When Elsa provided the orientation to our apartment neighborhood on Monday, one of the places she mentioned was Mú Gelato Italiano. Any place which serves ice cream is immediately on my radar, and while it was closed by the time we arrived Monday, the break after our food tour provided the perfect chance for a visit.
Mú is conveniently located across from a park, and both the ice cream shop and park are within 5 minutes of our place. The older kids were possibly more excited about the park than the ice cream, but we took Eilidh along for the two-stop trip while Amanda and Cassy relaxed in the apartment.
Noah, Emmie, and I ordered the smallest size on the menu, which allows for a single flavor when served on a cone, or two when served in a dish. Noah opted for the cone and wisely chose Oreo; Emmie decided upon a dish but only one flavor, salted caramel. I tried a mix of chocolate ice cream and lemon sorbet.
A look at a few of the flavors in rotation at Mú.
The Oreo may have been the start of the batch, and Emmie preferred my chocolate to her salted caramel. Eilidh was enjoying the lemon, but when I gave her a bite of my chocolate, it went right out of her mouth and onto her shirt.
After ice cream, it was time for the park, something Noah and Emmie had been looking forward to since Elsa had told them about the park the night before. Eilidh enjoyed her ride on the swing but had nearly as much fun standing and observing her siblings and other kids play in the park. Noah and Emmie found the 20-minute stop a nice retrieve from our typical vacation activities.
We had a multi-faceted plan for the evening including a stop at a store which sold Fjallraven backpacks like we’d purchased for Noah in Berlin. Cassy wanted to buy one for her upcoming school year, and we were in search of one of the mini backpacks to use for Eilidh’s medical supplies. Both objectives were met, plus we swung in an H&M store for a few things before a bus ride to the suburban Lisbon to give Cassy her first IKEA experience.
The kids loved running down the big hill toward the closest Metro station in Lisbon.
Intendente is the closest Metro station to our Lisbon apartment.
Eilidh posed by the 4th-floor sign (representing her age) with the My Little Pony dresses we purchased for her at H&M.
Cassy double-checks her plum backpack before buying at the Sky Walker store in Lisbon’s Baixa Chiado neighborhood.
Cassy and Noah sport matching backpacks as they walk from the Sky Walker store to the bus stop for our ride to IKEA.
Once our shopping was complete, we didn’t have to wait long for the 714 bus which according to Google Maps would take us within a few minutes IKEA, where we planned to shop and eat supper. Fifteen minutes in, we’d conquered little territory relative to the distance shown in the Google app, and in my quick reading of the Portuguese language 714 bus guide, I wasn’t positive we’d actually make it to the IKEA, even if we continued riding the bus.
So, when our bus took us by the famous Pasteis de Belém, I decided to call an audible with our evening plans. Instead of Swedish meatballs from the Lisbon IKEA cafeteria, we would have Portugal’s most famous pastry for dinner.
The recipe for the Belém pastries, which are best described as a custard tart, supposedly dates to 1837 with no changes made in the past 180 years. There are also apparently only a handful of workers who know the recipe for the custard filling which is a part of the 20,000-plus pastries made each day.
As we were turning the dessert into our dinner, we sought out a table within the massive seating area. It took a few minutes to place our order, but once it was in, the 8 Belém pastries were quickly delivered to our table. Cinnamon and powdered sugar were available at our table, and Noah and Emmie generously sprinkled both toppings on their pastries. All in all, we liked them well enough to order another round!
Eilidh didn’t eat any custard, but enjoyed a few pieces of crust!
Noah wanted a picture in front of the blue the tile inside the pastry shop.
Our final stop of the night was the nearby Starbucks, where we ordered a round of teas, plus a red berry yogurt smoothie, before boarding the bus and doing our trip in reverse.
Those custard tarts look delicious.