Portugal Day 1 - Okay, technically Day 2

I woke up to Frank (pronounced: Fronk) saying "Hello, time to wake up"... can you ask for a better wake up call than that?

RRR, my still-swollen eyeball and I got up early and went for a run along the boardwalk on the beach, up to the main road and down along the line of hotels, admiring the beauty of the area. This stop has been the highlight of the trip so far for me and I was really bummed that we didn't have more time to spend in Praia de la Rocha.

As depressing as my swollen eye and the thought of leaving the Algarve was - there was at least some good news to be had this morning since we learned via email that we were able to move our Delta flight back one day, giving us an extra day in Madrid!

Breakfast at the Vila Lido was pretty nice. We sat outside and enjoyed a healthy serving of fresh fruit, orange juice, rolls, croissants and some very sweet cakes (my Dad would have been in his glory!). The coffee was pretty good too, but not as good as the cafe con leche we had in Spain.

After we ate, we packed up and headed to the Faro airport to return the rental car. We hopped into the Avis shuttle, headed to the airport, jumped into two cabs and went to the Faro train station. Sounds like a lot of transportation? It was! But we were becoming experts in juggling luggage, planes, trains and automobiles.

We hit the ticket counter and after some confusion got our tickets and boarded the train for Lisbon. It was roomier than the Spanish trains but first class service was much better in Spain. After splitting a suspect ham sandwich and Diet Coke with RRR it was time for a nap. I needed my energy for Lisbon!

We arrived without incident and checked into our hotel, the Holiday Inn which was surprisingly pretty decent. We cleaned up and got ready for dinner.

Tonight's meal was at Bica do Sapato, a modern Portuguese restaurant part owned by John Malkovich. It was in a remote part of town near the Santa Appolonia train station that was reminiscent of a run down South Street Seaport-meets-the-piers-on-the-West-Side- Highway. Inside the restaurant, the decor was modern with funky accents and house music provided the evening's soundtrack.

I ordered the codfish cakes as a starter and shoulder of suckling pig for my main course. Our meal began with some microgreens and an icy light lemon-basil sorbet to cleanse our palates.

The codfish came in a wax-sealed roll of paper and the interesting presentation continued inside with four small filo lined tarts holding the whipped cod. One seemed to have garbanzos, another tomato, another with mushroom and yet another with a mixture of herbs.

When the pig arrived tableside, I immediately smelled the fresh rosemary. While it was not as succulent as the pig in Segovia, it was quite good. The skin was crisp with a small glistening layer of fat underneath and lots of tender stringy meat. At this point, my dining companions were looking at me as a bit of a pork barbarian, however, that didn't stop them from poking into my dish for pieces of the juicy pig. The palate was rounded out by some crisp potato slices, spinach and broccoli (how exciting! more greens!).

We finished our meal with our usual helping of ice cream. This time it was cinnamon and Madagascar vanilla in a sweet cone-like bowl. A plate of pineapple passed by and we were swayed by our lack of fruit and ordered that as well. Definitely one of our more expensive meals but a nice departure from the traditional Spanish and Portuguese fare we've been having during our trip. As we were leaving, the main floor of the restaurant was getting crowded and I'm sure the upstairs sushi bar would start to be crowded as well. Once again, the city's coming alive as we are going to bed.

Oh well, we need to be rested for tomorrow's adventure... a day trip to Sintra!