Wanderlust Portugal

Imagine something delicious...It has a crunchy outer crust with a hint of salt from the butter in it, the filling is sweet but not too sweet, made out of egg custard. Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on the top and eat it while it is still warm. Waiting until it is not fresh and has cooled down is not the same. Just buy it fresh from the oven and take a bite as soon as you can. I bet you will go and buy some more! This is our dearest and most famous pastry. Go to a Portuguese living outside of Portugal and just say Pastel de nata or Pastel de Belém to them. They will get cravings immediately. The history behind this beloved pastry began in the neighbourhood of Belém in Lisbon where you can find the famous monuments such as the Belém Tower ( Torre de Belém ), the Hieronymite Monastery ( Mosteiro dos Jerónimos ) and the Monument of Discoveries ( Monumento aos Descubrimentos ). This pastry has it's story attached to the Hieronymus monks at the Monastery. Since the liberals gained ...

Just like many Portuguese I am a wine lover and am lucky to be in a place where they have so many different varieties of wines... The famous port, the sweet Muscatel dessert wine, the fresh vinho verde, the bubbly espumantes of Bairrada and we could go on and on. Today I would like to present to you more of a wine making method rather than a wine variety. It has been around since Roman times at least and it's called ripanço in Portuguese. The method of ripanço generally involves getting both your hands and feet dirty by doing most of the job manually just like the Romans did. If any of you are familiar with tea rolling/sorting processes of China then you might find there are some similarities in both methods since the whole point is to avoid too much release of bitter tannins from the stems into the final liquid. The goal is to have the smoothest possible wine trying to avoid the parts that make it more bitter and rough. This was even more important before, since the Romans didn...

Just opposite the Basílica da Estrela you will find a shadowy and lush garden called Jardim da Estrela. It's also named Jardim Guerra Junqueiro but it is very rare to hear someone call it that. This garden is the perfect spot to either enjoy the greenery mid winter or to hide in the shade during those warmest summer days. Take your kids with you, the park has a designated area for children to play, enjoy the duck pond, have an ice cream or a nice cuppa coffee in the middle of this calm scenery. If you want to just have some peace and quiet the park is big enough to just find a park bench where you can sit and read a book hidden away from the city bustle. Don't forget to look up at the trees, you might have the luck to catch a glimpse of the free flying parakeets who have made their home in the park.  The construction of the park began in 1842 during the reign of queen Maria II but due to political unrest it wasn't inaugurated officially until 1852. The lovely green band s...

                                     This is my favourite rococo church in Portugal, because of it's architecture and because my dad was born in the neighbourhood right behind the basilica and was later baptised there. The construction of the Basílica da Estrela began in 1761 by the order of the ruling queen Maria I. She was a very devoted Catholic and had made a promise to God that she would build the most beautiful church in Lisbon if she was granted a son to carry on the line. Since her consort husband, Pedro III, was 20 years her senior and also her uncle, this wasn't obviously going to be an easy task. She managed to give birth to a son on the 20th of August 1761 and carried out her promise to build the Basílica da Estrela. Unfortunately, the prince José died of smallpox 2 years before the basilica was completed in 1788. The church itself is a wonderful mixture of a light rococo st...

Just a few km south of Lisbon on the other side of the river Tejo you've got a 30 km long uninterrupted beach coast called Costa da Caparica and the protected area is called Arriba Fóssil which reaches as far south as the Lagoa de Albufeira. Along all of this coastline you can see the magnificent sandy hills, made up of sedimentary rocks dated to the Pliocene period, which is now a protected landscape and botanical reserve since it contains fossils and has a very unique flora, such as one of the biggest pine tree forest of Europe. Link to web page and map of the Arriba Fóssil landscape This area is without doubt one of the nicest places to hike in close to Lisbon as well as sunbathing and for having pick nicks or a swim in the sea (just beware of the currents and occasional big waves!). There are several hiking trails crossing the whole area or you can just walk along the sea by the beach for as long as you feel up to it. The farther you go the less people you meet which is gr...