After a long overnight flight to Lisbon—complete with a stop in Paris and a screaming baby on the plane for SEVEN hours—I was more than ready to relax and enjoy a meal on the water.

First things first, I safely made it to my hotel in Lisbon thanks to my friends Laura and Dan Noll, who gave me the name of a driver they use when they visit Portugal. Rui was amazing! He met me inside the airport, carried my bags, and got me to the hotel as quickly as possible. And, of course, we had a nice chat along the way because apparently I can make conversation with anyone, anywhere.

When I arrived at the hotel, my room wasn’t ready yet, so I had some time to kill. Since I’m staying a little outside of Lisbon proper, I decided to take a walk down by the docks and find somewhere to have lunch. I looked up a few places and found a restaurant right on the water.

And just like that, I realized I had the perfect opportunity to check something off my bucket list:

Eat a meal out alone.

This probably sounds like a strange bucket list item to some people. Plenty of people eat alone all the time. But it’s just not something I’ve ever really had to do. I’m a teacher, so I never had a job that involved business trips or traveling by myself. And when I travel for fun, I typically have my emotional support husband with me. 

In fact, I’ve never traveled to another country by myself, and I really haven’t traveled much alone at all. So this day was actually about more than sitting down at a restaurant by myself. I was navigating an airport, getting to my hotel, walking around an unfamiliar city, and figuring things out on my own.

But I figured, if my kid can do it, so can I.

I decided on Rui dos Pregos at Santo Amaro Docas. Sadly, there weren’t any tables left outside, but the restaurant was bright inside and still had views of the water. I was seated at a small table connected to another table with three people, surrounded by large groups of friends enjoying a Friday afternoon together.

At one point, a rousing round of “Happy Birthday” broke out in Portuguese, and everyone in the restaurant clapped along. I may have been eating alone, but I definitely didn’t feel like I was sitting in silence.

For my meal, I ordered the prego no prato com batatas. It was good, although a little salty for me. It’s a typical dish in the area where I’m staying, so I wanted to give it a try. I ate, read my book, watched the people around me, and just enjoyed being there.

And you know what?

Eating alone was perfectly fine.

Did I love it so much that I’m suddenly going to start making solo dinner reservations every Friday night? Probably not.  If anything, the experience confirmed something I already suspected: I really am a people person. I like having someone across the table. I like talking, laughing, sharing food, and experiencing things with other people.

But I also learned that I can do it alone.

And maybe that’s the whole point of some of these bucket list items. It’s not necessarily about discovering something I want to do over and over again. Sometimes it’s simply about doing something I’ve never done before and realizing I’m perfectly capable of it.

After lunch, I took a leisurely stroll back to the hotel. Thanks to Eric’s status, I got a sweet room upgrade, unpacked a little, read, relaxed, and settled in for an early night.

Because after one very long travel day, one new country, one solo adventure, and one meal for a table of one…

we are less than THREE DAYS away from starting our Camino.

Bucket list item: Eat a meal out alone. ✅

Turns out, I can do it.

I’d just still rather have someone sitting across from me.