First Day in Lisbon, Portugal

First Meal:

After landing and dropping off our luggage at the apartment we were off to find lunch. We walked a short distance down the road to Avenida de Liberdade to find our first meal in Portugal. We chose a well-known seafood restaurant named Ribadouro, where you can pick your own live lobster right out of huge aquariums out front (see above).

We ordered a beef dish, garlic prawns and omelettes for our lunch and everything was a hit except the omelettes. Our girls were in the mood for breakfast foods, because their bodies were still on US time. The problem was, their taste buds were expecting a typical American style omelette, but the texture and taste of the eggs were not quite what the girls where accustomed to. This was a learning experience and a teaching moment for all involved. It was good for them to give it a try, but also to understand that things may taste very different than that we are use to at home. The kids are adventurous eaters, so they all did very good trying new things and finding foods they enjoyed during our time in Portugal.

Otherwise, the other two dishes were a big hit for the rest of us. We usually try a couple different dishes and share, but in this case honestly the prawns paired with rice and broccolini were the big crowd pleasers. The prawns were AMAZING, let me tell you! They were perfectly prepared in this robust  garlic and olive oil combination. You can't see from the pictures, but we would take the extra  and drizzle it over the rice then place the prawns on top. I couldn't see any seasoning on the prawn at all and it was baffling, so I have to guess that all the flavor came from how the prawns were cooked in the fresh garlic and flavorful olive oil. I didn't try the beef and vegetable dish, but my husband and son loved it.

I chose Ribadouro with the hopes of enjoying some fresh, delicious seafood dishes and I was so satisfied with my decision that we visited more than once during our time in Lisbon. The restaurant  was a little on the pricey side, but they have a huge selection of seafood options that you can choose from and combine into platters of any size. We splurged on some meals from time to time during our vacation, but in general our meals in Portugal were very reasonably priced and that really helped us keep our budget in check.

Exploring on Our Own Day 1:

After lunch we walked along the wide tree-lined Avenida de Liberdade, which is said to be fashioned after Paris' Champs-Elysees lined with shops, hotels, monuments and restaurants. We enjoyed window shopping, taking pictures and admiring the awe inspiring statues.

During our walk we stopped to take these pictures. We spent the better part of the afternoon freely wandering and exploring Lisbon. It was a wonderful way to acclimate to our new environment because we were all jet-legged, but it was important to stay awake and adjust to our new time zone. Keep in mind, on vacation it's important to have time that is not scheduled so you don't feel overwhelmed, especially on your first day in a new place. We had a great family day, saved a few bucks by sightseeing on our own the first day and I have so much more to share with you guys about all the other cool things we did during our time in Portugal. Come back next week to learn about our trip to Sintra!