#Electric Mountain Biking in Cascais | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mykhronicles · 6 years ago

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LISBON ・fish, art, tarts and beer!

From the title, your first guess was probably Amsterdam's Heineken experience right? Wrong! Lisbon is home to the Museu da Ceverja - museum of beer! Only €5 entry and including a half-pint, it's good value; you're pretty much buying yourself a drink and getting access to a few rooms of hops history. There's also a mock up of a medieval beer-making cellar that doubles as a kind of horror house (without ruining the surprise for readers, the layout and placement of items will probably make you jump) and actually whilst I was there, a temporary art exhibition too so I definitely got my Euro's worth! It was only a four day trip but advanced planning plus early starts meant that I still managed to do quite a bit: the highlights being the Oceanarium, cycling along the coast of Cascais, stuffing my face at the world's first Time Out food market and check out a few galleries. I ate gelado and pastéis de nata along the way, of course.

Things I planned but ultimately missed are:

- A Ginjinha - ginjinha is a liqueur made from a "ginja" berry that's very similar to a sour cherry and apparently this place is where all the rage's at. There are other places selling this stuff - some in chocolate cups, yum - all over Lisbon though, so you won't miss it.

- Sol E Pesca - a "low-key, fishing-themed nook with a patio serving a vast array of canned seafood" - canned tapas essentially, plus lots of beer & wine. You're probably wondering what the hype over canned goods is; canned goods - especially fish (sardines, tuna, cod etc etc.) are the city's spirit! Usually preserved with olive oil, herbs or brine, you'll also find lots of specialty canned goods shops around.

- Sintra - this is the popular resort town in the foothills of the Sintra mountains, just above Cascais by the Atlantic ocean. The National Park and Palace are the key things to see - fairytale-escque scenery, colourful architecture and whimsical design. A lot of people say Sintra is a must-visit and to be honest I agree - choosing Cascais for its beach and Paula Rego Museum (!!) over Sintra was a personal choice mostly due to time constraints!

Anyway, let's get onto the things I did do. I can see why they dedicatedly called it an Oceanarium: the permanent exhibition really does go above and beyond that of an aquarium. The layout is designed in a way that slowly shows you the true extent of the water tanks - bit by bit. You see the Atlantic sea life, the Pacific, the penguins in an open-air environment, the sharks; you catch the otters feeding on bits of salmon and octopus whilst lying on their backs (extremely cute!) and towards the end, you see the underside of the water and realise it's all one huge tank connecting most of the sea life on show! There was also a temporary exhibition looking at underwater forests; an installation by the late Takashi Amano, it's resolutely serene, the calmness palpable as you walk across the exhibition space.

What really struck me over the days in Lisbon was that it's a great place for a fancy AF brunch without the London price tag. Delicately beautiful smoothie bowls, açaí, smashed avocado toast, fresh orange juice - it's all there in great variety, fresh and relatively cheap! I was so impressed, I ended up ordering two breakfasts at a place called Flora and Fauna. I'll do a separate post on Lisbon brunching - it deserves it.

Another admirable thing about Lisbon is its dedication to a better environment by reducing emissions. There are dedicated cycling lanes everywhere, an abundance of pick-me-up-and-go bike and electric scooter companies and these are cheap enough that actually, you see locals and tourists alike zooming around on them! I tested out the Lime scooters - I'm a little too short for them and found it a bit uncomfortable on the mostly cobbled streets of Lisbon but everybody else seemed to love them. My personal preference is the Uber bike - sturdy with solar panelled electric assist, they were great even uphill and only at €0.15/minute, a great alternative to the underground. That said, the underground was pretty reliable, more on-time than their buses but they are deeep underground and you'll often have to walk three or four flights of escalators/stairs to reach the platform. Fares are also cheap and cheerful - the Viva Viagem (their equivalent of our Oyster) costs only €0.50.

If you're into art, you'll want to check out the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego in Cascais. Dame Paula Rego grew up and is based in London but Portuguese-born; her works are dynamic and as badass as she is. She was an influence to a bunch of my art modules back at school, so it was almost surreal catching some of those pieces in real life. €5 entry, lots to see.

Cycling along the coast of Cascais, you'll come across Hell's Mouth - Boca do Inferno, which is a series of beautiful caves and arches. I read a post somewhere about free bike rental available in Cascais - we rented from the first place in sight in Cascais station for €10/bike for a day (until 6pm), including basket, locks and a map of the cycling path and other tourist tips - pretty good deal. The cycling lane is distinct from the road for about 90% of the route but a lot more narrow than lanes in the UK; it's manageable though and it is such a free feeling cycling with the sea by your side! Don't miss Guincho beach along the route - a cosy sandy beach with car park, surf school and restaurants nearby.

Now Pastéis de Belém comes up on every blogpost and article on Lisbon travel as the place to eat pastéis de nata - Portuguese egg custard tarts. It's actually quite out of the way from the city centre but if you're going to Cascais... it's one of the stops en route! Top tip from a colleague of mine, skip the winding queue for takeaway outdoors and walk straight into the restaurant seating area - they have 400+ seats for table service and you're expected to find a seat and sit down. The tarts are great but in my opinion, not really that distinguished from other popular places (e.g. Manteigaria in Bairro Alto, Pastelaria Versailles - below R) - if I'd travelled specifically into Belém for them, I might even have been disappointed.

To give a fair review, I've had lots of these (all delicious, including those freshly out the oven from Lidl bakery for 39 cents each!) before in Quarteira, Algarve, so I guess there wasn't any novelty in there for me either. At Pastéis de Belém (see L), they do get the flaky but ever so slightly chewy tart pastry spot on; for a place so popular, my tart was actually not as warm as I'd expect but it was still delicious. I just don't think it's worth going completely out of your way to visit, that's all.

I didn't catch tram 28 for the up and downhill views of the city but I think I caught a lot of this trekking to Frangasqueira Nacional for their peri peri chicken anyway - will give you the lowdown in the Lisbon food post I promised. I visited one of the popular miradouros (viewpoint) - Miradouro da Graça, where you can see spanning views across Lisbon (below R). The sea in the distance, St George's castle and many, many distinctly red-tiled roofs. Reminded me a little of the view from Dubrovnik's city walls, actually. It's next to a church and a cafe, so another thing to explore and a spot for refreshment too.

Even with the few things I missed out on this trip, I had a fulfilling four days exploring the highs and lows of Lisbon (literally); I ate to my heart's content trying age-old Portuguese delicacies but also international cuisine, whilst soaking in the sun and also the sea! I'd definitely plan a return trip at some point to tick off those last few things, so send any tips my way! M x

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