Sintra, Portugal
Bica, Ristretto
Hey, it was on our way from the train! Another pastéis de nata won’t kill us.
Fábrica de Nata, dos 68, Praça Restauradores 62
When we first arrived in our Airbnb, our host (who spoke very little English) exclaimed, “Sintra!” So, we took her suggestion and went there. Sintra is a storybook town, dotted with “palaces” - or, what we learned to mean: big mansions with lots of expensive stuff in them. We visited Quinta da Regaleira, a home bought and restored by a Brazilian “capitalist” in the late 19th-century. It had a vast garden with turrets and tunnels and grottoes - a perfect amuse bouche for the fresh episode of Game of Thrones we’d devour later that night (actually, at 2AM Lisbon-time). We also visited Palácio Nacional da Pena, which was the home of the royal family up until 1910. Lots of weird architecture, influenced by the Neo-Gothic, Neo-Manueline, Neo-Islamic and Neo-Renaissance styles. A display of some hardcore, multi-generational hoarding. #holla
One of the cheekiest reasons we decided to start our trip in Lisbon was because that’s where Panda Bear lives (he actually wrote a song titled, “Principe Real”). Principe Real neighborhood is unsurprisingly cool. Though our Airbnb wasn’t in the neighborhood, we seemed to wander into Principe Real almost every day we were in Lisbon, and passed by a hoarde of people waiting in line for A Cevicheria. Yennie’s theory is that if people are waiting in line, it must be for a reason. It was our last night in Lisbon, so why not. The food was disarmingly un-Portuguese. It was Peruvian and perfect.
Pisco Sour
Pisco, Lime, Simple Syrup, Egg White
A Cevicheria, Rua Dom Pedro V, 129, Príncipe Real
