Evenings and eating out

The great thing about spending fall in Lisbon is that the summer lasts so much longer than back home. While Finland is getting cooler and rainier by the day, Lisboetas are still treated with 30 degree weather - they tell me that if we are lucky, perfect beach weather will last until the end of October. The only time you feel that colder times are approaching is during the nights. While one night is as warm as daytime, the next night can be extremely cold and windy. You can't really tell how the temperature will be in the evening until the sun has set, so chances are you will either wear too much and be sweaty the entire night, or you are freezing because you decided that wearing a skirt and no jacket would be the best idea.

Friends and I have been out and about enjoying the evenings and night life in Lisbon quite a bit. Evenings tend to start quite late and people head to dinner after 9 pm. After a slow, plentiful dinner we have often headed to the Bairro Alto area around 11 pm, but when people have started to make their move towards clubs at 2 am to 3 am I am usually tired enough to just head home. Late nights that last until morning are a thing that I'm really struggling with getting used to, however in the morning both my wallet and not-so-hurting head usually feel quite happy about it.

What is especially nice here in Portugal is the price of eating out. While in Finland eating out is a seldom treat that doesn't necessarily fit into a student's weekly budget, here we have been able to try several different types of places in the past weeks. I have had everything from pastas to all-you-can-eat sushi (including drinks, for 15€... amazing!) and have also gotten to test quite many local specialties.

Arroz de Polvo, rice with octopus

Some have also tried steak - it often comes with an egg on top.

Before coming to Lisbon I heard that seafood is a big part of the Portuguese cuisine. It got me quite excited as I'm a true seafood lover - if it is available on a menu, I have a tough time choosing anything else. Many local Portuguese dishes contain fish, prawns, octopus or other types of seafood and I have been eager to try a variety of them. Especially fish dishes and octopus have been excellent! Some other dishes such as açorda de camarão, bread soup with prawns, have on the other hand left me slightly confused. That must be a cultural thing though - some foods just seem strange if you aren't used to them, and this I'm quite aware of since I come from the land of mämmi and lihapiirakka. But for sure I will continue the search for more great local Portuguese dishes and hopefully soon I'll be able to recommend places!

Açorda de Camarão before the waiter did his thing...

... and after when it was ready for me to eat.