The Great Santini Gelado

Today, Bacalhau Boy and I were three-hour tourists.

Lisbon is emptied of half its inhabitants thanks to a four-day weekend, and poor Bacalhau Boy was stuck working for most of it.  This afternoon we said enough!, and turned the car towards the storybook charming village of Cascais for some strolling in the sun.  Even if we couldn't take a proper vacation, we were going to pretend we did anyhow.

Although Cascais is just 25 miles (40 km) from Lisbon, we rarely visit on weekends.  Today I asked myself why, again and again.

And again.

After a brief wander through the picturesque streets of the old town and some delicious arroz de marisco (shellfish rice) for lunch, we made our way here:

Yes, friends, the line is long.  But at the end you are promised i gelati più fini del mondo: the world's finest ice cream.  With a promise like that, Bacalhau Boy and I will wait as long as it takes.

Santini's is an ice cream shop which has been a fixture in Cascais for three generations, delivering amazing gelado to the people of this Lisbon suburb and the hordes of hot, hungry tourists who visit.  It is a legend and having lived here for two and a half years it is entirely shocking that I hadn't tried it before today.

I beg of you, learn from my mistake.

It is practically HEALTH food, for goodness sake.  No preservatives, 100% natural, and expertly scooped by staff in most excellent uniforms.

A small cone is two flavors, a medium is three.  What flavors, you ask?

Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry: of course.  Hazelnut, pistachio, walnut, almond: all your nuts are covered.  Mocha, caramel, cinnamon, chocolate chip: available to please.  And the fruits: raspberry, blueberry, cherry, Williams pear, Rocha pear, pineapple mint, passionfruit, mango, tangerine, grape, lime, melon and more.

As if I needed another reason to visit beautiful beach towns or to eat ice cream, now I have both.

See you there?

Santini
Avenida Valbom 28F
Cascais

... and if you just can't escape the city, get your fix here:


Santini Chiado
Rua de Carmo 9
Lisboa

Website: http://www.santini.pt/