Joaoo, where you looking for me ? :)

I went to see "my old man" in September but I just couldn't find you !!
Look :
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34666494

Anyway, I hope to turn again, I still love Lisbon , hehehe. Had a great time again :)

Bad luck for us :-(
Hopefuly next time we are able to organize a LDC meeting. Feel free to email to Matt or to me ([email protected]) or to keep in touch through this thread (Things to to in and around Lisbon part II)

lobo, I read you told someone about "parreirinha de alfama" so I went with my friend and tried it ! Just great, the food and the music ! :)
I'm longing lisbonnnnn !!

Kenderina, I have a few other options in my "to do list" of places to try, either with or without fado. The purpose of Lisbon Dining Club is to list and describe excellent places to eat for less than 20 euros, which are not listed by Rick Steves. Matt and I have met and we found a good division of responsibilities. I do field work (scouting) and eat, Matt takes the pictures and describes the experience :-). So far, the meetings are getting better and better. 6 ppl have attended so far, including our best halves and Patrick and Les from San Diego.
Please, keep reading this thread.

Sure I will :)
Take care, field work its a very hard thing to do :P

Thanks, Bailey, I did try Pension Mare and they only had one place available for three nights so it won't work for us. Looks like we're following in each others footsteps! It'll be fun to meet and talk about it all at the LDC. What are your actual Lisbon dates? We'll be there the nights of the 25th, 26th, and 27th. Hope it works out.

Nancy, you're right, we do have similiar dates. At the beginning of our trip, we'll be staying in Lisbon the nights of May 26, 27, and 28 and once again on June 8 and 9 at the end of our trip. I'm looking forward to meeting at the LDC and comparing notes.

Good luck with Salema - perhaps someone else will have some suggestions?

Well, we are fresh off the plane from Lisbon, and too jet-lagged to sleep, so I'll add my own post to the new thread while some experiences are fresh(?) in my mind.

I want to echo Matt & Lobo's sentiments about the Lisbon Dining Club, and to thank them both, as well as the beautiful Gertrude (Mrs. Lobo) for such a memorable night. The food, the wine and the conversation were all excellent. Lobo is right - within a few minutes it felt like I was with family! It was the perfect introduction to Lisbon, and the highlight of our stay.

I'll add a restaurant review of my own - not as comprehensive as Matt's, of course - for those of you making notes for your own visits. The night after our excellent dinner with the LDC, we ate at a small, stylish restaurant called Frade dos Mares: Av. Dom Carlos I, no. 55A, in Lapa. It's tiny, and so chic they don't even have a sign out front, just their logo on the frosted window - and you have to ring the bell to get in. Once inside, the terminally chic waitresses were very nice and helpful - a good thing, since there was no English menu! Very good food, and fairly reasonable - and although the menu is not extensive, it has a specific vegetarian section. Take note, Matt - a good place for a fancy night out with Elisabete! I think someone else was also asking about vegetarian cuisine in the old thread. We liked it very much... but don't think about going before 8:00, because they won't even answer the door!

Based on Matt's previous review, we tried Cervejaria Trindade for our last dinner, and had a good time. The food & atmosphere were just as Matt described. A word of warning, though - don't go if you are in any kind of hurry! We got there early enough to be seated right away, and to be served fairly promptly; but by the time we finished our meal, the place had filled up and service slowed to a crawl. There were diners all over the room frantically trying to flag down a waiter; and we waited a full 1/2 hour (and had to ask 4 times) for our bill. You would think, with a queue that went out the door, that they would be more anxious to get our table! We still enjoyed it; and probably 2/3 of the patrons were non-tourists, so it made me feel better that they endured the same slow service, and kept coming back anyway.

Other quick notes, since time zone fever is finally catching up with me, and I'm falling asleep:
The red sightseeing tram is a great way to acquaint yourself with the city. It's currently 17 euros, you can pay on the tram.

Museu Nacional de Arte Antica is fantastic! Huge collections, if a little heavy on the religious art - but that's what you get when the king closes all the religious orders and sacks the monasteries and churches. Many treasures, and worth half a day. Free on Sundays until 2:00 - and closed Mondays and Tuesday til 2:00.

The Gulbenkian Museum is one of the finest in the world - and small enough that you can see the whole thing in about an hour & a half and not feel rushed. It's not a vast collection, but every item is choice - a true masterpiece. Do NOT miss it.

I loved Chiado, hated Baixa. Chiado is vibrant and busy, with wonderful sights and great shopping & people-watching; while Baixa is touristy and a bit tacky - post-card stands and street vendors everywhere. We walked through, quickly, and then got the Elevador out of there and back to Chiado!

I rode the 28 tram up to Graca, in the Alfama, and then walked up & down every little street in the district, to St. George's Castle and then to the Se (cathedral). It is the only way to experience the Alfama, but it requires some hiking!

More comments as I think of them, or look at my pictures. Now I think I can sleep...

A couple of suggestions for possible LDC places:

Terra, a vegetarian restaurant, near the Praca do Principe Real, one of my favorite spots in Lisbon. http://www.terra.vg/index-en.html

O Galito (Alentejo food), very near the Adega das Gravatas, about two blocks from the Largo da Luz, Rua da Fonte 18

Stop do Bairro, in Campo Ourique, which is another one of my favorite places to walk -- 55 rua Tenente Ferreira Durão; (351) 213-888-856

This is making me hungry and nostalgic for Lisbon!

Dear friends, I'm leaving for a weight gain program in Sogra's Inn. I hope to be back next Monday afternoon. Enjoy you Easter period. Até já!

Just got my tickets for 12 days in Lisbon in July. Now I need advice as to how to break things up. I orgiinally planned this as a solo trip, and so I planned to stay in the Lisbon the whole time and do numerous day trips. Now that I find my husband is coming with me I'm open to the possibility of renting a car for part of the time and seeing the smaller towns that way.

Our usual method of traveling is to move every couple of days, driving all over a region. And if that makes the most sense then that's what we'll do. On the other hand, I was kind of liking the idea of staying in one place the whole time and not having to book multiple hotels and move around each night. However I don't want to spend all my time on a bus, or waiting for one. So - my questions.

How easy is it to get to places like Evora, Obidos, Nazare, Ericeria? I know it's possible by bus but which is really the best way? Are there other great little towns that are accessible only by car that I may not have come across in my research since I was planning on only doing places I could get to by public transportation. What do you all think?

I really liked the walled city of Obidos, north of Lisbon.

isabel-
my husband and I are going to Lisbon for two weeks at the end of June and I've had similar questions to yours. Matt and lobo are away for the weekend but will soon be back and are an invaluable source of info. We're thinking about staying in Lisbon for 10 days with day trips by public transpo. and then heading into the Alentejo region for 4 days and renting a car for that portion. Apparently it's way better to have a car for that area (Evora, Marvao etc). I know what you mean about staying put and not having to pack and repack. I have a feeling catching a bus or train to Sintra, Ericeira, Cascais, Obidos is not all that bad. Waiting for a bus may be preferable to dealing with driving in and out of Lisbon!

Hi Isabel. Welcome.
I am really a novice but I will take a stab at your questions.
Many people travel all over Europe quite well with public transportation. We usually rent a car because we like the flexiblilty that car travel gives one. But we do not like to move every day..
On our first trip to Portugal, we rented a car for nine days. The initial trip was 12 nights. We spent three nights in Lisbon, but we dropped off the car before that time and of course we did not use the car while in Lisbon. All of our travel outside of Lisbon was done with the car. In other words, we visited Sintra and Obidos and Nazare while we had the car. I understand that we could of easily have done Erciera, Sintra and Nazare at least from Lisbon. But we did not do this. The three days we spent in Lisbon were just there except of course for Belem.

We did not find driving in Portual difficult, unlike some people, Maybe because the last trip we took was on the Amalfi coast and that we felt was difficult. Of course, this is just our opinion. But do not be afraid to try driving. And Portugal has very reasonable car rental rates, which is another reason to wet your feet there.

We concentrated on that trip going from Braga to Sintra and then to Lisbon. We stayed four nights in Braga, one night in Bucaco, four nights near Obidos and three nights in Lisbon. There were lots of things we did not see, like Evora. But I was happy with the itinerary.
This time we will spend more time in the Alentejo and Lisbon. I struggled because I do not like to move around every day. And we will get to spend time in Evora, and Marvoa this time. It worked for us.

Twelve days is not a lot of time. If you have already done research, you will know your limatations. Also, there are many great trip reports here.

IMHO, you should rent a car. There are so many places that you will miss as the transportation to places like Marvao is sketchy. You will not have problems with Evora, Lisbon , Obidos, Sintra, Porto. But places other than Evora in the Alentejo just are better by car. I also feel that Tomar, Fatima, Alcobaba, I could name more are more easily seen by car.

Please try to do a search on some of the trip reports. Also, sssteve has a website which is very good.

Please try to meet members of the Lisbon Dining Club if you can while in Lisbon.

Matt and lobo_mau are the best people to answer your questions. When they return, they will chime in.

Happy planning. Return for more questions. Remember we always appreciate a trip report.

Enjoy.

Sherry.

lobo_mau. Where is this Sogra's Inn you keep mentioning.

Is it one of the places you do not want Rick Steves finding out about?

You really do not have to worry about that. Except for Evora, the Alentejo does not exist for him.

Sher - I think we have decided to rent a car, probably for 7 days. I keep reading conflicting things about whether Sinta is better with or without the car. One thing I said was that since driving and parking there is such a hassel it's best to leave Sinta for a day trip from Lisbon, even if you are renting a car for part of your trip. But then there seem to be some other things in the area that would be easiest done with the car. We will be there in July, if that makes a difference for traffic congestion. What do you think?

Sher,

I am just coming into this thread, but I have a hint where Lobo may be hiding: his mother-in-law's place for Easter break. ("Sogra" means mother-in-law in Portuguese).
Happy Easter everybody!

I have posted this before, in another thread, but will repeat it here.

While in Lisbon, do not miss "O Cantinho do Bem Estar". It is a very small place (only 8 tables, I think), but it has fantastic food at very reasonable prices. You might have to wait a little while, specially on weekends (a lot of locals). But it is worth it. Try the "prato do dia" (dish of the day), or "Arroz de Tamboril com Gambas" (Rice with Fish and Shrimp - superb!). The desserts are also delicious!

Beware: it closes on Mondays (all other nights it is open to about 22hs00) and they only accept cash.

O Cantinho do Bem Estar
Rua do Norte, 46 (Bairro Alto)
Tel. +351-21 346 42 65

O "Cantinho do bem estar" is very good, I love the "Arroz de Tamboril". You must go early to the restaurant.

happy easter! welcome brazilnut.