7 Days in Lisbon, 8 Hours in London: Qantas A380 Y, Heathrow Lounges, TAP to Lisbon

[yflyer]

Catering on this flight comprised a snack box...



Inside, a sandwich...



...and a sweet carrot snack...



A selection of Portuguese wines were also served onboard.

We landed in Lisbon on time, on an overcast afternoon...



...and were bussed to the terminal from a remote stand.



This first day in Lisbon was the only day that week with any grey in the sky.

For the rest of the week, we had perfect weather, with clear blue skies and mild, cool temperatures.

The busy arrival area...



A view of the large Airport Terminal building from my taxi, as we headed to my hotel.



Lisbon Airport was located very close to the city centre -- closer than almost any major airport in any other city.

It was so close to the city that from anywhere in the city, you could often see aircraft on final approach to the airport.



I was at my hotel, the Hotel Corinthia, in less than 20 minutes.

[yflyer]

My hotel was the Corinthia Lisbon...



It was located about 3 km from the city centre, and 5+ km from Lisbon's Baixa and Tagus river front, along a street with many restaurants, as well as grocery shops and a small supermarket.



While not located in the heart of the attractions, it was a short and pleasant walk or run from the city, and in any case taxis in Lisbon were inexpensive and plentiful, so location-wise this was a perfectly good base to explore Lisbon.

The lobby, decorated with beautiful floral arrangements...



My room was spacious, new, and very well appointed.

[yflyer]

Very large bathroom...



I don't often encounter bidets in hotels these days!



Very nice toiletries...



There was a very beautiful indoor pool...



...and a well equipped gym.

There was outdoor seating and lounging on the patio outside the hotel, which saw a lot of use during my stay, on account of the beautiful weather for much of the week. (Pic from later in the week, when the sun was up.)

[yflyer]

After checking into hotel, I changed up and headed out for an orientation run of the city: 6km from the hotel to the Praca do Comercia, the main square in the old town by riverfront of the Tagus river, then another 4km along the waterfront to Ponte 25 de Abril.



It was overcast that afternoon when I headed out for my run towards the waterfront...



Lisbon is a hilly city, which made for good workouts. Fortunately from the hotel to the waterfront, it was largely downhill...

I passed streets with beautifully painted buildings...



About 2km into my run, I paused at the Observation Deck at Park Eduardo VII, which had a stunning view right down towards the historic city centre and Tagus River front...



I continued downhill along the wide pedestrian promenade alongside the park...



I passed the main Marquis de Pombal statue and roundabout...

Although bike sharing was available in Lisbon, a popular mode of transport, especially for visitors, was e-scooter sharing, with many of these parked along the streets in the main city area and waterfront promenades...



The pedestrian path took me to Avenida da Liberdade, the main high-end shopping street in Lisbon...



...and then to Restauradores Square...



...where I passed Fabrica da Nata, one of the more well known purveyors of what we in Singapore know as Portugese Egg Tarts...

[yflyer]

And then, at the 5km mark, I found myself jogging through the Baixa district, Lisbon's historic old town, with it's narrow streets, shops and restaurants...





I continued my run towards the waterfront, towards Praca do Comercio, or Commerce Square...



...and eventually arrived at the Praca do Comercio at the 6km mark of the run.





From Praca do Comercia, which was on the waterfront, by the Tagus River, I headed south along the waterfront.



The endpoint of my run, 4km away, was the Ponte de 25 Abril, a bridge that looked strikingly similar to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (The bridge was in fact, built by the company that built the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, and is painted in a similar colour, International Orange, as the Golden Gate Bridge).

As I ran south, the crowds thinned out, leaving only the occasional stroller, and other runners and cyclists...



The sun was setting, and it was getting late, and a little cold, but my target remained the Bridge.



I followed the cycling/foot path along the riverfront, which included several stretches where the track turned slightly inland to avoid buildings and port facilities along the waterfront, and eventually arrived at the Bridge.



And right under the bridge was a boat harbour and entertainment/restaurant complex known as Doca de Santo Amaro or simply Docas.

[yflyer]

I ended my run here, at the 10km mark, and took a stroll around the restaurants...



Lots of very interesting dining possibilities here!



I took a taxi back to my hotel to shower and change, but decided to head back to Docas for dinner later.

Overall, a very satisfying 10km run through the heart of Lisbon.

To put things in geographical context, here is another map showing the running route, starting at Hotel Corinthia, right down to the riverfront at Praca do Comercio, at the 6km mark, then heading south towards Docas and Ponte 25 de Abril, the bridge across the River Tagus. Also visible on the map are the Airport, and the other bridge to the north, the 17km long road bridge named Ponte Vasco de Gama.

[yflyer]

That evening, I headed back to Docas with a colleague, and dined at "5 Oceans", which specialised in fresh seafood...



This was a very popular restaurant...



We browsed the menu...

The day's recommendations...



Starters and fish dishes...



Fish and other seafood sold by weight, at very reasonable prices...



There were also token meat and vegetarian dishes on the menu, but I am guessing most diners were there for the seafood...

[yflyer]

Our waiter came by our table carrying a large platter of seafood for a short menu presentation...



Everything looked so good...how to decide?



We eventually decided on whole grilled Turbot, and not long after, an impressive looking specimen was brought to our table for inspection...



Yes, that would do...it looked incredible...

We also opted for simply cooked squid with olive oil to start...



...and we also ordered a half bottle of Portuguese white wine...



The wine was Planalto Vinho Branco Seco Reserva, a white wine from Duoro made with grape varietals that I was not familar with: 25% Viosinho, 20% Malvasia Fina, 15% Gouveio, 15% Arinto, 15% Codega, 5% Rabigato, 5% Moscatel...



This was a lovely wine, one of a whole list of Portuguese wines available...indeed the high quality and reasonable prices of the Portuguese wines we sampled on this trip was truly remarkable.

[yflyer]

Our turbot was portioned for 2 and served with vegetables and potatoes on the side...



Mmmm...the flesh was tender, meaty and delicious, with a very flavourful skin that added a very nice contrast to taste and texture.

The head of the turbot was also served separately on a plate for us to savour.



This was one of those restaurants which I would return to over and over again to sample different dishes...

It was also one of those places where it made sense to come in a group, so that a range of different dishes could be ordered.

Amazingly, we had space for dessert afterwards...



The Fofo de pau was quite delicious...



...as was the apple tart...



A glass of port to finish...





A lovely seafood meai in a very beautiful setting at Docas!

To be continued!

[CarbonMan]

Another great TR, yflyer, chock-filled with great pics. Looking forward to the rest!

[yflyer]

Another great TR, yflyer, chock-filled with great pics. Looking forward to the rest!

Thanks, CarbonMan! Next update will likely be 21/22 April...

[yflyer]

Continuing with the TR...

Later in the week I dined at IIIMPAR, a small but very popular and highly regarded restaurant on a quiet street not far from Marques de Pombal, and just west of the main Av. da Liberdade thoroughfare.





The restaurant served Portugese and European dishes in a very local, yet refined setting...



There was small wine room stocked with a huge array of wines...





And a large charcoal grill...



...where all manner of delectable looking meat and seafood were being prepared...



The menu looked exceedingly interesting, with both local starters and seafood, and very intriguing meat selections...there were so many dishes to sample that I actually ate there twice in the week, in order to sample some of the dishes which i did not get to try the first time.



The pics that follow are a selection of dishes we ate at IIIMPAR over two different evenings...

[yflyer]

Starters included cheese and cold cuts...



Salad with burrata cheese and tomato, all tasting ultra fresh and full of flavour...



Grilled octopus...



Black pudding with soft boiled egg...



My main course on the first evening was dry aged beef "Picanha"...



This came with a choice of two sides, one of which was Portugese-style creamy rice, with asparagus and egg...

The beef had very good flavour, and the rice tasted great as well...

On the second occasion I dined there, I sampled their signature tenderloin steak with egg and IIIMPAR sauce...



This was a unique dish with ultra tender beef topped with a soft boiled egg and an amazingly delicious sauce...a must-try creation...



I had this with a Portugese Syrah...

[yflyer]

My colleagues were into steak and decided to share a Tomahawk...



...which was a dish with great "shock and awe" value...



...which we paired with another Portugese Wine, Quinto do Pinto...



...which was a blend of different grape varietals, including local grapes such as Aragonez and Touriga Nacional...



Service in this restaurant was top notch, approaching fine dining standards for both cuisine and wine service, despite this being a fairly casual setting.

Our waiter was happy to give us more of the delicious IIIMPAR steak sauce to accompany the steaks and also gave us a spicy chilli pepper sauce as well to liven things up...



There wasn't much left of the Tomahawk by the time we were done...



Desserts available included IIIMPAR's version of Tiramisu...



For dessert on my first evening there, I could not resist sampling their fried ice cream...





I rounded off dinner on my second outing with Taylor's 10 year old Port...



A great restaurant that I would recommend to anyone visiting Lisbon!

[yflyer]

I headed for a couple of other runs while in Lisbon.

My second run retraced the route from my hotel to Praca do Comercio, by the Tagus riverfront, before proceeding along the riverbank to Ponte 25 de Abril and Docas, but on the second occasion, I continued for another 4+ km to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries), and Belem Tower, both major tourist attractions...



My route took me past El Corte Ingles, which, if visitors' websites and guides were to be believed, was the only department store in the city of Lisbon...



The pavements in Lisbon were all paved in a traditional, and beautiful, style of pavement, made of small stone blocks...



The route took me once gain to the observation deck at Park Eduardo VII...



...and downhill past the park, where many dog owners brought their pets to run around...



...past the large traffic roundabout at Marques de Pombal..



...and down Avenida da Liberdade, the main shopping street...



...lined with high end boutiques and stores...



...and into Baixa, the old town.