A Weekend in Lisbon Part 4 - Tiles, Art and Alleyways

This is the last blog post for Lisbon from this wee trip and really it's just going to be one big photo dump - a colourful photo dump.

Comfortable walking shoes are a must in Lisbon.  I'm sure something arty and beautiful can be found round every corner of this city.

I love the contrast between the traditional tiles and then the contemporary street art.

The LX Factory is a unique little art 'hub' filled with boutiques, cafes and studio spaces.  Great for a wee gander of contemporary art but really I imagine this space would be amazing when there is an event on.  Check out the Ler Devagar bookstore, which is a fantastic store with a cafe and gallery space set in an old printing machine.

Other Posts:

- A Weekend in Lisbon Part 2 - Monuments and Spectacular Views

- A Weekend in Lisbon: Introduction

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip

A Weekend in Lisbon Part 3 - See Food Eat Food

Cervejaria Ramiro is the restaurant that appears in every 'must-eat' list for Lisbon.  Every cooking show on Netflix about Lisboa, every travel vlog on youtube - will feature this restaurant and its amazing seafood.  So expect queues!  We arrived around 6pm on Saturday, during holiday off-season, and queued for around 40-50 minutes - which was actually shorter than I expected!

Apologies for the half-eaten giant tiger prawn - we ate them faster than we could take a picture of them!

The seafood was incredible.  I know that any future stop in Lisbon will HAVE to include a meal here.  Everything above including an order of bread and beer was a little over 100 euros, with the above Scarlet prawns being the most expensive item but also my absolute favourite from the bunch - I'd be happy with anything from the menu but these gorgeous red prawns were unlike anything I'd ever tried before, made the meal much more unique!

Seafood rice was another dish I'd see dotted around the food blogs that I was determined to try.  The one above was from Peixaria do Rossio, I mean, it's very difficult to mess up a hearty rice-stew dish with so much fresh seafood.  This one was lovely but any future trip to Portugal I think I want to try others and compare notes!

The Time Out Market is a very busy and touristy spot but it's a really fantastic way to sample some amazing Portuguese food.  I really love this market and would love to see other cities adopt this idea - it's just a fantastic way for us hopeless foreigners to try great authentic food!

The longest queue was for the grilled Octopus but my favourite dish was the Prego sandwich with Sweet Potatoe chips - if I remember correctly it was a Wagyu beef from Chile.

We tried quite a few of the Bacalhhau salted cod pastries - the make fantastic little snacks, similar to fishcakes, deep fried mashed potato dumplings with the salted cod through them.  The one above was one of the 'fancier' ones catered for tourists really at their 4 euros per pastry price but unlike the others we tried they were filled with a real nice, real strong cheese.  The shop dedicated to only these pastries were in the heart of the tourist area.

The pastries below where from Pasteis de Belem.

So we did eat a couple little savoury pastries at Pasteis de Belem but really the main and only reason why you would head out to this place are to eat these amazing Pastel de Nata - egg custard tarts! One of my favourites things I've ever eaten, I'm hunting around to see if I can find anything remotely close to these locally!

We went early for breakfast to avoid the queues but the tip is to head inside for table service as the queue is typically shorter there plus you are able to order the tarts to take out from there rather than wait in the huge take away queue.

Eat them portuguese style, which is to sprinkle them with cinnamon and icing sugar!

Other Posts:

- A Weekend in Lisbon Part 2 - Monuments and Spectacular Views

- A Weekend in Lisbon Part 1 - Sintra

- A Weekend in Lisbon: Introduction

A Weekend in Lisbon Part 2 - Monuments and Spectacular Views

Views from Castelo de Sao Jorge - one of my favourite attractions of the weekend, the views alone are worth it!

These viewpoints are scattered throughout Lisbon, particularly in the Alfama area.  We were honestly lost and then BOOM we came across the viewpoint above.  Definitely take the time to get lost and just explore the area.

This is the view from across the river to Cacilhas.  It's just a short and very inexpensive ferry ride across.  The area itself didn't have too much to explore but there are a couple of riverside restaurants which we unfortunately didn't get to try due to bad timings.  Glad we crossed for me to snap this pic though!

Jerónimos Monastery

Belém Tower

Belém Tower sketch

Padrão dos Descobrimentos

Rua Augusta Arch

Other Posts:

- A Weekend in Lisbon Part 1 - Sintra

- A Weekend in Lisbon: Introduction

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip

A Weekend in Lisbon Part 1 - Sintra

My short weekend in Lisbon meant I couldn’t give Sintra the full attention it deserves.  I had half a day so only enough time for one of it’s many major attractions.

Of all the grand sights to see I chose Quinta da Regaleira - a romantic mansion nestled on an outrageous estate that includes a well, lakes, grottoes and gorgeous gardens.  From my research, I understood that this is a pretty touristy spot so best to get there early and there are short bus rides available to get there from Sintra Train Station or it is a short but steep walk up to it.  We opted for one of the silly Tuk Tuks - 5 euros per person to anywhere in Sintra - touristy services like this means you get a mini tour in the area so the driver was able to give us some history and facts about all the other main attractions that we drove by.

The grottoes were my favourite part of the estate! So many hidden tunnels and caves, all adding to the magical romance of the place.  Prepare for lots of walking as there is so much to explore!

Lunch was at a restaurant in the main area of Sintra called Bacalhau Na Vila - a restaurant specialising in Bacalhau, a Portuguese speciality of salted cod.  A must try if you are ever in Portugal, you’ll find it everywhere!  I doubt I would have ever stumbled upon this place had I not found it online first! It’s location is not accurate on google maps so use its location on its tripadvisor instead.

Other Posts:

- A Weekend in Lisbon: Introduction

- Dubai Vietnam 2017: Cafe Pho Co - Hanoi Lake View Cafe

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip

A Weekend in Lisbon: Introduction

At the beginning of the year, I searched for 'cheap flights' and once I decided that a cheeky weekend in February meant 'anywhere with some sunshine please' then the top of that list was Lisbon!

So I’ve got a few blog posts coming up about the wee weekend I had in this wonderful city.  So many things to see! So many things to eat! I’m so glad that Lisbon is just a short plane ride so I’m sure that there will be many more wee weekends in Lisboa!

Other Posts:

- A Weekend in Lisbon Part 1 - Sintra

- Dubai Vietnam 2017: Ninh Binh and Halong Bay

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip

Dubai Vietnam 2017: Ho Chi Minh City - last stop

Our last couple of days were spend in Ho Chi Minh City.

There were many wonderful French-Vietnamese combinations I came across in Vietnam, the architecture being one of them, but of course it was the Banh Mi that satisfied the greedy food lover in me.  Amazing fragrant flavours encased in incredible baguette bread.

Coffee might be wasted on me but the coffee culture in Vietnam was, should I say, my cup of tea ;)

Grab a drink and something yummy and draw the gorgeous surroundings.  More doodles are on my instagram! - https://www.instagram.com/szekeiho/

Other Posts:

- Dubai Vietnam 2017: Ninh Binh and Halong Bay

-Dubai Vietnam 2017: Cafe Pho Co - Hanoi Lake View Cafe

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip

Dubai Vietnam 2017: Ninh Binh and Halong Bay

My two favourite days in Vietnam had to be the days I spent in Ninh Binh and Halong Bay.  I'd gladly go back to spend more time in these areas, just breath-taking.  Pictures will never do these places justice but here are a few anyways!

Other Posts:

-Dubai Vietnam 2017: Cafe Pho Co - Hanoi Lake View Cafe

- Dubai Vietnam 2017: Hanoi Highlights

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip

Dubai Vietnam 2017: Cafe Pho Co - Hanoi Lake View Cafe

Cafe Pho Co is one of those wonderful 'hole-in-the-wall' types of places.  You would never go there unless someone recommended or showed it to you - it's terribly difficult to find, so I hope my pictures will help you out.

The real kicker about visiting Vietnam is that I'm not a coffee drinker.  I tried several coffees, including the Vietnamese specialty Egg Coffee.  I hoped that my tastes would sway but unfortunately I could never get into it - I'm just a simple tea drinker. 

At Cafe Pho Co, I tried a Coconut Coffee.  I did manage to drink at least half of this before the coffee taste became a bit too much for me but I think most coffee drinkers would recommend this to the non-coffee drinkers - I reckon I'm just super sensitive to the coffee tastes - because for the most part, it is a refreshing sweet coconut drink!

You want to look for this shop - see the little white Cafe Pho Co Sign - and you need to walk through this shop, through the narrow alleyway to the inside of the building.

You order your drinks and food at the counter on the ground floor and there are several levels to the cafe above but of course the Lake View is on the top floor.  Do take the time to marvel at the birds and cats strewed around on the ground floor and the quirky layout of the cafe building!

Other Posts:

- Dubai Vietnam 2017: Hanoi Highlights

- Dubai Vietnam 2017: First Stop - Dubai

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip

Dubai Vietnam 2017: Hanoi Highlights

This city is an assault on the senses - the noise, the smells, they're overwhelming and without being too dramatic, the 'assault' can be very literal too, I mean the scooter/traffic culture is just absurd! However, for a brief while, this ugly foreigner will happily be assaulted, by the history, the herby food and the hustle and bustle of Hanoi.

We stood here for nearly an hour waiting for the train to go by, so my only tip here is to NOT rely on the train timetables.  If I had the time I would have maybe asked around to see if there was a nearby cafe or pub to hang out in.

Safe to say that I also consumed lots of Pho. So worth it.

Other Posts:

- Dubai Vietnam 2017

- Dubai Vietnam 2017: First Stop - Dubai

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip

Dubai Vietnam 2017: First Stop - Dubai

So I got a little heat sickness on my first day in Dubai, I mean it goes without saying that Dubai is bloody hot but this extravagant pit-stop should be marveled at, at least once in your lifetime.  Enjoy the desert and please stay hydrated :)

Other Posts:

- Dubai Vietnam 2017

- Blogmas Day 20: Studio Ghibli Museum

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip

Dubai Vietnam 2017

The year has just flown by and I finally got to fit in some traveling time!  This year we decided to go to Vietnam - we went to Hanoi, Halong bay, then Ho Chi Minh City but before we went to Vietnam, we snuck in a cheeky trip to Dubai too.  I'm now busy back at work but I'm going to try and post some things here and there from my amazing trip!

I've got a good few pics up on the instagram already:

Dubai fun times photo dump #holiday #travel #desert #dunes #dunebashing #sandeverywhere #safari #hotsummer #dubai

13 Likes, 1 Comments - CK (@szekeiho) on Instagram: "Dubai fun times photo dump #holiday #travel #desert #dunes #dunebashing #sandeverywhere #safari..."

Other Posts:

- Blogmas Day 20: Studio Ghibli Museum

- Blogmas Day 21: Roppongi Hills Mori Tower

- Blogmas Intro: Japan Trip