On our first full day here in Lisbon we went to the campus where we would be taking classes and then from there went to a nearby restaurant. This restaurant was not a hole-in-the-wall restaurant nor was it the fanciest one I had ever seen, rather it was a chain, but my goodness it was delicious. Before coming to Portugal, I had been in France, Hungary, and Austria having delicious fancy meals that were so intentional in their flavors but also presentation and I was severely worried that it may have ruined the experience I had here in Lisbon. What I quickly learned was far from the truth, the food I had during our first meal was so phenomenal and filling that I did not eat the rest of the day. We opened up the meal with some beef croquettes that were just so great as there is nothing not to like about them, they are pulled beef with cheese in fried dough, I mean how can it get any better than that? Well, it did get better as we had an appetizer that was a custom-made sausage on a soft piece of bread panini pressed with a curry-like dipping sauce. This alone I could’ve eaten for the entire time in Portugal, but that meal was quickly replaced by an even greater dish, Francesinha. Francesinha is a dish that is native to Portugal, and more specifically Porto. The dish is similar in its construction to a Croque Monsieur from France. The sandwich has multiple pieces of toast that are filled with an assortment of meats including sausage, roast beef, ham, and more. The sandwich is then crowned with a fried egg and surrounded by a pool of spicy tomato kind of sauce. As well as accompanied by a literal oversized gravy boat of fries, which I was instructed to pour into the sauce. Despite feeling that I could not look at more food without feeling ill, I still made sure to eat the dessert, which was a great aerated chocolate mousse that was paired with a shot of espresso. Overall it was a great meal that got me excited for the rest of the trip.