11 Tips for travel to Portugal (in particular, Lisbon)

I have learned a lot in just a few days. Well, actually over several weeks as we grew closer to the event and our planning of the trip. We really left the lodging arrangements to within 2 weeks of light off. We had also decided to travel with only carry-ons for 2 weeks. This one is a mixed bag, so to speak. It was really good because we did not book through a consolidator or agency.  We booked Norwegian Air from Seattle to London Gatwick. Then we booked TAP (Air Portugal) from London to Lisbon.  Not having to pickup bags and clear any official lines made our transition between airlines at Gatwick easier. (There is a whole other story about that later.) The down side is a backpack and a 21 inch spinner can be a lot of weight to maneuver, especially if you have to go up or down rickety stairs to and from the plane. (We had to several times.)

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Zenith – Brunch and Cocktails

Zenith, Brunch and CocktailsDirectly downstairs of our accommodations is a lovely little restaurant called Zenith.  We went there out of convenience the first night we were in town.

The next morning we were going back but we got there right at 1100 and the place was mobbed, with a line out the door.

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Jet lag and living in Lisboa

We took a leisurely afternoon and explored the immediate area around our apartment.  The cobblestones are something else. I saw people slipping and catching themselves everywhere, so it isn’t just me and my propensity to fall on my face! Continue reading “Jet lag and living in Lisboa”

Heading for Portugal!

Never Ending Sun
Never Setting Sun from 40,000 feet

So as much as I can hardly believe it, we are on a plane to London Gatwick to pickup a flight from there to Lisbon, Portugal.  It seems like a dream.

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Burnt Creme

Horatio's Burnt CremeI am in the midst of cleaning out old files, which includes old recipes.  I came upon one I have to share as it was one of my most favorite desserts in the 1970s.  I used to hang out a lot at a restaurant/bar in Honolulu called Horatio’s.  Needless to say, it had a nautical theme and an absolutely divine version of Pimm’s Cup No.1. It also had “burnt crème”. The first time I tasted this kind of dessert was at Horatio’s (Ward Avenue locale). So in looking through the recipes I am either going to document, or discard, I came upon just that recipe card. It was so popular it was also shown in the recipes section of a Sunday Honolulu Advertiser issue (shown side-by-side, here). So here is the recipe for Horatio’s Burnt Crème:

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Spats’ Amaretto Torte

Since I am trekking down memory lane, The Advertiser used to go out to restaurants with popular recipes and get the chefs to let them print the best of the best.  Spats was an Italian restaurant in Waikiki at the Hyatt Regency that turned into disco when the dinner time was over. They closed in the 80’s. But here is their Amaretto Torte recipe for your enjoyment: