Hairdressers from MetroStudioCabeleireiro where I had my hair done this morningThe restaurants in the alleyways are starting to fill up for the lunch tradeLate afternoon we set off to meet our guide for the ‘Culinary Back Street Walking Tour’ which we had booked for this eveningWith the taxis still on strike it was a long walk from our hotel to Estrela Park, where we had arranged to meet our guideThank goodness for GPS on our mobile phones, as without it we would have easily become lostFinally we were not too far from our destinationWe meet Francisca Menano , our tour guide for this evening in Estrela Park. She firstly takes us to a local cafe and explains the Portuguese history on how through navigation spices etc were brought back which developed the wonderful flavours of Portugese food. She also tells us about the people and food culture of this area, where we will spend the next few hours on our Culinary Back Street Walking TourAt the cafe we sample some delightful pastries were flavoured with some wonderful spices We next visit a local park which is a popular meeting place for the people who live in the areaFrancesca was very informative and explained how people embraced the community culture of local parks such as this one we visitedThis evening there were many families enjoying the very warm weather bringing food, drinks, blankets and picnic baskets to the parkOur next stop is visiting the Basilica da Estrela across the road from Estrela ParkThe Basilica da Estrela is regarded as one of the most ornate churches of Lisbon with a detailed front facade and intricate marble patterns that line the interiorWe continue our walk through the local areas west of the city centre of LisbonWe arrive at a small local cafe/barIt is a popular meeting place for the local men in the areaHere we sample the owner’s traditionally made cherry liquorIn Lisbon many buildings are covered in beautifully patterned tilesThe more modern buildings are often painted in lovely pastel coloursOur next stop is visiting a local shop selling specialty foods and winesNo shortage of wine sold here at Adega e Sabores de PortugalTime to sample some of the local wineThe locally produced cheeses were really deliciousWe next visit Aloma Bakery which specialises in the delicious Pastel de Nata, custards tartsThese custard tarts are very well known in LisbonYum!!Aloma has also a good selection of other pastries and drinksWe next arrive at Restaurante Europa CervejariaThere is excellent fresh fish and meat on displayWe sample some local white wineA number of dishes arrive at the table including this very tasty broad beans dishA tasty mixture of different types of sausagesA healthy chickpea salad We each receive a sardine to sampleThe food and the friendly service was fabulous at the EuropaThe next stop for us is a small casual restaurant which specialises in fast foodA popular dish on the menu here is the steak sandwich with chips We next visit an old building which houses a restaurant on the upper floor called Padaria do PovoPadaria do Povo is an inexpensive restaurant that was full of localsWe tried the wonderfully flavoured chicken curryOur final visit on the Culinary Backstreet Walking Tour is to Mercado de Campo de Ourique, which is a hip urban market with food stalls and barsWe arrived here at the Mercado quite late The restaurant was still quite busy Lots of speciality foods for sale hereIce cream time!!A selfie to finish a fabulous evening with tour guide Francesca
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