Portugal Diaries: My heart has been stolen!

On my recent European adventure we decided to spend a few days in Portugal. We flew into the capital, Lisbon but stayed in the cutest apartment about 30mins away from the city in a neighborhood that was a five minute walk to the beach. I knew nothing about Portugal before traveling and to be honest, my real motivation for visiting was simply be able cross another country off of my list.

I feel so bad that it took me so long to travel here because let me tell you Portugal stole my heart and I can not wait to go back! I regret not allocating more days on this trip to bask in all of Portugal's beauty and I can not recommend it enough to put this country on your bucket list.

The architecture is here is so cool! I am a novice when it comes to understanding building structures but I admire how intricate the buildings are, how well maintained the country keeps them, and the use of color! They have so many beautiful pastel colored buildings that just makes you happy when you stroll by them.

If the architecture doesn't make you fall in love with Portugal then the food will!

The prices of food is very reasonable from restaurant dinining to alcohol in the supermarkets. Literally, wine will only cost you a couple of Euros. We stumbled upon a local all you can eat Brazilian steak house that would have cost anywhere from $50 Dollars per person in the states, we payed only 15 Euros.

We ate until our hearts content and our only regret for coming to eat at this local joint is that are stomachs didn't have more space. For an all you can eat establishment the food was both seasoned and cooked to perfection.

Another thing I loved about Portugal was how their cafe/ brunch spots looked. They take a lot of pride in the aesthetics of a restaurant and it made you want to spend all day lounging in such a thoughtfully decorated environment.

 The cafe had a matcha bar which if you know anything about me you know how absolutely obsessed I am with all things matcha. I wanted to try something different so I ordered a black matcha and I would rate it 10/10!

 

To eat I had the Brioche French Toast. It was a very gourmet take on a usually extremely sweet dish. The toast was on top of a beet puree and asparagus. It sounds like the weirdest combination but each bite complemented each other perfectly. A very high quality dish that cost very little.

  

When visiting Portugal a drink you must try is called a Caipirinha. It is served everywhere in the country and is technically Brazil's national cocktail. Since the Brazilian culture is so heavily influenced here, they know how to make a Caipirinha just right! It is a very  delicious but sweet cocktail since it the liquor is actually made from sugarcane plus they add more  sugar on top of that and top it off with lime.

Another item you must try when visiting is a Pastel de Nata. It is a traditional Portugese egg custard tart that despite me not typically liking any type of custard I actually found it to be delicious. I was skeptical at first when trying this but I was so glad I did.

The food, the sights, the nice beaches, and the incredibly friendly people are all reasons why Portugal stole my heart. I can't wait to go back to explore more of the country and try more of the delicious foods. Who knows, maybe I will see you there too!