Comfort food

I'd like to say it was all jet lag but the 3/4 bottle of red wine I has with my amazing dinner last night could prove work against that.

I'm a big fan of avoiding American fast food. It is everywhere - McDonalds, Starbucks etc. But sometimes you need a bit of grease to get through the day. (Unless you have spent the night in a disco in a cave in Cuba!! And you would risk WWIII for a Big Mac) I'm in Belem today. It is just a short bus ride at the mouth of the Tagus River looking southwest into the Atlantic. The biggest attractions here are the old tower that guarded the river, the monastery and the custard pastries.

(The Portuguese are big fans of pastries)

I walked the waterfront (past the Amazing Race world map roadblock from last season) and to the tower. It's a gorgeous day and the sun is very warm. Later I'm in a waterfront cafe enjoying a beer and a shrimp salad sandwich with a plate of fries. The only miss is the bad ketchup but it will all do in a pinch. And I feel my mood improving.

The monastery and much of the other major sites are closed today. Never mind it is a glorious spring day and the architecture of the church and monastery is like a "dribble sand" castle.

I head to the pastry shop for an obligatory pastry and coffee - they are delicious and the best I've had thus far!

Then it is back to the hotel to try to cure my jet lag. I book my car for Thursday and organize the rest of my stay in Lisboa as well.

After a well deserved nap I gave a nice chat with the hotel manager and he suggests an Asian fusion restaurant in the city center. (Portuguese food is ok but not every night) it's a modern spot with nice music and I decide on the tasting menu which is a nice mix of sushi and Korean as well some interesting fusion.

A day of comfort food. And I am a happy guy

Off to an old lounge for a coffee and a port before an early-ish bed (dinner is generally 9 at the earliest)

Off to Evora tomorrow which a small group into the countryside east of Lisboa.

[I'm sorry to say that posting pictures is not working with my phone. So I will try to upload a few manually once I have a few minutes at a laptop.]