City Trip to Lisbon: Adegga Wine Market & Season’s Greetings from Portugal

Lisbon. “Do you still need some travel tips & ideas for your visit in town? I have been in Lisbon a couple of times, and can offer to help you gladly.” From across my coffee mug at the Lisbon Poets Hostel right inside the old town of Lisbon, I smile at my fellow travellers Corinna Hepke & Peter Diem from Munich. How nice to be sitting here after all the summer crowds have gone, and to enjoy a quiet morning together on the first day of December. Corinna lifts her head and smiles back at me, “Thank you, but as it turns out, we have already had help reading this article on five travel tips for Lisbon on this blog .. hang on a minute. ARE YOU CREATIVELENA?!”

The moment when, after four years of years of hard work as a professional travel writer, you do actually meet your “fans” in a Lisbon Hostel over breakfast, is simply undescribable. Powerful. Because yes, Corinna & Peter really are in Lisbon because of me!

Today still, I get goosebumps thinking of this “sheer coincidence” (which never really is a coincidence in life, right!) having met the readers of my blog without any previous connection but the Internet. And if this had not been enough, the next morning, at the same hostel, I meet a group of happy Erasmus students from England, who in turn are familiar with the English version of the very same travel article about Lisbon. And who, to quote them, have found it “very useful for organizing their stay”. :O

Pure magic: Meeting the readers of my blog Creativelena.com during a short trip to Lisbon !!! THANK YOU so much, dear Corinna, dear Peter, for all being at the right time, in the right place. I really appreciate it. So nice to meet you here!

Lisbon in December is definitely worth a trip any time. Season’s greetings from Portugal translate into a balmy 16°C, and offer many an opportunity for a happy visit around town.

Energized, I leave my hostel in order to explore the old town area around “Baixa-Chiado”, in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto. I walk past the statue of Portugal’s most famous poet, Fernando Pessoa, down to the city’s famous Rua Augusta, across Martim Moniz Square and over to the sunkissed, south-eastern side of town, Bairro Alfama, at the same time one of Lisbon’s oldest city districts. My tip for all of you foodie fans: Taste of Lisboa Food Tours offer a delicious food tour filled with history, people stories & naturally tasty food stops along the way. Definitely recommend you do this one while in Lisbon!

Christmas is coming, Lisbon …

… and taking a peek at the local bakery shop windows, and their acclaimed “Pastéis de Nata” …

… sends my belly yearning and makes my heart beat faster.

Lisbon in December also translates into a much warmer, sunny climate than we are traditionally used to in Central Europe …

… no need for a jacket during lunchtime for instance: “Love is all around”!

And this is what my lunchtime snack, sitting outside on Praca do Martim Moniz looks like: Burger & Fries in preparation of the “Adegga Wine Market” in town, which I’d now like to tell you a little more about.

The 20th edition of the “Adegga Wine Market” embraces 60 producers from all over Portugal & 1.000+ attendees. My dear friend André Ribeirinho & his team have successfully crafted a blend of charisma, professionalism & digitalisation in the wine business that you really must taste and experience for yourself.

André and I are connected through a friendship of a kind. Having met over attending “DWCC Digital Wine Communications Conference” in Montreux, I have since been to his “Adegga Wine Market” in Porto and have also visited him last year in November in his home town Lisbon. An energetic, friendly and super successful Portuguese of the highest charisma, André loves to see people around him grow in their passions and professions. He himself is the best example of how “the human factor” in business can lead to the most long-lasting, sustainable network of success. All of these rather wonderful characteristics, as well as a guarantee of meeting “the right people” around him, have led me to visiting him once more for this 20th Adegga Wine Market edition in Lisbon.

On a rather spontaneous note. Flying from Vienna to Lisbon with TAP Portugal in just over three hours. Only hand luggage. Without telling anyone. As a surprise for a dear friend, his team, and his family!

We should all do these things more often …

“Elena. I still cannot quite believe that you are here … That you just came here. For us. It means so much to me, to all of us … Obrigado!”

“Portas Abertas” – Let’s go, “Adegga Wine Market” at the Lisbon Marriott Hotel …

… an event that resonates with so many people of all walks of life …

… attracting #winelover people, as well as all of those with a desire to become part of a unique event & meeting point in town …

… Social Media too, plays a big role in the successful lead-up to, and management of, the event …

… because one of the best innovations André & his team have succesfully initiated and developed for years, is the so-called “Smart Wine Glass”, equipped with a chip to digitalize your tasting notes during the event …

… tasting notes which the “Smart Wine Glass” reader saves to your account, creating a list of your favourite wines right throughout the event and which you can then easily order online to be delivered to your door. As simple as it is practical!

(#Winelover) Chocolate, of course, is another success factor of the “Adegga Wine Market” event …

… as is attending “Adegga Premium Room” and all of this handpicked selection of truly outstanding (Port) wines, sending me on a time travel back all the way into the 1930s ..!

So nice to meet and spend time not just with my friend André himself, but also meet his father as part of the event …

… his wonderful wife Beatriz …

… as well as wine grower Stéphane Ferreira, of Quinta do Pôpa Wine Estate in the Douro valley, who I have to promise to come back soon for a visit as part of my next trip to Portugal ..!

“Adegga Wine Market” works because it creates a unique sense of community, it holds people true to their emotions and it delivers on its promise of excellent, world-class Portugese wines & meeting their charming producers. Excellent. And unparalleled …

… so nice also meeting you again, dear Catarina José, and offer you my book, “The Creative Traveler’s Handbook” for Christmas …

… last but not least, I definitely feel part of the family when, after all the guests have left, there is nothing else to do but celebrate …

… Amen, Adegga Wine Market. See you next up in Lisbon & Portugal !!!

Check out all my #winelover travel photos from Lisbon as well as the Adegga Wine Market here:

Até já em Portugal!