Hello my favorite!

Let’s dive into more Portugal + easy + flow goodness, shall we? 😍

Sooo on my last post I shared with you how I decided to really drop any kind of guilt or perception that while traveling things are supposed to be in a certain way.

I decided to ‘wing it’ and not plan anything at all — drop all the shoulds + rules and trust that all the goodness I wanted would find me no matter what.

I break it all down in WAY more details on my previous post, that you can read here.

Now, following THAT juicy flow, of course, I have another story of an unexpected goodness falling on my lap just like that. 😍

Casually walking about, without any plans {but of course} and feeling hungry, I was thinking to myself…

💭 “Well, this is THE place to have some good Bolinhos de Bacalhau {as I know them as} or Pastéis de Bacalhau {as their actual name is} or Salt Cod Fritters {as google tells me is the name in english}

I randomly walked by a restaurant that said “authentic Portuguese cuisine” in one of the banners. And as the menu was in a stand outside I started peeking at it just to make sure they had what I was looking for. I was crrrraaaving those bolinhos! {pastéis, fritters 😅🥮}

🤔 Extremely intrigued and shocked to NOT find them under the appetizers I was about to turn around and leave when one of the guys from the restaurant approached me.

I explained what I was looking for.

Picking up on my accent right away, he gave me a broad smile and said:

🤵🏻‍♂️”ah yes! Of course we have those! In your country they are called ‘bolinhos’. Here we call them ‘pastéis’ – here they are.”

And pointed to where it was in the menu. {Not the appetizers section 🫠}

I’m not going to lie, I was a tad embarrassed to forget that ‘we speak the same language but we don’t speak the same language’ and that it hadn’t even crossed my mind the slight possibility that down there in Brasil we call one my favorite appetizers, by the wrong name and that it is NOT – in fact – an appetizer in its own country of origin 🫠

As if I didn’t know that in Brasil, another favorite of mine called “Torta Holandesa” {meaning Dutch Pie} is non-existent in Holland, and that “Arroz à Grega” {Greek Style Rice} and “Limonada Suíça” {Swiss Limeade} are no where to be found neither in Greece nor in Switzerland.

So cultural differences slammed in my face {as well as the realization that I was being THAT kind of tourist 🥴}, I then regrouped and gladly took the food tour he was giving me through the menu.

And then my fave, what does he move on to tell me?

That this restaurant, that one I was right there, is THE restaurant where no other than…

Fernando Pessoa

THE one and only Portuguese poet

would come to smoke a cigarette, sip on coffee and… write!

😭

AND this “one guy from the restaurant” that came to talk to me at the door was actually the owner of the restaurant…

AND he decided to do a full walkthrough of the restaurant, showing me all the relevant pictures and memorabilia around this remarkable historic figure:

and then….

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

He showed me the exact table Fernando Pessoa used to sit and hang out:

Turns out this place is one of the oldest cafes in Lisbon - called Café Martinho da Arcada - and it is known for having hosted all those famous writers and intellectuals with that one reserved spot where F. Pessoa used to use.

⭐️ Now, my love I knew nothing about all that, prior to finding the place {I was just looking for cod fritters/pastéis de bacalhau, remember? 😅} and I was dazzled, wide-eyed like a kid in a candy store not only because of who and what I was being presented to, but the completely unexpectedness of the entire situation.

💎 This trip I intentionally set myself to trust that what I was looking for — history, nature and a sense of adventure and newness — would find me no matter what I did

I did not plan anything on this trip at all.

It didn’t even occur to me to go look up where did the cool writer kids used to hang out back in the days and check if this hypothetical place is even available for visitors.

AND even if I *did* try to plan it, how could I have the best star treatment and walkthrough of the place that just the establishment owner could give me because of his love and care for all that it encompasses? 😍

Yeah, definitely couldn’t plan such an experience even if I tried ⭐️

To top it all off I ended up eating the bestest, most flaky and delicious Pastéis de Bacalhau I’ve ever had in my life 😍

So my love, all this juicy dazzle inducing story to tell you that truly we are in charge.

The way we perceive things snowballs and piles up on top of itself. And... to make it all even better -- we get to choose what we perceive and the meaning they have to us.

I’ve documented *most* of my flowy-in-the-moment Portugal moments in my Stories on my new IG account.

The São Jorge Castle {with the cute peacocks}, the Initiation Well and the Monserrate Castle in Sintra are jaw-drapping gorgeous!

They are all sitting pretty in my Highlights now.

AND don’t forget to give me a follow, ya? 🫶🏼To help grow the channel. Those initial ones are always so important! 🫂

Click right here to see my IG or the image below👇🏼

Many Smooches!