, we have to go. Just threw up in the bathroom. As a gaggle, we deliberate and flock out of there. Before I leave, I go use the bathroom, and yes, I corroborated Marcus's events in the bathroom: He'd let the entire toilet paper bowl fall into the bowl. Time to bounce.

Getting back was a series of confusions. We were all really incapable, and the street system is difficult to navigate in older European cities. But, as I'm writing this, we must have made it back. Just don't know how.

This was all Friday night. The next day, Saturday, was our sightseeing day. Marcus joined us for about 1 hour of it before he felt too hungover to continue the rest of the journey. Rest in peace, sister. We were lucky enough to have a sunny day, with occasional light rain showers, and so got some great shots of the city, wandering into the old neighborhoods and checking out the general vibe of Portuguese people. We loved it.

The day afterwards, we decide to head to Belém to try their Pasteis de Nata. For my Taiwanese brothers and sisters out there, this is essentially a "Dan4 Ta3," that egg custard dessert we used to eat growing up (or, still eat). But, the version here is a bit different: The crust is less flaky, the egg a bit more 'creme brulee' style, but the idea is the same. In Portugal, there are even shows called 'The world needs NATA' and the like. It's huge here. Apparently, Belem has the best, but I won't attest that claim.. they all taste pretty much the same to me. You can get a local nata for 50 Eurocents just the same.

Unfortunately it was shittin water bullets that day so it was a bit dreary. Maddie (whom we met the night before), Marcus, Thorin and Me take a bus there, and go try it. We get to the store, luckily it's not as crowded yet as it is a big tourist place, and we order a round of natas in my broken Portuguese. But, out of nowhere, Maddie, mah main gurl, orders a vinho verde (like a white wine). She's like, I'm going to have a bottle of that to wash it down. So, I order a vinho tinto (red wine) in similar fashion.

God bless Portugal: land of desserts, and cheap wine.

As an aside, this chapter ends my European travels temporarily. Thorin continued on to Stockholm. I found out I got a job in Singapore on the flight back, so Lisbon will always be a bit special. See you, Europe, hello Asia!