Sunday, Bloody Mary Sunday

The Quest continues in a new city. Figuring our chances of finding a Bloody Mary were better in the more touristy Commercial Plaza area downtown, we rode a packed 28 tram down the hill for exploration.

It was late morning, and the tourist restaurants in the pedestrian promenades behind the Commercial Plaza were all setting out their al fresco tables and their oversized menus depicting photos of their dishes. We inquired at several establishments, most of which advertised cocktails. But when the response to the request for a Bloody Mary was met with a blank stare, we moved on. And on some more.

Finally we walked back to the square itself, the nexus of tourists where scores of hopefuls wait to hop aboard the 15 tram to Belem. There we hit pay dirt at the first place we stopped, the Aura right on the corner of the plaza. The bartender there, an animated sort who spent a good deal of his time railing at the young waiters, prepared our drinks expertly, although missing some key ingredients like Worchester sauce and horseradish. Nonetheless, our drinks were tart with lots of citrus and quite tasty for a Sunday morning in Lisbon, even if a bit pricey at nine euros each.

sunday-bloody-mary
Ah, Sunday services.

Now fortified, we walked back through the pedestrian promenades for lunch. Lynn had a hankering for Italian food, so we found a restaurant that featured the world’s ubiquitous dish, pizza.

restaurant-rule-violations
We knew better, but the lure of pizza…

Lunch was dreadful. What were we thinking?

We ordered fried calamari to go with the pizza. The calamari came out with more breading that squid, obviously food service product, and the pizza was not much better. We had violated every one of our own rules of tourist dining:

  1. Don’t eat where they show photos of the food.
  2. Don’t eat where a waiter stands outside the restaurant and hustles you to the sidewalk tables.
  3. Don’t eat where the menu is larger than the Manhattan telephone book.

We did and we paid the price. At least the beer was cold.

 

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