Cork and old Trams in Lisbon, Portugal

There is an INSANE amount of cork products in Portugal. I finally did research because I was so confused why every corner shop sold cork bags, etc. and found out that Portugal produces about half the world's output of commercial cork, and its exports over recent years have accounted for about 70 percent of world trade.

Views from São Jorge Castle

Aside from all the crazy cork stores, there's so many things that define Lisbon.

My weekend trip to Lisbon was incredible; I didn't realize how diverse and unique this city is. Between the hilly neighborhoods and scenic roads with old tram lines, views overlooking the red-roof part of the city, the old Alfama neighborhood and lively strip of bars in Bairro Alto, Lisbon has so many components that make it stand apart from other cities.

Our first night included pouring rain, 8 euro umbrellas from a man selling them to desperate travelers, Restaurante Embaixada Portuguesa (Amazing meat and cheese platters, cocktails, free peanuts), and a trip to Bairro Alto to check out the different themed bars and clubs. The street of bars was packed to the brim with people stumbling out of clubs left and right, and lines wrapping around hordes of people to get into them.

The next day we went to Feira da Ladra which was a huge secondhand market in the hills -- offered very eclectic mix of goods and was exciting to get lost in for an hour or so. We hit Mercado da la Ribeira for lunch (Time Out Market Lisbon in English) and had an 8 mini-course meal from Marlene Vieira's restaurant. This market was amazing and reminded me a little of Chelsea Market in NYC because there were a lot of small restaurants with really interesting and unique cuisines.

Wandering around the very different neighborhoods was enjoyable within itself; we ended up stopping into a small tapas bar with craft Portuguese beers, ran into one of the many "miradouros" or "viewpoints" overlooking the city, and shopped along Rua do Carmo.

The highlight of this weekend was no doubt our experience at Gin Lovers and Less. This restaurant was unreal... It's located inside the courtyard of the Ribeiro da Cunha Palace and is shared between the bar of "Gin Lovers" and the restaurant of Miguel Castro e Silva called "Less". The bar must have had at least a hundred different gin and tonic infusions and the dinner was absolutely pristine. My friend got a gin and tonic with grapefruit and green tea and I got one with orange and cloves. For dinner we had sea bass tartare with beet nut pesto, lemon risotto with grilled scallops and pumpkin ravioli. We must have reflected and talked about this dinner at least ten times afterwards... BEST dining experience of my life!

Love you Lisbon <3

Adorable Bartender at Gin Lovers