Day 1: 6th June: Lisbon

I have been raving about getting to Portugal for a long, long time.. and I finally got to go.

Flight from Luton at 12.15pm, Wednesday 6th June. Scheduled arrival - 3pm in Lisbon.
The line at the border was CRAZYYYYY! We were packed with other people from Brazil, staring us down as if we wore underwear on our heads, or something. I don't think they get that many Asian tourists in Lisbon..

Waited an hour before being called to the counters.

4pm - Gonçalo's mum, Guida, was waiting for us at Arrivals with a sign with our names on it! To our pleasant surprise, SHE SPOKE ENGLISH. And fairly enough, too! She drove us back home (which is a lovely 2-storey condominium in Odivelas, slightly outside the city), where we were introduced to the DARLING dog Scott, a cross between Husky and German Shepherd, and to Catarina, Gonçalo's sister, a 19-year-old sweetheart who looked like a doll and smelled like dewberries. <3

Isabelle and I then headed to the city of Lisbon by Metro, and I bought a top from Bershka! Isabelle bought some bracelets like the ones she found in Rome, and we mostly wandered around after that looking for pastel de nata from A Brasileira in Chiado. Pastel de nata is THE most famous pastry from Portugal - a creamy custard tart which is pure love and delight! We bought 10 from A Brasileira (Gonçalo's favourite place, and also where the waiter was cuuuuute)... and till today it is a mystery why everyone was so shocked that we bought 10. Maybe it was because it was the last 10 (teehee, tough luck, guys!) We had to ask a cute policeman where the cafe was and walked past it once.. found a cherry vendor instead and bought a whole kilo, which ONLY COST ME 3 EUR. (The equivalent would have cost between 12-15 EUR back in KL!)

After that we headed back home by Metro and walked back to the condo without getting lost. :D Mama Guida was preparing dinner, so while waiting we got to meet Alex (Gonçalo's best friend and Catarina's boyfriend) and Arcanjo, who is everyone's friend. Alex talked and talked and asked us so many questions about South East Asia, and I was quite impressed with what he knew. Arcanjo was more shy, but sweet...apparently he had long hair and had just cut it off... I know what that feels like!

Gonçalo's dad came home soon after - Carlos - and he seemed a little bit indifferent towards us at first, but he warmed up really quickly. HE IS AMAZING. Handsome and charming and funny..!

Dinner was delicious. It was a mixture of pork and clams in a red pepper sauce, with salad, fried potatoes and Portuguese bread to go with. Mama Guida is AMAZING at cooking! After dinner, Papa Carlos offered me 2 glasses of wine to taste - Porto wine and Vinho Verde (green wine). I much prefer Porto wine because it's sweet, and it went really well with the pastel de nata. Nomnomnom.

After dinner we went to pick Gonçalo up from the airport. It did feel a bit weird that I had to welcome him back to his own country. We met Monica for the first time at the airport - she is Gonçalo's other best friend or something of that sort. Sweetheart!

After that, Papa Carlos took us on a longgggg drive around Lisbon. Lisbon is amazing at night. We saw the train station, the Pavilion, the bridges across the Tagus river, and just the city, lit up.. The moon was glowing, and we could see its reflection on the river. Stunning. The smell of grilled sardines was in the air, prepared for the coming celebration of the Saints..

..and with that, Lisbon stole my heart.