The first month in my new city it is like I am dating the city. I am getting to know it and see how I relate to it and it to me. Then, magically, as the second month begins, I am no longer dating…I am falling in love with my city. Every time! Lisbon is so easy to love.

I return from the Douro Valley on September 2 ready to get started on my second glorious month in Lisbon. If you read my last post, you know it was a wonderful trip with a minor footnote that the second day in the Douro, I was stung by a bee. No biggie..right? No biggie unless you are one of the people who develop the rare complication called Bee Serum Sickness. Yup. I am that rare person. Before you read on—don’t be alarmed. I’m pretty much back to normal now. But let’s get the bad out of the way quickly so we can get to the good.

Whenever I go on a Shirleyfest, I always find out from locals where is the best private clinic and hospital. I learned that lesson many Shirleyfests ago in Melbourne when I picked out of a phone book a very respectable sounding hospital called Royal Melbourne Hospital. Unfortunately, they misdiagnosed a broken pelvis that I had suffered in a fall. Turns out that was not the best hospital in Melbourne, despite the name. So now I always check before I leave home. Here in Lisbon it was unanimous among my friends: Cuf Tejo is the best place to go.

Fortunately, my good friend Ivan accompanies me, because it is quite a system to get seen by a doctor. He speaks perfect Portuguese and it all works out. Sorta….I am properly diagnosed and given a prescription for various pills which Ivan helps me get at the pharmacy. Unfortunately, my case is so severe that the pills are not sufficient. Back I go to the hospital 3 days later. I’m so proud of myself that I am working the system alone, until my doctor becomes quite concerned and insists that I go to another floor and be seen by a specialist…immediately.

I did less good with solo navigation on that, but ultimately it works out and 11 new pills are prescribed. I go back to the same pharmacist who remembers me and fills everything.

That’s the end of the September Surprises: Bad

Now September Surprises: Good

Not to be deterred by a rare illness, I decide to forge ahead and discover new hidden gems in Lisbon this week. I find many!

Wednesday: I walk through Estrela Park to stroll the neighborhood known as Lapa. Pastel colored buildings, chic design stores and abandoned embassies all gather together.

At the end of the road to the river stands the Museum National de Arte Antiga (The National Museum of Ancient Art). Founded in 1884, with 40,000 items spanning a vast collection, it is one of the most visited museums in Portugal. It is housed in a stunning building that was the former residence of the Marquis of Pombal. I decide to have lunch in their beautiful restaurant that has a patio overlooking the river and their Golden Gate Bridge.

Then I start roaming. Paintings, ceramics, gold and silver are all carefully displayed.

I stand and watch reconstruction being done on one painting for a long time.

I ask one of the guards what is her favorite work in the museum. “Oh, Inferno”, she says quickly. I find the painting and I must say, it wouldn’t be my favorite, but it was compelling!

Since I am out, I decide to try a trick I read about in the New York Times. All the tourist want to ride the 28E tram which makes a big circle around Lisbon. NYT mentioned that the 12E does the same thing and practically no one knows this and so it is very uncrowded. Let’s see.

Here is the big line to get on the Tram 28E.

Turns out the the venerable New York Times is right. The 12E is empty. I love my ride on the 12E.

Enough running around for now, I see that my favorite place Dear Breakfast is still open, so I head there for an iced coffee and fruit bowl. Ahhhh.

Thursday: There is a pastry shop called Casa San Miguel that calls itself “National Gastronic Archeology”. It is in the Alfama district and it is basically a living museum of Portuguese pastries.

All the regional pastries of Portugal are on display in a jewel box of a display case. I head over early in the morning as I know it gets crowded as people wake up. I talk with the owner who explains some of the different ways the Portuguese regions make their pastries. Everything here is made in-house from carefully guarded recipes.

I start with a coffee and the Travesseiro pastry from Sintra.

I have no willpower and leave with a box of three other pastries: The Pastel borallo (chickpeas, lemon and cinnamon), Pastel nata Lisboa (their own recipe—less sweet than other places) and the Bolinho de Tamara (date ball).

I need to walk! I decide to walk to Belém along the water. It is a very very long walk. I love the views along the way. (I can’t go entirely along the water but I do mostly).

Now I want to go to the Contemporary Art Museum in Belém. It is called MAC/CCB.

This museum does one of the best jobs I have ever seen of conveying what was going in history at the time the art was being created. It is remarkable that after a long time in the museum, I feel I have taken a crash course in both history and art! A lot of my favorite artists are on display and I learn of artists I didn’t know before.

Tonight I have a reservation at Mercairia do Sécola. This tiny restaurant is run by Paulo and Fernanda, husband and wife, devoted to the rustic comfort food of Portugal.

My friend, Catarina, joins me. We start with the traditional dried tuna with salad, orange, almond and toasted bread with tomatoes. Paulo pours a green wine that goes perfectly with the dish.

Next, Catarina chooses the marinated rabbit, cabbage and chestnuts and bacon and sweet potatoes.

I pick the octopus in olive oil with sweet potatoes and greens. Paulo chooses for us a red wine from the Douro.

We are not greedy and split one dessert.

Catarina says this as close to her grandmother’s food as she has ever had in Portugal.

Friday: Friday morning I am not well so it is the day I have to back to the hospital, which I have described above. The good news is that once I finish all that, Ivan and I head to the Atlantic Ocean. We drive to Praia Grande (Big Beach). It is a glorious day and there is a surfing contest going on.

Ivan has reserved at Bar do Fundo and we enjoy fish caught nearby and grilled and then fillet to perfection.

Saturday: Today I head across the river to meet a new friend, Karin. The ferry boat leaves form Belém and is an 8 minute beautiful ride across the water.

Karin works at the Dutch embassy and lives with her family in Costa do Caparica. This is a beautiful seaside town. Another new friend, Annemarie, visiting from Holland, joins us and for a while, Daniel, Karin’s son stays with us. We go for coffee at the neighborhood kiosk before strolling on the beach.

Then Karin suggests a forest hike to another beach. Off we go trudging through the forest, until we come to another beautiful beach.

Of course there is a darling restaurant just waiting for us to have a nice salad.

It is amazing that three people who did not know each other at all can have so much in common and so much to talk about. I take the 4:00 pm boat back to my side of the river with Annemarie and we agree to meet up later in the week.

Tonight I have no dinner reservation, so I decide to walk up to this pretty street near my apartment and see what happens. I am standing outside the Michelin restaurant Tapisco when the maître d’ notices me. I ask if there is any possibility for me to eat there without a reservation tonight. “But of course,” he says, “you must.” The night turns into a party as I am seated first next to Sam from London, a self-professed foodie and we dissect all the dishes and ingredients together. We order some delicious items.

Then on my right comes John and Patrick, a wonderful father and son from the US. John is keen to start something like Shirleyfest with his wife in the next year, so of course we talk for a long time about the philosophy of that. Patrick is off to race Formula race cars in the morning in another part of Portugal and he shows us videos of his racing which terrifies and thrills me. As I pay my bill, the manager, Bruno, tells me that since I live nearby, I must come back often and try all the things I didn’t get to tonight. Ok…I will!

And please do not judge me for stopping at the artisanal gelato shop afterwards. It was a long walk back home.

Sunday: I want to go to the English mass at The Church of the Madalena, a historic church originally constructed in 1164. First though, I decide to walk to the rooftop Lumi for coffee. It is difficult to figure out how to get access, but I do and then I see a man who is also confused so I help him. When I get there, the staff says the place is now closed, except if you are staying at the hotel associated with the restaurant. My good luck, my new friend, Jeff, that I helped with the elevator, is staying there! He asks me to join him and we have coffee and a great conversation before I take off for mass. The views from Lumi are wonderful.

I am so glad I went to this mass. It is September 8, the birthday of the Virgin Mary, so the priest gives everyone a candle and then we go up and place them in front of her.

The church is packed with regulars and they have a full and robust musical group of parishioners, which is just wonderful. Afterwards, I want to try out this lunch spot I read about called Chapitô a mesa. It is super cool with wonderful views.

I talk to the manager, Felipe, who after I finish takes me up to a panoramic restaurant they also operate that is open for dinner. He invites me to come back some night to enjoy their dinner and magnificent view. I will. I stroll though my neighborhood park where a little Sunday market is happening.

Nick is back from London today, so we agree to meet at our local wine bar, Pinot Bar de Vinho. I get to hear about his interesting, cultural experiences in London in the past week. I love the friendly staff at Pinot Bar, Jens and David. We enjoy some light courses and call it a day.

So my week back from the Douro was filled with hidden gems waiting for me to uncover them. I think there are plenty more September treasures to be found. I hope you follow along with me as I excavate for them.