I arrived in Lisbon 2 days ago. The main story so far has been the heat. Much of Europe is sweltering under its worst heat wave in possibly 200 years. Wildfires have been sparked, closing nearby tourist areas such as Sintra that luckily I’ve visited before.

Lisbon reached 103 on Wednesday, but luckily has been around 90 the last 2 days, and my next 2 Portuguese stops will be cool.

But the heat is causing me to rethink whether to go to Italy next month at all. Milan and Florence have been in the high 90s or higher recently, with no signs of improvement.

At any rate, Lisbon has been a chill destination for me—really a way for me to get my bearings in Europe in a place I’m familiar before I go to new destinations. But I have a better feel for the city now as well. Some random sights for you:

Lisbon has incredible street art, and although I’ve seen some of it before, this trip has been no disappointment in that regard.

These are pastel de nata, a Lisbon-specific sweet custard tart cooked in a very hot oven (400C, or about 660 degrees Fahrenheit). They are sooooo flaky, much like a lot of the guys I’ve tried to schedule dates with in San Francisco.

This is the #28 tram that connects the hills on the east and west sides of downtown Lisbon. It’s necessary for me to take this tram if I want to get to Bairro Alto or other points west in the city. It’s basically Lisbon’s cable car, but a little newer. Here’s pics of some other trams I took years ago.

I also went to the Jeronimos monastery west of the city yesterday. It’s one of the few buildings that survived the 9.0 earthquake in 1755 that lasted 7 minutes and leveled the city.

Lisbon does not have the “wow” factor that a lot of other European capitals have. But it makes up for it in charm and energy. Going out at midnight, the streets are still full of people. The first time I came here, I remember the nightclub district being packed at 2 am.

I will say, however, that the food I’ve had has been unspectacular. Lisbon has a good food scene and I’ve had good meals, but its authentic local cuisine is lacking. I went on a food tour that included canned sardines on toast and overcooked cod. There’s something to be said for authenticity, but this was like going on a food tour of California and getting In ‘n Out Burger, or chili in Cincinnati—it’s comfort food if you were raised on it, but it’s just meh to everyone else. I said what I said, California and Cincinnati.

Off to Porto tomorrow. More dispatches to come.