=j(oe) + (l)izz + travel
by this point in our trip (15 days in portugal; albufeira, porto as well as lisbon), we were already smitten by all of portugal’s offerings. the people, the food, the architecture, the graffiti, the desserts and the beaches. we heard from nadius that the town and beaches were beautiful so off we went… cascais is […]
Read More
previously an area that was used for manufacturing, lx factory on the southwest side of lisbon is home to some really shops, cafeterias and artistic studios ranging from design to marketing to actual studios. the area spans less than a city block and is a good place to catch a break from the busy streets […]
Read More
what to do in lisbon as a tourist? well the majority of the guides will tell you that timeout market is a top draw in terms of food. taking the trams/elevadors would be another. at the top of almost every guide we’ve read was to take the 28 tram which services the longest route in […]
Read More
Since our sampling of the most famous Portuguese tarts in Macau, we of course had to try them in their native land. They are known as pastel de nata and we ate a lot of them all for the sake of research of course. The stand out ones are listed below. Our first one we […]
Read More
One of my favourite dishes to make at home is red cooked pork belly. Once in a while I would make a trip to T&T to get all the ingredients and spend a Sunday afternoon making the dish. It’s my comfort food and it’s been a long time since I’ve made it. We managed to […]
Read More
our last night in porto brought us back to the hood of the cleric’s tower to a small restaurant called casa dos santo antonio. they specialize in portuguese tapas which are called petiscos. what intrigued us the most was how the food is ordered. it actually ‘isn’t’. you basically sit and await the next dish […]
Read More
our travel budget has seen a lot of ups and downs over the last four months, most notably when we arrived in hong kong as the number of flights and train rides have gone up drastically. we’ve been trying hard to stay on budget so the majority of our meals will be casual (99.9% of […]
Read More
after seeing virtually no art in albufeira and many large murals on the way from the airport to the train station in lisbon, i wasn’t sure what to expect in porto. from a relatively small and historically important city, i expected the streets to be ‘cleansed’ of any unwanted art, similar to what granada is […]
Read More
so we found ourselves in porto, another european city rich with history and as we were planning out our daily itineraries, both of us let out a collective sigh as it came time to decide which sights to see. i’m trying not to be jaded but it feels like we’ve seen so much in such […]
Read More
we arrived in porto after a nearly 8 hour travel day from albufeira (2.5 hour drive + 3 hour bus ride with some cab rides in between) and while we had just spent the better portion of a week sitting on beaches, are completely zonked for energy. with the exception of two really good bbq […]
Read More
I think the most picturesque beach we’ve been to so far is the Praia da Falesia. The red cliffs looming over the beach are so dramatic. Almost every shot is Instagram worthy. Here’s some of my favourite shots.
Read More
our first stop in portugal was to albufeira, a beach/resort town on the southern tip of portugal in a region called the algarve. the algarve is best known for their beaches and as such, sees a huge number of travellers from all over europe during the summer months. both haha and i really didn’t do […]
Read More
q. current home/addy where i stayed (neighbourhood) and how long a. lisbon (airbnb, baixa, 7 nights) q. favourite meal a. maybe the toughest week to recap for food. our lisbon stay involved: i) home cooked chinese meals for almost all dinners and most breakfast/lunches. white rice. saucy noodles. dumplings. KOBE! ii) a constant (but reasonable) […]
Read More
jojo: what do i like? -the thought of the original egg tart finding its way into my mouth at some point over the next 7 days -almost have our next 4-6 weeks of our travels planned out which include seeing my parents and two friends from vancouver, all in separate cities. fun! what do i […]
Read More
jojo: what do i like? -small, quaint and beautiful city. from the orange rooftops to the coloured & tiled facades to the street art to the cobblestone streets (as in the streets, not just the sidewalks), it’s so vibrant -cheap & casual food – we had 3 sandwich meals (as in steak, shaved beef and […]
Read More
q. current home/addy where i stayed (neighbourhood) and how long a. albufeira (airbnb, 4 nights), porto (airbnb, baixa, 3 nights) q. favourite meal a. flor dos congregados. restaurant has been open for 100+ years and still run by the latest generation of the same family. it wasn’t a particularly fancy dinner though the restaurant itself […]
Read More
jojo: what do i like? -small town with multiple beaches that are quite accessible by car or foot -accomodations and food are a tad cheaper than we’ve been used to lately especially since hong kong -high 20s for temperature and blue waters for miles. i can get used to this what do i dislike? -the […]
Read More