[caraalee]

Hills and Views: Lisbon and Sintra

We left Porto at 9:30 in the morning and arrived in Lisbon around 12:30. The train was really nice, and I’m glad we treated ourselves to business class and were able to choose our seats. The walk to the hotel from Santa Apolonia train station was 19 minutes on Google maps, so we thought, “why not?!” Welp, a 19-minute walk in Lisbon is not like casual walks in other cities. 

That trek was STEEP. After what felt like years of climbing and a pit stop to enjoy the views (but really to take a break) we found our hotel, Solar dos Mouros, and were able to check in early. We had a pretty nice view from the room, and it came stocked with port and fruit. Love free perks!

Day One: Lisbon Food Tour and Sao Jorge Castle

After relaxing for a bit, we headed to Figu’s for lunch and had seafood salad, prawn salad, watercrest soup, and Roobz had sausage. 

Before meeting up with our food tour, we walked to the water and saw the Praça do Comércio. Grand!

The food and wine tour we booked was fun! Our guide was Joanna, and she was great—informative with dry humor. That’s all you need. There were a lot of New Yorkers, along with people from North Carolina, Maryland, and South Africa. We ate some good food and had more delicious green wine, port and red wine. We also tried cherry liquor—YUM. It was a good combination of learning about the city, eating good food, and getting our steps in. We got to know the couple from South Africa a bit more at the last stop, which was nice. I was having too much fun and didn’t take a lot of photos, but this glass and tile combo at a former casino-turned-cultural-center made the camera roll!

Afterward, we headed to Sao Jorge Castle to get some views in. It wasn’t the best sunset, but it also wasn’t too crowded, so it was up our speed. 

We packed in a lot during the first full day, but other than the tour, we didn’t have as strict of a schedule, so that took some pressure off. 

Day Two: Sintra Palaces and Castles

We got to sleep in a bit—woo! Tried the hotel breakfast, which was OK. We took an Uber to Sintra that cost 35 euros. We bought tickets right before for an 11:30 time slot, which ended up being a little useless with so many people waiting on line. After three check points, we made it to The Pena Palace. It was cool inside, but it honestly wasn’t the nicest palace we’ve seen 😜. The color exterior is really what it’s all about. The colors and tiles and views didn’t disappoint. We also lucked out weather-wise, and the rain held off while we toured around. 

After getting our fill of pictures, we tried to eat in the cafeteria, but while we were on line, they ran out of sandwiches! So we went to the restaurant downstairs and ordered food there—we were HUNGRY and got waters, beers, pasta, soup, salad, and a pastry. Roobz went to the bathroom and accidentally walked in on someone who was not having it, so we laughed and laughed about that. 

After lunch, we headed to Moorish Castle, which was a HIKE. But it was really nice and was a real castle, NOT a palace! The views were beautiful, and we were able to get nice views of Pena. 

It was also way less crowded, which we loved. Once we were over it, we Ubered back to Lisbon for 23 euros—not bad for a 45-minute drive. Grabbed some water and wine and watched the sunset from the hotel room. We had dinner at Petisqueira Conquistador. It was near Sao Jorge castle and pretty good. We had soup, I had grilled cod, and Roobz had steak. Ended the night with wine and TV...living the life. 

Day Three: Lisbon Touristing

We were pretty leisurely for our last full day. Enjoyed breakfast at Santo Antonio, the bakery next to the hotel that won a pasteles de natan award! They were the best we had in Portugal. We also shared a mozzarella and tomato croissant sandwich and a jam one. I also had a latte, which was much needed after a day of many steps. We walked to Miradouro da Graça, which had views and a cafe. After having more coffee and mediocre egg tarts, we walked to Pink Street, which looks cooler on Instagram. 

While we were there, we stumbled upon Sol e Pesca and decided to eat there for lunch. It was a fun place, and their schtick was all canned seafood. We had a cod stew, tuna “ham” and octopus salad. And we obviously ordered a bottle of green wine. 

For dessert, we found a gelato place, Gelato Davverro. I had ricotta honey, black fig, and pistacchio. Roobz had vanilla, black fig, and lemon. It was yummy and gave us the sugar spike to walk back up to our hotel on Mount Everest. We got some souvenirs near the hotel and then ordered sushi to the hotel, which was really good, but my stomach regretted it the next day 🙃.

Overall, this was such a great trip. We didn’t over plan and try to pack in too many cities and stops. We saw incredible views, ate delicious food, drank so much fresh wine, and saw so many beautiful sights and historical places. I really liked that the trip was divided between the islands and main land. It made it feel like we went to more countries, but it was just the one! I’d love to go back and see more islands in the Azores and also visit more cities in southern Portugal. It was a good choice for a honeymoon—both adventurous and relaxing, while still being pretty close to home. ‘Til the next CarubinTrip!

[caraalee]

Ribeira and Douro Valley: Porto

We headed out of São Miguel before dawn and caught an early flight to Porto. After an overlap with a Frankfurt flight and an April Fool’s landing, we made it in about two hours. Taking an Uber from the airport, it looked like your everyday city, but once we approached Ribeira and saw the Douro River and bridges, it was pretty magical.

Day One: Ribeira

After three years inside, I had forgotten how romantic and whimsical European cities are 🥰. We dropped our bags off at the hotel, Hotel Carris Porto Ribeira, which was in a great location—close to the river, restaurants, and sites. After walking around for a little bit, we had lunch at Terreirinho, a tapas place. It was very charming, and the food was perfect for light bites. 

Afterward, we walked to and across the Don Luis Bridge, which the metro shares with the pedestrian walkway—scary! The views from the bridge were beautiful. 

Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped inside a mini mart across the street to pick up a bottle of green wine and saw they had pasteles de nata—like one-fourth of the reason why we were in Portugal! We picked up a couple, and they were among the best we had in both Porto and Lisbon!

SO good. Compared to dan tots, they were sweeter with a crispier crust. We digested and hung out at the hotel before heading out to dinner. We tried to go to the highly rated Taberna dos Mercados but didn’t realize they require reservations, like, years in advance. Restaurants close at 3 and then open at 7, so dinnertime means swarms of tourists frantically looking for places to eat. Luckily, we are 90 years old and were among the first wave of dinner goers. We walked around and stumbled upon Adega Dona Atonia and lucked out. The staff was so nice, and the food was delightful. We shared cod dumplings, seafood rice, and rosé. 

After dinner, we enjoyed the views of the bridge from our hotel balcony. It was worth splurging a bit to stay in the center of the city and get room with a view. 

Day Two: Douro Valley

For our only full day in Porto, we booked a tour in the Douro Valley to take in some valley views and valley vinho. We woke up early and found a café that was technically open, but they were not pleased we showed up exactly at 7 a.m. It wasn’t great, but the old pastries and latte gave us some sustenance before our drive. We were picked up by our tour guide, Ricardo, and the rest of the tour group, who were CHATTY. They hailed from Rochester, Montreal, and Seattle. We sat in the front and mostly listened in on their conversations. Ricardo was not the best tour guide—nowhere near Fernando in São Miguel. And he was an insane driver. But the tour was good overall. Our first stop was at Croft where we tried three ports and cheese. 

Next, we went on a boat ride in the river. It was cool but felt like a time filler. Bring me to the next vineyard, please!

I can’t remember where we had lunch (Ricardo was not good at keeping us in the loop). But it was pretty good. I had the shredded cod, Roobz got the pork, and we also got carrot soup and chocolate cake. Outside the restaurant, there were random peacocks, so that was fun!

Our last stop was at Quinta dos Castelares. We tried their rosé, moscato, and red wine from an oak barrel. We saw the views of the valley on the way back—lovely!

The drive back was wild and rainy. Ricardo told us about a good fado place and made a reservation for us, which was the only nice thing he did. It was at Galeria de Paris and was great, but he failed to mention it was 19 euros per person, so Roobz had to run to an ATM. Classic Ricardo. It was nice, though, because they only served drinks so you could really take in the music and learn the history of fado without the clinks and clanks of people eating. 

For dinner, we were without a plan, so we had to wander in the drizzle a bit until we stumbled upon Porto à Noite. We may have just been hungry and grumpy from the rain, but I loved everything so much. We shared the seafood salad, I got their salted bacalhau (cod), and Roobz got the pork chops. It was the best meal we had in Porto, and the waiter was also funny. 

I’m glad we stumbled upon good places to eat and fun activities for such a short stop. I could have spent a day or two more to really take in the city, but it was a good amount of time for a two-week vacation with four stops. I’m glad we had an enjoyable experience and no food busts like in Rome #neverforget. With that, we were ready to head to our final stop: Lisbon, baby!

[caraalee]

Basalt and Furnas: São Miguel

After four days in Pico, we went back to São Miguel to see what it was all about. Despite waking up late, we made it to the airport with time to spare—phew! The flight was under an hour, and the rental car company sent a shuttle to the airport to take us to the car pick-up place. Pretty breezy. And luckily, driving was less stressful with bigger and more paved roads. To kill time before our hotel check in, we decided to head straight to one of the beaches, Santa Bárbara.

It was a bit too chilly to swim, but we enjoyed the views and took in the black sand, which we later learned means you’re on a younger island. Lil’ baby São Miguel! It started drizzling a bit, so we headed toward the hotel, Pestana Bahia, and checked out the beach near there a bit, Praia de Agua d’Alto. This was in Vila Franca Do Campo, on the south side of the island. 

A lack of travel over the past couple of years meant some brain farts, including forgetting adapters. We found a 99-cent-and-up-type place and found a couple there. Unfortunately, one of them blew a fuse, and we had to get someone to turn our lights back on. Classic Americans. After all that fuss, we decided to stay in and eat at the hotel buffet, which was pretty good. 

Day Two: Miradouras Galore

For our first full day, we booked a tour around the west side of the island. Our tour guide, Fernando, was so nice and knowledgeable about the Azores. Did you know that in the Azores, the sidewalks are mainly made with basalt with lime stone accents, and in mainland Portugal, the sidewalks are mainly lime stone with basalt accents? And each acquired each others’ stones because they were used as weights to balance boats back in the day?! I didn’t!

The tour was riddled with fun facts like that and beautiful views. We were able to see all the sights on the itinerary except for Lagoa Fogo and Sete Cidades because it was too foggy. That was a bummer, but the other views were magical.

The weather was iffy at the start, and it POURED on us in Ribeira Grande. But we got some good pockets of sun and even dried off for the most part before a HUGE wave in Mosteiros hit us.

For lunch, we ate at Ondos do Mar, which included a buffet, green wine, sweet liquor, and a friendly black cat outside!

After the tour, we headed back to hotel then walked to Bar Praia de Agua d’Alto, right on the beach next to the hotel. I got fried blue mackerel, and Roobz got shredded cod. So much cod!

Day Three: Lava Tube and Furnas

Because we weren’t able to see the lava tube in Pico, we went to check out another one in São Miguel, Grutas do Carvão. It was pretty cool to see up close and learn what a lava tube is. Volcanoes are wild! And we learned more about BASALT. The one con was that there was a bit of a smell down there, including in the helmets we had to wear. Sacrifices for educational experiences. 

For lunch, we went to Baía do Anjos, right on the water in Ponta Delgada. It was yummy! We shared the octopus salad, I got the seafood fettucine, and Roobz got the steak. And we got green wine, of course. Even pretty basic restaurants were good because the ingredients were so fresh.

Later on, we went to the famous Furnas to enjoy some natural thermal pools at Poça da Dona Beija. Despite a tiny parking lot spectacle and closing our locker with the key in it, we had a great time. It was so nice, relaxing, and iron-ful! We hopped around pools and stayed for an hour and a half.

For dinner, a few of our first options were busts, but we ended up at Bar Caloura. It was great! I had the rock fish, and Roobz got the barracuda, which he said was the best fish of his life?!

Day Four: Pool and Beach

On our last day, we wanted to be car-free and enjoy the hotel pool and nearby beach. In the morning, we attempted to go on a hike and walked to a trail entrance near the hotel. It was a lot of uphill climbing after many days of sitting and eating, so we took some photos and then promptly went to the pool.

The rain had different plans, though, so we ran inside a couple of times. We still enjoyed the hotel and ate lunch on our balcony. For dinner, we went back to Bar Praia de Agua d’Alto and got the steak and tuna.

Overall, São Miguel was really fun. It’s a great vacation spot for families, groups of friends, couples—there’s something for everyone! We definitely could have stayed longer to see more of the island. It was a lot bigger than Pico, so I feel like I didn’t know Miguel like I knew Pico. But hopefully, we’ll be back! If we stay on São Miguel again, we’d like to lodge or explore the west side of the island more to see those gorg sunsets. 

The Azores were a great first honeymoon stop and had everything I need: mountains, ocean, wine, fish, and cheese. But it was time to say goodbye and see the main land!

[caraalee]

Peaks and Greens: Pico Island

After three years without any two-week, multi-stop #CarubinTrips, we’re back with snaps of views, food, and musings from Portugal! To celebrate our nuptials and make up for lost travel time, we landed on a four-stop honeymoon extravaganza based on our priorities of rolling green hills, ocean views, a variety of wine, seafood, and egg custard pastries. Our first stop: Pico Island!

To kick off our trip, we flew from New York to São Miguel Island, which only took about five hours. From there, we flew straight to Pico Island. Unintentionally, we ordered the trip starting with the least populated place (Pico) and gradually made our way back to being around too many people (São Miguel →  Porto → Lisbon). We started in Pico solely because those were the only dates available for a hidden gem of an Airbnb recommended by a colleague. This place was very worth shuffling our itinerary around. 

Those views! The house was on the highest point in São Roque, in the central north side of the island, which was incredible. We rented a car—pretty much a must-do in the Azores. And after a long time Googling at the Pico airport discovered that you do not need an international driver’s license in Portugal! It took us a bit to find the house, gather our bearings, and figure out where the grocery stores were. Luckily, our host stocked the kitchen for us, which was a huge lifesaver, and the island was so small and fairly easy to navigate.

After staying in to cook on night one, we ventured out on our own on day two. The tour we booked ended up getting canceled, so we set out to visit some of the stops that would have been included. The first stop was Gruta das Torres, a lava cave located in Madalena, which was on the west side of the island. Driving there was a bit rough and bumpy. The roads around the house were unpaved, and we stumbled upon wild cows while trying to get to the main road. Crazy! 

It was so scenic along the way, so we had to stop to take photos. It helped that there were barely any other cars, so it really felt like we were in our own dreamland. 

Gorg! Unfortunately, when we got to Gruta das Torres, there were no tours available. That was a bummer, but we had plenty more to see. Vinha de Criação Velha was close by, so we headed there. The vineyard is a UNESCO World Heritage Site made up black basalt stone walls (we learned so much about basalt in the Azores). It was really cool, and we got some good views of Mt. Pico from there.

By the time we finished exploring the vineyard, we were ready for lunch. The first two locations we looked up were hosting parties, so we wound up at Cella Bar, which was pretty good and had more great views. We took advantage of their wine selection and tried a 2011 czar wine—fancy! We shared a cheese appetizer starring three Pico cheeses. I got the squid salad, and Roobz got sausage. 

Delish! Afterward, we checked out one of the natural pools by our Airbnb, Piscina Naturais São Roque. It was very rocky and fishy, so we didn’t fully submerge but enjoyed the scenery and sun (and we could see the Airbnb in the far distance!).

For dinner we went to Casa Ancora and were met with a line full of tourists waiting for the restaurant to open. Classic. The food was pretty good—not bad but not amaaazing. The popularity probably stems from the modern vibe both food-wise and within the restaurant. We shared the “low-temperature” (cold?) shrimps. Really good! I had the barracuda, and Roobz got the filet mignon, which included a delicious potato puree. We also shared a bottle of local rosé!

On day three, we headed to Lagoa do Capitão and thought it was just a lake we could relax at and have a snack. We were wrong...in a good way! There was a lake that was pretty meh, but it was surrounded by the most beautifully sprawling green hills I’ve ever seen in my life! With cows grazing nearby and into the distance. And, of course, a view of Mt. Pico! LOVELY. A highlight of my life!

For lunch, we went to Aço, a snack bar with authentic food. We sat outside in the back patio, which was cute. In touristy fashion, we accidentally ordered two bottles of wine instead of two glasses—whoops! But finally got to try green wine and loved it. Not too sweet and not too dry. We shared garlic shrimp, and I got a creamy seafood and mushroom dish. Roobz got the local beef with shrimp. The squid was good. 

After lunch, we went to Lajes on a whim so we could say we saw the three big towns on the island. Very cute and picturesque! We checked out the natural pool there to dip our legs and lie out in the sun before getting some light bites and heading back to the house.

On our last full day in Pico, we wanted to try some pastries—you gotta in Portugal. We went to Pastelaria Machedo, and our overeager selves ordered three huge pastries. After the cashier told us the price, and we realized we didn’t have enough cash, Roobz went to find an ATM. Could we have gotten only two pastries. Sure. But then who would we really be in life? It was worth it because they were GOOD. (Pro tip: get some cash early on if you are staying in São Roque because there weren’t any ATMs in that town!).

After getting our sweets on, we headed to Museo do Vinho da Ilha do Pico for some history! It was only 4 euros and very cool to see the old wine presses and learn about the history of winemaking in Pico. We saw even more cool views and very cool flora. Cool all around! 

By the time we returned to the Airbnb, it was raining, and we had to deal with wet laundry, so we stayed in and enjoyed the rain and clouds, which produced a beautiful rainbow we saw at eye level!

Pico was dreamy, isolated in the best way, and a lovely way to kick off our honeymoon. It was probably my favorite out of all the places, and they were all great, so that’s saying something. Next stop: São Miguel Island!

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Bean Stew

This was so simple but so delicious. All it took was two bags of soup mix dried beans, frozen mixed vegetables, tomato sauce, and seasoning to taste. It went perfectly with our homemade bread (and Chinese soup spoons) and lasted for more than a week! 

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Chik Patty Sandwich

Look at this adorable little pup. It kind of looks like a disgruntled alien. For an impromptu weekday lunch, we heated up some MorningStar Chik Patties, plopped them on homemade bread, and added tomato, pickles, and cheddar. Quite cute. Quite yummy.

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Ahi Tuna Bibimbap

A stunning and delicious two-day meal from Mokja. The tuna was perfectly seasoned. To continue the theme of eating two meals, we also shared the seafood soonduboo, and it was fire. # 🔥

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Primavera Pizza

This veggie pizza from Forno Siciliano was perfectly thin-crusted and crispy without being too crunchy. I also had the melanzana (eggplant) parmigiana, which hit the spot but wasn’t as photogenic. #sorryeggplantparm #istillloveyoumost

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Tempura Shrimp Bao

Enjoyed this tempura shrimp bao and mac and cheese egg roll(?!) from Urbun. Also gobbled up a miso mushroom bao not pictured.

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Seafood Cabbage Cups

This was an accidental meal that was quite delightful! In trying to limit visits to the grocery store, I used up our leftover frozen shrimp we bought for paella and frozen crab sticks we bought for California rolls to whip up some seafood fried rice. We usually have a cabbage salad every week and saved some layers to wrap the rice in. I loved pouched foods! Read more for the recipe!

Seafood fried rice 

Ingredients (for a week’s worth in servings)

3 cups of brown rice 1 cup of lentils 1-2 cup of frozen shrimp 2 cups of frozen crab sticks 16 oz of mixed frozen vegetables Red cabbage (or lettuce)

Directions

Leftover rice tastes the best, but if you don’t have any, fresh rice still works! Cook rice and lentils in rice maker (fill water to four-cup line). As rice and lentils are cooking, defrost shrimp and crab sticks (with the packaging still sealed) in a container filled with room temperature water. Defrost vegetables on the stove top or microwave. 

When the rice and lentils are complete, mix all ingredients in a large pot or wok on low heat. (If your frozen seafood is uncooked, cook that first then add the rice and veggies!) Add sauce (oyster, hoisin, sriracha) to taste. Save the most outer cabbage layers to fill up with rice. Enjoy!

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Sushi Combo

Yellowtail scallion, salmon avocado, and sun-dried tomato and avocado rolls from Rice K!  🍣

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Veggie Byrek

After buying a pack of phyllo dough for our baked feta, I whipped up some impromptu byrek with the remaining phyllo sheets. It was my first time making byrek (I’ve done phyllo triangles and spiral rolls), so I was keep my fingers crossed that I wouldn’t mess it up. Read more for the recipe!

I used some leftover roasted veggies, so this turned out to be a really quick process. To add more filling, I added some frozen spinach and a block of feta cheese. Here is a quick version of the ingredients: 

Filling (roast or stir fry)

Red peppers Cabbage Kale Spinach Eggplant Tomatoes Feta Seasoning (I used Adobo, garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, and basil)

Layering the dough

I had to look up how many sheets to use at once and settled on four sheets at the bottom (brushing olive oil on each sheet). I plopped the filling in then topped it off with three sheets on top.

It was a but drier than the versions from restaurants and Albanian moms and aunts, but it hit the spot. I’m happy we had the chance to try it out and look forward to adding this to our list!

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Baked Feta in Phyllo with Honey

Look how striking! After trying this in Athens last year, Roobz embarked on a journey to make it at home. We already have a bucket of feta at all times, so all we needed to buy was phyllo doough and sesame seeds. Easy breezy beautiful feta girl. Read more for the recipe!

It’s just so beautiful! Thanks to Ken Panagopoulos’ direction, we enjoyed this sweet and savory gem in no time. Our oven took a bit longer than the directions, but we kept an eye on them until they turned a golden brown. It took an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Here is another recipe: https://www.olivetomato.com/greek-baked-feta-cheese-in-phyllo-and-honey/

So Greek. So good!

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Cantonese Pan Fried Noodles

I loved this dish from Rice K. It had the perfect amount of sauce, garlic, veggies, and shrimp and reminded me of Saturdays at my grandma’s growing up. #YUM

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Sesame, Nova, Tofu Cream Cheese Bagel

Conquered Wednesday with this sesame bagel stuffed with nova, tomato, and veggie tofu cream cheese from Brooklyn Bagel 😋 

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Seafood Paella

This seafood paella is so impressive looking but apparently fairly easy to make (this is Roobz’s territory). It’s so flavorful, feels fancy, and goes with anything...even a villager grandma’s leek stew! Read more for the recipe!

Roobz’s swears by Albert’s Authentic Spanish Seafood Paella Recipe: https://www.spainonafork.com/authentic-spanish-seafood-paella-recipe/

We used a frozen seafood mix plus extra frozen shrimp this time around, but it’s also delightful with fresh mussels, as the recipe includes. Albert also values the importance of the paella having socarrat, the slightly burnt rice at the bottom of the pan, which is yummy and fun to say. This recipe includes a follow-along video, too, so you’ll get to know Albert real well!

[caraalee]

Social Distancing Eats: Leek Stew

This may sound like a real villager grandma kind of meal, but that’s because it is. Villager grandma AKA Roobz is my preferred kind of chef. Roobz was inspired to make a leek-based stew, and it turned out to be delicious! He also made paella, and who knew the two would be a match made in a socially distanced world? Read more for the recipe!

The ingredients were so delightful I took before photos! 

8 small carrots 4 large leeks 3 red peppers  1/2 large onion 8 small potatoes  8 cups of vegetable broth Salt and pepper to taste

Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. Check when potatoes and carrots are soft. Enjoy!