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My co-workers chose Madeira, Portugal as a destination to celebrate a project success and chose Thanksgiving week to travel. There was the element of surprise  and excitement in going to new places. Madeira is an archipelago, situated in the north Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Africa. From San Francisco to Madeira,  we took the non-stop TAP AIR Portugal flight to Lisbon (Lisboa), stop over Lisbon for two days, then took a short flight to Funchal, the capital of Madeira, and joined the co-workers for two and a half days on the island.  

My impression with Portugal went way back to the high school years, when I studied in History the Portugal explorers and their colonization.  Then there is Macau which is the neighboring city of Hong Kong which I grew up in. Macau has a historical role for Portugal, with its handover to China in 1999 concluding the arguably longest-lived Porguese empire.  And I enjoy Portuguese pork chop bun (bifanas) served In Maxim’s fast food, the Portuguese egg tart (Pasteis De Nata) that has almost grown to the same popularity as the Hong Kong style egg tart.

Waiting for the departure from SFO, I alternately learned about the century-long political struggles of Portugal; and read the current news on Hong Kong political unrest; and unexpectedly, I find the Portugal history can be of good reference to the HongKongers. 

Lisboa, a taste of Portugal

After 12 hours of flight, we arrived in Lisbon in the early afternoon, with still time to do some sight-seeing.   30 minutes of Uber ride got us to Belem and Pasteis de Belem, the origin of Portuguese egg tart.  There was a queue inside and a queue outside, we decided to go with the inside and shorter queue so we could sit down to enjoy the tart with a drink. The inside is a look-alike of the many local cafes in Hong Kong. Its setting is plain, with some blue tiles reminding us that we are in Portugal, and the servers are busy.  I like its local feel, obviously both locals and tourists come here for the gourmet pastry. The tart crust is so crisp that it is like eating crispy chips, with rich, warm and delicious cream custard on top. We finished three tarts in no time. I could be eating this tart everyday and still love them. As the recipe is said to be from the nearby Jerónimos Monastery, may be the monastery scholars used to eat this tart everyday.  Inside the monastery is a large open space surrounded by corridors with spider vault ceiling atop.   We strolled around in the open space and the two levels overlooking the open space, reminiscing how life was a few hundred years ago.  We braved the strong wind as we strolled to the monument of Discovery and Tower of Belem, situated right next to the ocean front.

Lisbon reminds me much of San Francisco.  The April 25 bridge is an obscure version of Golden Gate Bridge; and the TRAM 28 is a look-alike of the cable car, the ferry ride to Cacilhas are not that different from the ferry ride to Sausalito, not to mention the steep streets that make driving a challenge.  Aside from the similarity, Lisbon is quite a charming city on its own. I enjoyed its Fado show and of course the Portuguese gourmets.  Besides the Pasteis De Nata, we also went to Casa Das Bifanas for its pork chop bun, its taste was good but could not beat my memory of the Pork Chop Bun in Hong Kong.   We tried the grilled sardines and ray fish soup in a nice oceanfront restaurant on Cacilhas overlooking April 25 bridge. We drank wine often in Portugal, in its pairing with Pasteis De Nata, or pairing with cod croquettes.  

Lisbon is a modest city with little fashion nor luxury in the air.  As a tourist, Lisbon feels more homely and relaxed, more affordable, is less touristy,  has less of the hustle and bustle of a big city, has none of the snobbishness of some top cities.   

If there is one thing I remember the most about Lisbon, it maybe the Pasteis De Belem (Pasteis De Nata) but Lisbon has so much more charm to offer.

Madeira, what a beautiful island

Less than two hours of flight from Lisbon, Madeira is beautiful and is a paradise for hikers.  Our Uber driver from airport gave us a quick overview of things-to-do on the island. Weeks after surgery, I could not join my co-workers for the strenuous hiking activities up the mountain.  That gave us a day with no scheduled activities. Few things can beat the satisfaction of a delicious hotel buffet breakfast overlooking the Atlantic ocean. After breakfast, my husband and I took an 2-hour easy stroll at levada (PR11) Vereda dos Balcoes.  With the wet weather, the altitude and the fog, the supposingly magnificent view turned into mostly obscured view; at the same time, the greenery was even more lush, and offered a different beauty of nature.  The trail is a loop and at the end, we were back to the start. As we waited for the bus, we treated ourselves with a Poncha, a local cocktail of strong wine, honey and lemon. We spared the afternoon In Funchal, enjoyed more shopping and the local gourmet including the caco bread, and the fresh-off-the-wok chestnut.  

I did not join the co-workers for the short 4-hour hike the next day.  After a beautiful sunrise, and another hearty buffet breakfast, my husband and I strolled to the nearby CR7 (Ronaldo) museum. Madeira is the birthplace of the famous soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.  The museum visit was quite enjoyable, certainly a good place to get souvenirs for soccer fans, I got a bottle of wine and a kids’ T shirt for my grand-nephew. I rejoined my co-workers in a nice multi-course Portuguese lunch before a guided city tours to the local church and local markets.   The afternoon ended with the highlight of a long cable car ride up the hill followed by a thrilling tobogganing down the sloppy roads. 

Next day, we had to meet up at 2am to catch an early flight to Lisbon, before the long 12-hour flight back to San Francisco.   Even though it was somewhat painful to wait up at this ungodly hour, our Warsaw tourist guide made arrangements with the hotel to serve us an off-the-hour breakfast.

Madeira gave us an amazing time, and I long to be back to the island for its levada, its food & wine, and its beauty. 

For more of this trip, please also read  a taste of Portugal charm.