Seafood in Cascais, Lisbon

Cascais is just 30 (ish) minutes from Lisbon along the river… which then turns into the coastline. It’s like the playground for the rich of Lisbon, and of course the many tourists in summer.

I drove down there for dinner with colleagues after work this week, to a restaurant called Furnas do Guincho.
It was a great little place on the edge of the water, balancing on a volcanic rock shelf.

Huge waves were crashing against the rocks and spraying salty water across the tables. Amazing to breathe in the sea air. Luckily we we’re sat inside though, as the weather isn’t quite warm enough yet to eat outside in the evening.

We ate an interesting selection of seafood, including some mini lobster-like creatures they call “witches” that we selected from a fresh tank. We also had some strange barnacle things, which you have to pull off the tentacles and suck out the insides… an experience I won’t be repeating!

The highlight was after this seafood buffet extravaganza, they brought out a huge white fish that had been completely buried in rock salt, baked, and then set on fire. It was very tasty, and surprisingly not very salty.

I hope there will be more Cascais adventures and the weather starts to warm up.

Lovely Lisboa

I’m currently on a 3 month secondment with my job in the beautiful city of Lisbon in Portugal. A wonderful place to spend the spring – especially after a long, cold winter in Denmark!

Some observations so far…

Earthquakes
The city has been devastated several times in history due to earthquakes, the most severe in 1755 which wiped out 1/3 of the population and destroyed most of the city. You can still see the effects today – statuesque buildings which were once grand, now in disrepair, but nevertheless hold a timeless beauty.

Hills
I don’t think there is a flat surface in Lisbon, apart from the promenade along the river front. I’m currently training for a marathon, so getting a lot of unintentional hill training in!

Laid-back attitude
Every single Portuguese person I have had the pleasure of meeting has been so welcoming. I know people say this about most cultures when they first visit, but there is something magical in the relaxed, easy going Portuguese nature. Their English is very good (a lot better than their Spanish neighbours) and they want to show your their lovely city and way of life. Just don’t bring up the current economic climate…

Work culture
In Denmark, they have an almost German-like efficiency at work. Hours are 09:00-16:00 with a very short lunch break, and lots of scheduled, punctual meetings. Not for the Portuguese! Come to office “around” 9-ish, have an espresso, shoot the breeze with your colleagues, do some work, have another espresso, drop by someone’s desk and make some important decisions in a casual 1-1 setting, take a leisurely 1.5 hour lunch and really savour the great food, have some more expressos… leave the office around 19:00. But it’s a case of work-hard, play-hard. Dinner starts around 21:00 onwards. Meet someone for a casual drink around 23:00. Then the night begins…

Have you had similar experiences in Lisbon/Portugal?