I just returned from Lisbon. I was there for eight days with BFF, Rosan Cruz, to celebrate her birthday. I’ve since fallen in love with the city and those eight days weren’t enough to do everything we wanted to do. So, in that limited amount of time, this is the best advice I can give – if you ever find yourself in that part of the world.

The weather:

Portugal is supposed to be the hottest of all European countries and July is supposed to be their hottest month. We were told that we were lucky. The temperature was close to the 40s the week before we arrived. I have no idea what it was when we were there. It was hot, but not as hot as I expected. We kept forgetting to put on sunblock, except on our faces since I have a tiny tube of sunscreen in my purse at all times. But, given that I had doused myself in Neutrogena body oil after my morning shower, and walked around the whole day under the naked sun without any protection and didn’t get so much as a strap mark… It wasn’t bad, really. The Asian sun is much, much harsher, for sure.

What to pack:

I told Rosan to bring light, short dresses, until I decided to do some research, in case the Portuguese were devout Catholics and didn’t appreciate mini-skirts and tank tops in their churches. I found out something else instead:

"Something for windy nights

[IMAGE: Turska profile photo | http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2/5804310.jpg]

Turska 657 reviews

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Even if the locals warned me, I didn’t believe how chilly it might be at summer. I really had not enough long-sleeved shirts. My husband did not even take his jeans with him because, at holidays in Italy and Spain, he had never used them. No, he was missing his jeans, even if he hardly ever feels cold.

Written Mar 18, 2010"

So I warned Rosan about it, although even I thought that maybe Turska was exaggerating. I only brought one pair of light jeans, which I only expected to wear on the plane going and coming from Lisbon, plus a light jacket that didn’t even have full-length sleeves. I was so wrong. It was definitely chilly at night. Even the locals brought sweaters with them. And I’m a tropical chick! I ended up wearing my jeans and jacket almost every night. On the one night that I wore a mini-skirt, I developed a bad cold. So, yeah, expect windy, chilly nights.

Francisco, one of our hosts, with a sweater slung over his shoulders. Rosan had a wrap inside her bag. This was our first night in Portugal, when we were immediately whisked to the seaside town of Estoril to a club called Tamariz for their 20th anniversary party.

And then there’s the subject of shoes. Lisbon is Cobblestone City. Made up of seven hills, we were told. Which simply means that it is a nightmare for fabulous women everywhere. I mean, seriously, flats!!! UGH. They’re fine for the day, but at night!!!

Because Rosan and I are vain, we brought our high-heeled wedges and they worked fine for us. Except that Rosan’s were a bit too inclined so when we ventured onto the steep streets of Bairro Alto, she had more than a bit of trouble teetering on them.

I bought a pair of foldable Yosi Samra flats for this trip and only used them once. On my last day. I am really not used to closed shoes and hated them. Will take a pair of flip-flops any day. By the way, do not make the mistake of buying a new pair of flip-flops before the trip. Make sure they’ve been broken in. Rosan bought a new pair of Havianas and had to wear bandages on her blisters afterwards.

So, if you’re used to high heels and have nice platform wedges that aren’t too steep, wear them at night. Stilettos, or any thin heel, won’t work because they’ll get stuck in the cracks in the cobblestones. You’ll have better luck with thicker heels. If you aren’t used to heels, forget it. Get some pretty flats (- please do not party in Birkenstocks) and a pedicure.

Yeah, we brought a lot of shoes…

Where to stay:

Okay, because I am, officially, not supposed to be traveling AT ALL – because I keep emptying my bank account – I was on a very tight budget on this trip. (When am I not on a very tight budget?) So tight that I was actually considering staying at hostels. Especially since Lisbon is reputed to have some of the best hostels in the world. And their prices prove it too. So I looked at every hotel, hostel and apartment till, out of desperation, I just wrote to a whole bunch of them, told them how long we were staying and what our budget was and kept my fingers crossed that someone would accept our offer.

I had also researched the different bairros of Lisbon and had narrowed down our choices to Bairro Alto and Chiado, when our one and only Portuguese friend in Manila gave us his one and only advice, which was to stay at Santa Catarina, which is also part of Bairro Alto but not quite in the thick of things.

And then I got a message from one Antonio Costa Cabral accepting our offer for his 85 sqm. one-bedroom apartment in Santa Catarina! (Obrigada, Antonio!!!) I made a quick down payment via PayPal and that sealed the deal.

Funky House IV, our rooftop apartment in Santa Catarina. Please see pics here.

Some things to bear in mind about staying at apartments in Europe though:

1. It is most likely that they do not have elevators so be prepared to lug your suitcases up yourself. Our apartment was on the rooftop. Four floors up. It’s a good thing Antonio was there on our first day, but he wasn’t there when we left. (I suggest packing several small bags instead of one big one. You’ll make several trips but at least you’ll still be alive afterwards.)

2. It is also highly likely that the apartment won’t be air-conditioned. (Not at that ridiculous price I got it for.) Which wasn’t a problem because, as I said, it was chilly at night and the apartment had this great cross-ventilation thing going. But I did ask for two electric fans, which we used when we were home during the day.

3. The apartment owners are not hoteliers. They have real lives and real jobs. They have family commitments and go away on weekend holidays. Do not expect concierge services or housekeeping services or any sort of service if the plumbing gets backed up or if the kitchen smells of gas. If the landlords are home, they’ll do their best to sort it out. If they’re not, you’re pretty much on your own.

4. Re the plumbing, as Rosan gently reminded me – in Europe, remember that the pipes are small and narrow. Unless you want to spend a whole morning trying to unclog the toilet or shower or both, don’t flush anything that might clog the pipes.

Having said all of that, I would still book Antonio’s flat in a heartbeat should I ever – rather, when I return to Lisbon. It’s a great, little apartment. Lots of character. Okay, so we bumped our heads more than a few times on the walls/roof, but the location is great. It’s a stone’s throw away from Bairro Alto and maybe a five minute walk to Chiado.

We had fruit in the morning (cherries or plums) before I cooked breakfast (sausages and eggs) and then Rosan did some work while I plotted our day. At night, we entertained visitors before going out. Since we were eating and drinking so much, we didn’t mind climbing up and down the stairs to our apartment. And we loved being woken up by the Church bells in the morning.

“When all’s well, my love is like cathedral bells.” The view from the bedroom. That’s the Igreja de Santa Catarina on the right.

Even if it was a one-bedroom, it was a big enough room for both of us, with two comfortable beds (one queen and one single; the birthday girl got the queen).

And Rosan was a great flatmate! She’d mop the bathroom floor whenever it got wet and she’d take out the trash. (Things I never would have bothered with.) I cooked and did the dishes but, whenever I didn’t clean up right away, she would do it without hesitation.

We had already debriefed each other on our peeves when traveling (she prefers no shoes inside the room/apartment but I told her that, in this case, it was impossible because the floors were dusty and that would mean muddying up the bathroom floor whenever we’d use it; and mine is no hair in the sink or shower drain), so we got along really well.

These are my recommendations of places to stay in Lisbon. Note that they are also owned by my friends.

Apartments:

• Funky Houses – Look for Antonio or Maria and mention me or Rosan.
• The Flat in Chiado – Look for Francisco Guedes and mention me or Rosan. He also has a house for rent in the north of Portugal so you may want to inquire about it if you’re thinking of heading up there.

Hotel:

• Palácio Ramalhete – Tell them friends of Ralf Van Duyn recommended the hotel. It only has 12 rooms and is newly renovated in the old Portuguese style. If that makes any sense. Most new hotels in Lisbon are sleek and modern, so Ralf and his partners wanted to offer their guests something more traditional. I never got to see the hotel but it sounds wonderful.

Getting around:

You may have heard about the Lisboa card and, unless you intend to visit every museum in Lisbon in a short amount of time, I don’t think it’s worth it. If, however, you intend to take the trams and buses, then you should definitely take advantage of the 24-hour €5 pass.

Since Rosan and I didn’t feel like wasting our time queuing or getting targeted by pickpockets on Tram #28 or figuring out bus schedules, we just took cabs everywhere. They were only about €3 to 5 anyway.

But, at only €12.50, the combined train-and-bus pass at the Cais do Sodré station was definitely worth it for our day trip to Cascais and Sintra. It included the train from Lisbon to Cascais, the bus to Sintra, all the bus rides we took within Sintra and the train back to Lisbon.

Where to eat:

So we both watched the Anthony Bourdain “No Reservations” episode on Lisbon and were excited to try everything he recommended.

[YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC73r8vcnIM]

Rosan practically tunnel-visioned on Ramiro and its “tiny, almost sweet, little clams” because, according to Bourdain,“the Portuguese do clams better than anyone in the world”. We went with our server’s recommendations of shrimp, clams and the rock lobster. To be followed, of course, by prego , the steak sandwich.

We rated the gambas a la aguillo the best dish and, while the clams were good, I wouldn’t go as far as proclaiming them the best in the world. All in all, we had a pretty good meal, although we were quite shocked by how much the rock lobster cost (more than €80!).

Bourdain also seemed to have missed out on the best thing on the menu: The Pedrini.

That’s fresh orange juice, ice cream, and vodka, sprinkled with cinnamon. Fabulousness for only €2.20.

Oh, one thing that you have to remember when dining out in Portugal is that when they put something on your table that you didn’t order – bread, butter, olives, etc. – if you don’t wave it away and it stays on your table, you’re paying for it. Some of the more expensive restaurants offer these things for free so it can get quite confusing (- you can usually tell that they aren’t free if they indicate a price for the bread, etc. on the menu), but I didn’t think that they did this for drinks too. At Ramiro, Rosan and I weren’t quite done with our beers yet when the waiter came over with two more glasses and made an elaborate gesture towards us “two señoras”, so we foolishly thought that the new glasses were compliments of the house. Until they showed up on our bill. It didn’t cost much but it was still a cheeky thing to pull.

The next item to check off on our Bourdain itinerary was Cantinho de Avillez. Chef José Avillez earned a Michelin star when he worked for another restauarant, which he eventually left to put up Cantinho de Avillez and his other businesses. Plus he made Bourdain’s show so our expectations were high. Faced with the menu, however, the main dishes failed to inspire so we decided to order most of the appetizers instead. We had seven out of twelve. Unfortunately, only three out of the seven stood out. (The Alentejano-style black pork, the marinated scallops with avocado, and the “Nisa” cheese baked with ham and rosemary honey. “The 21st Century Professor style eggs” were good, but unremarkable.)

That’s when I figured that if Bourdain was taken around town by a Michelin-starred chef and wined and dined, Bourdain couldn’t very well say that the bloke’s cooking was overrated, now, could he? So that’s the last time, I’ll be using “No Reservations” as a guide.

Because the truth is that the best food we had in Lisbon wasn’t featured on Bourdain’s show.

I would have to say that the best meal we had was at Olivier Restaurante on the night of Rosan’s birthday. We ordered the degustacion menu, which consisted of nine appetizers and one main course (€39). It was so good that Rosan and I were almost in tears. We didn’t want the meal to end! The wait staff was also pretty awesome and totally on the ball.

Rosan, loving Olivier’s birthday cake. Happy birthday, Rosan!

Apart from that, the meals I enjoyed the most were the ones in the most ordinary restaurants that I do not think are even in the guide books or on the internet. The octopus salad and clams in garlic and olive oil, plus my grilled robalo at Restaurante Rota do Infante in Belém were fantastic. The carne de porco à Alentejana at Restaurante o Fogareiro in Bairro Alto was sublime. And the arroz de garoupa at Cervejanario around the Expo area was outstanding. I wish I had gone to more of these no-name, traditional restaurants and had eaten more traditional Portuguese fare because I was seriously swooning at these places.

“I want some more!” Carne de porco à Alentejana.

Oh, a non-traditional restaurant worth mentioning is Flower Power, right on the main street, Calçada do Combro, near our apartment. Rosan was happy because they had a lot of fresh fruit juices. My vegetarian friend, Sud, was happy because they had a nice, delicious summer salad, and I was happy because I had this great pork dish with pears that was most inventive and surprising.

Where to have something sweet:

If you thought Lord Stow’s Portuguese egg tarts in Macau were good, well, they’re nothing compared to the real deal (called pastel de nata) in Portugal. The best of the lot is at Pastéis de Belém.

We went there right before closing time and didn’t have to queue for long.

One word: WOW. The crust was perfectly flaky and the cream was obscenely luscious.

I had three.

Second best, at least as far as I am concerned, was at a tiny place called Nata (which, incidentally, means “cream”) tucked away in a garden behind a shop called Fabric Infinit on Rua Dom Pedro V.

Forget about À Brasileira (the Portuguese equivalent of Les Deux Magots in Paris), where the likes of Fernando Pessoa used to hang out. It’s now definitely just a tourist trap, with different prices if you are seated inside, on the balcony or on the esplanade. If the food was worth it, I wouldn’t mind but we didn’t even bother to eat what we ordered. It wasn’t worth the calories.

For ice cream, if you cannot go to the original shop in Cascais, then you’ll find a Santini’s in Chiado. Their bestseller is the strawberry ice cream. I had mine mixed with their version of stracciatella. I would have gone back for more but there were always long queues at their Chiado branch.

Where to drink:

Wine is cheaper than water in Portugal. If you’re on a budget, I recommend bringing a water bottle around during the day so that you can have some wine at lunch, instead of having to pay for both wine and water (- some restaurants will not serve tap water, even upon request, and one of the girls we met on tour made a big stink about it). Even at the bars, wine is cheaper than spirits, at €4 a glass for vinho verde as opposed to €12 to 14 for a double vodka on the rocks.

Have a shot of ginjinha or ginja , cherry brandy, from the place that started it all, À Ginjinha, off Rossio Square. Rosan and I had two shots each and then bought two bottles each afterwards.

Catch Lisbon’s spectacular sunset while having cocktails around the riverfront in Belém. We loooved the mojitos at À Margem.

Definitely sample the different kinds of port on offer at Solar do Vinho do Porto at Rua São Pedro de Alcântara 45. Our first server was a bit rude but the older ones took over from him and they were much more amiable and accommodating. Rosan ended up buying a vintage port (- this has to be consumed as soon as it is opened) while I bought a 20-year old one that I can relish for a while.

I already mentioned the Pedrini at Ramiro – don’t forget that! And we also had amarguinha (almond liqueur) and shots of aguardente de medronho at Olivier.

Amarguinha.

Where to go dancing:

Rosan and I get dressed up to get down.

Silk is a private club. There’s no sign for it and the cab drivers won’t know where it is. But if you’ve got connections and can get your name on the list, it has pretty spectacular views of Lisbon at night.

View from Silk.

If you can’t get in at Silk, don’t worry. Head on to Pensão Amor, located in Lisbon’s former red light district. This former bordello is now one of the hippest clubs in Lisbon. While there is no cover charge, when the club is full, there can be a long queue at the door.

Pensão Amor

A night at Bairro Alto is a must! We went to a club called “Bali” (formerly known as “Bedroom”) and, while it was cool (read: the bartender was cute), they played the same songs twice while I was there and I wasn’t there for very long. Think Rihanna’s “We Found Love” with everyone singing along. I can stand it without wanting to cut myself once, but a second time??! Please pass the blade. Definitely a young crowd.

Where to shop:

Feira da Ladra or Thieves’ Market is an absolute must! It’s on every Tuesday and Saturday. It’s enormous and you have to have a sharp eye for treasures. I found a hooded shirt for €1, vintage bags for €5 each, but my best buy was a brand new flask (still in the box) for only €10. There was also this beautiful crystal decanter by Stevens & Williams selling for only €40. Even if it was a fake, it was beautiful, but it was at the start of the trip and I needed to conserve my cash and the space in my luggage. (And the thing was damned heavy!)

There were also a lot of artists selling handmade clothing and jewelry.

Amelia, a hippie designer, and me at the flea market.

In the hipper side of town, along Rua Dom Pedro V, I met designer Lidija Kolovrat at her atelier. She asked, “Where are you from? You’re very pretty.” When she found out I liked a dress but “it was out of my price range”, she had a word with her assistant and I had it at 50% off! (Obrigada, Lidija!)

Me, not looking very pretty but rather terribly worn, with designer, Lidija Kolovrat. (Photo c/o Rosan Cruz.)

I also found Fernanda Pereira’s shop in Bairro Alto where I managed to snap up a few pieces at bargain prices.

Also in Bairro Alto, is Casa de Autores, where they make unique jewelry out of zippers.

Of course, because Rosan and I are hopeless consumers, on our first day out – while getting a map at the tourist office, a bit tipsy from our two shots of ginjinha – we purchased some of the cork jewelry that they had on display. Yes, at the tourist office. It was our way of supporting Portugal’s cork industry!

On our way to Santini’s in Cascais, I ducked into a shoe store while she was – er, getting another map – and, when she found me buying a pair of shoes, of course, she had to buy one too. They were on sale at €15! And they were flats! We thought we’d need them in the city…

Then, while walking home from Chiado one afternoon, we walked into Bershka, a brand from London that we do not have in the Philippines, and everything was ridiculously marked down. We’re talking €7 to 12. I walked away with one shirt while Rosan bagged two.

FYI, El Corte Ingles is walking distance from the Gulbenkian Museum. Rosan and I wanted to bring home morcilla de arroz (blood sausage with rice) and we were told that this was the best place to find it. We were also told that we couldn’t go wrong with the chorizos and cheese from Alentejo.

Here ends Part 1. I promise to get to the sights to see in and around Lisbon in Part 2.