pasteis de belem

I know I am going on and on about these, but trust me, if you have ever had one you understand.

I am on a mission to try and make these at home. The recipe is secret. There is some information on the web, but I think I need to try something a little different than what I have read. I will try to combined what I have found with some ideas of my own. After the holidays we will have these and I'll report back.

However, if you happen to have a recipe and know more about these, please share!!

lisbon day 3

On our last morning in Lisbon we decided to go to Belem to try the original pasteis de belem. Everything that we were told and read said that you have to go. The lines are supposed to be crazy, but worth the wait. So we took the tram out to Belem and found the shop right away. The place was not crowed at all and we decided to sit and have our treat. We each ordered one and regreeted not ordering about five each. The ones in the city are good, like nothing we have here, but the original (secret recipe) pasteis de belem might be one of the most wonderful things I have ever eaten, I swear. We paid, went outside and decided to go to the counter and get another, who know when we'll be in Belem again.

The sites were closed on Monday in Belem, so we headed back into the city and spent the rest of the day and night walking around, stopping in shops and eating. We found a shop in the city that had pasteis de nata (what they are called if they are not the original) that were the closest to the ones that we had in Belem, so each got one, then we went back and got two more each, who knows when we'll be in Lisbon again.

It was an awesome trip!

lisbon day 2

On our second day in Portugal we hopped on the train to Sintra. It is about a 45 minute ride from the city. Sintra lies between the city and the Atlantic and has been described as one of the loveliest spots in the Iberian peninsula. We hit three of the sites while we were there. Our first stop was the Palacio Nacional which was the former royal palace.

After the palace we walked around the town a bit and stopped for a bit to eat. At the cafe we were introduced to our second amazing pastry, queijada finas de sinta. They are very interesting and hard to describe. They have them packaged and they have a bit of a shelf life so we were able to bring some home with us.

Our next stop was the Castelo dos Mouros, which was originally built in the 8th or 9th century. The remains and surrounding flora was impressive. The altitude of the castle is 1408 feet, and for a brief moment (it was very over cast, at some points we could not even see ten feet in front of us) the clouds parted enough that we could see the Atlantic. Our next stop was the Palacio da Pena. It is one of the most interesting places I have ever seen. It is described as a "fairtytale castle" and I would not disagree. The fog was so thick I was not able to take any good pictures.

We had a fast snack and then headed back into the city for a late dinner.

lisbon day 1: evening

After a great lunch on our first day we wandered over to a funky (and not in a good way) open air market. We spent the rest of the day and night walking up and down the hills and stairs that make up the city. We had a fantastic dinner and then off to bed.

I knew that Lisbon was hilly, but honestly I was not prepared for what it really is. My legs are in decent shape, I am up to six mile runs, but I was afraid that I might not make it out of bed the next morning. We figured that we walked about ten miles our first day.

lisbon day 1: afternoon

After our stop for a bite to eat (it was here that we were first introduced to the pasteis de nata, perhaps my new favorite food in the world, but more on that later) we walked around for a bit and then headed over to the Castelo de Sao Jorge. The castle dates to the 11th and 12th centuries and is amazing. From the castle we had spectacular views of the city.

lisbon day 1: morning

We arrived in Lisbon early in the morning, 6:00 am local time. We took the bus into the city and checked into the hotel. The key for me overcoming jet-lag is to keep moving, so we dropped our stuff, cleaned up a bit and hit the streets. We walked for a bit and then then stopped in a pastry shop that lured us in by great breads and pastries in the window.