40th Birthday and Lisbon

Birthdays are cool, but some might be a little bit scary.... My 40th made me a bit fuzzy for the last couple of month. I was not sure if I shall looking forward to it or be rather scared. Finally it turned out to be a wonderful birthday, not scary at all...

My husband took the three of us to Lisbon and we spend a wonderful long weekend enjoying ourselves in this beautiful city. It was the first time for us visiting Lisbon and we just loved it. The food was amazing, people very friendly and open and the old charm of the buildings has something special to it. Lisbon is bit different from what we have seen so far, some people would call Lisbon "old town" and I think I understand why, but to me it was one of the charming thing about it... the old tram, which is still driving through the city and all these magnificent tiles covered buildings.  

What really is very noticeable in Lisbon or probably in whole Portugal is that people love food, good food, which obviously made our small foodie family very happy. 

My husband planned the birthday dinner Bairro do Avillez, one of the restaurants from Jose Avillez, who is a famous Portuguese chef, with several restaurants in Lisbon and two Michelin stars. I am not able to describe in words the experience we had... the exceptional food was just one part of the whole "wow" effect. The ambiente, the service, the open kitchen where at least 13 chefs were doing their magic and then the bar tender... I never saw someone putting so much passion to create a cocktail. Every small details was covered and it was such a joy to see someone loving to do what he was doing. The cocktails by the way, were to die for. 

Today I am not going to share any recipes with you, only some nice memories of a great weekend in Lisbon and of course some inspiration...either for your next weekend getaway or birthday celebration, your next cocktails party or for a starter plate with some cheese, ham, olives and corn bread....which we have had in Bairro do Avillez with a glass of rose as a starter. So simple and yet so so delicious. F

Enjoy!