Ahmet Erkun

By 1:30p, we were on our way back to the San Sebastião Metro Station.

Once again taking a Linea Azul train, we reversed course toward Santa Apolónia. We didn’t go all the way to the end of the line, however. Instead, getting off at the Baixa-Chiado Station, we followed narrow back streets to the TimeOut Market at Mercado da Ribeira, which is also home to the Mercado Tradicional.

The traditional market is where vegetables and fruits are sold. Today it seemed like only a few of the vendors still had their stalls open … no business was being transacted … perhaps for the reason I will explain in the next paragraph. The TimeOut Market is more or less an eatery. The center of the large hall is filled with bistro-style bench tables … shared by patrons. Around the rim are small shops that sell foodstuff … from hams and cheeses and sausages, to croquettes and sandwiches, to pastel de nata, to wine and beer, and on and on.

We had three reasons for going to the market … that almost flopped. Buy some tinned sardines for Mui … a Portuguese delicacy. Have lunch. Treat ourselves to some pastel de nata … the traditional egg custard tarts. The problem, you see, was that when we arrived around 2:15p, we were told by security that the market was closed because there was no running water. They said that they were hoping to re-open around 3:00p, however, so we decided to stick around … which gave me a chance to photograph some of the beautiful tile decorations I spied on the first floor.

As luck would have it, the market was re-opened at 2:30p.

We first went to Manteigaria Silva, a 100+ year old “charcutaria” that specializes in cheeses and sausages. We were there for neither. Mui had read that they also sold tinned sardines. He picked up two tins to do a ‘taste test’.

Next was supposed to be lunch. But I was still full from breakfast and Mui was not hungry since he’d had a pastry with his coffee at the museum café. So, we skipped to the pastel de nata portion of our plans. Yummy … freshly baked; still warm from the oven; and not the least bit eggy.

Instead of climbing back up to the Baixa-Chiado Station to take the metro, we walked back to Encore via the square that is home to Arco da Rua Augusta. The square was alive with tourists. There was a giant Christmas tree off to one side. The blue sky and warm temp — which had already forced us to shed our light jackets — invited us to sit at one of the cafés rimming the square. But our experience eating at one of those cafés in 2017 discouraged us from doing so. Simply too touristy. So, we continued on to the cruise terminal to embark Encore. By then it was 4:30p anyway … with all aboard at 5:30p.

Another excellent day in Lisbon … with new memories to add to the ones from our previous visits.

Tomorrow we get a day off from sightseeing as Encore makes its way to our next Portuguese port of call.Read more