Lisbon: Just Her and I
Traveling alone with Ruya means less tourist stuff and more everyday living in a different place. It slows me down and lets me just be here. We walk, eat, visit parks, see a few new things. I do less tourist stuff because I need to do more mothering. That works well for me. I want the local experience. That is a simpler experience. Like watching waiters set up tables in the early morning when no-one else is really up. Or tracking pigeons through a cobbled road square. We are up way earlier than Lisboners. The journey becomes more about us connecting and less about seeing stuff.
I almost always book a place with a kitchen so we can eat breakfast and a few dinners at home. Toddlers are picky eaters so cooking at home means she will eat something nourishing. When out I try to go for known foods for her and something different for me. That way she gets choices. In Lisbon the best advice I have is find restaurants that have chalk board menu's. The menu should be different everyday. And the first item is always soup - sopa. Soup is a staple and there is always a veggie option. Every bowl of soup I had was delicious. We eat early, around 6pm, because I like to eat dinner with my daughter. In Lisbon dinner is eaten around 9pm. That meant we never had to wait for a table. The other staple food is bacalhau, a salty cod. I like salt so this fish was sumptuous for me and Ruya enjoyed it. Belém is where you will find the ultimate custard tart, but every cafe has one. It is another staple along with many other sweet baked goods. I am not into sugar so we just enjoyed looking at them. The custard tart though we had. It was sublime. Expresso is drunk throughout the day but we opted for steamed milk - a babychino. The food in Lisbon is down to earth, delicious and hearty. It is also, like most things in the city, cheap.
The first park we visited was the Parque Florestal de Monsanto, specifically for the Alvito playground. This is a huge multi level play area that seems very empty during the week. Ruya pretty much had it to herself and she loved it. She climbed stairs with handle bars made for her height, walked across bridges, through ropes, explored tunnels and explored different swings. This is well worth the effort. At the entrance there is a small hut where someone usually works and can call a taxi for you to go home. There are also buses but we went for the easy option of a taxi. The cab fair is very reasonable and the city is small.
My favourite area was Campo de Ourique. There is a lovely park nearby called Jardim da Estrela. It has ducks, large trees, a maze of pathways and a stone ground play area. There are two cafes within the park and the entire place breathes peace. Ten minutes by foot from there, going up the tree lined road, you find a run of stores dedicated to children. Lisbon children are well dressed and I can see why. The boutiques have hand made and elegant children's items. Great care is put into what children wear and use. There is a central square in this area with another park and beautiful cafes abound. We had scones - very hard not to submit to the wealth of sweet cakes - and hot milk at a cafe called RésVés. Abundant teas and a play area for children, made this spot ultra relaxing for mama.
On the one day that it rained non stop we went to Belém. This is the main tourist hub of museums and sight seeing. Our reason for being there was the pastel de nata. Antiga Confeitaria de Belém is the birth place of this sweet and where everyone goes. Skip the lengthy line and go inside to be seated. There is no wait and you get to enjoy the tart within ancient walls. Ruya poked her finger into the custard and decided it had the wrong texture. There was no getting her to eat it. So mama did, with extreme delight. I am not into sweets but I was surprised by the pure bliss I experienced. It is the perfect tart. From there we went to the Oceanario. The aquarium is top class and extensive. We did not finish it because we got fished out after a while. But Ruya had plenty of giggles as enormous fish swam past her. This is an excellent place to go when you need to be indoors.
Ruya and I both got new boots at a store that has been around for a hundred plus years - Lisbonense in the Baxia area. Ruya got the 'best' as the shop attendant said. A perfect pair of blue, leather boots. She wanted to go to bed with them on. These are the best children's boots I have seen so far. The Baxia area has plenty of street art that enthralled Ruya. A dance with a glass ball, a jazz band, a man blowing enormous bubbles and golden human statues. This is a very tourist area but we paid more attention to the performers and running up and down the cobbled roads.
The Portuguese seem to love children. They welcomed us into restaurants and did not blink an eye when Ruya had the occasional big emotional expression. People went out of their way to help me and I felt very secure traveling here on my own with a young child. Lisbon is warm in every way. No surprise that Ruya learned to recognise the shape of a heart here and kissed me for the first time.
