Ten years felt like it deserved something a little bigger than a normal travel day. We did not need the day to be perfect, but it did feel worth marking properly. So, we started our anniversary morning in Cascais, Portugal, feeling very lucky and only slightly confused about how a full decade had gone by already. We started the morning with a quick hotel breakfast before getting picked up by our climbing guide, Miguel.
Miguel is 24 years old and started his guiding business last year. He already has gear, a van, and a pretty solid setup, so he seems to be doing alright. He also surfs, spearfishes, works with a nonprofit, and does several other impressive things that made us wonder what we were doing at 24. Also, he bakes cookies with his mom for his clients. So yeah. He rules.
He drove us about 30 minutes outside of Cascais. On the way, we passed through a very affluent neighborhood, and Miguel said most of the people living there probably have no idea that there is hiking, climbing, and an incredible view basically sitting in their backyard.
After we parked, we hiked about 10 minutes to the top of the routes he was taking us to. The view was phenomenal. Setting up the top rope looked a little sketchy from our perspective. Miguel was lying on his stomach, hanging partway over the cliffside while rigging everything up. He clearly knew what he was doing, but it still made us very aware that this was not a climbing gym with padded floors and fluorescent lighting.
There also was not much space to stand or belay. The whole setup was beautiful, but compact. Very compact. Kaylea did awesome. Aaron got shut down on a slab route trying to balance on his tippy toes, but we both got to climb with an amazing view behind us, so it still felt like a win.
On the drive back, we talked with Miguel about immigration, tourism, and the impact both are having on locals in Cascais. It was interesting to hear his perspective as someone young, local, and trying to build a business that depends on tourism in a place where tourism is also making life more expensive for locals.
After he dropped us off, we ran into the city center for a quick snack. We did not want a full meal because we had a big anniversary dinner planned, but we also needed something after climbing. We found a fast food burger place and split chicken nuggets, fries, and a shake, which was not exactly fancy anniversary cuisine, but still felt pretty on brand for us. Then we went back to the hotel to rest and get ready, because we were beat.
That night, we went to our first Michelin-star restaurant: Kappo, an omakase sushi restaurant with only 12 seats at the sushi bar. The menu changes every day based on the chef’s choices, which is both exciting and a little intimidating when you are used to at least pretending you know what you are ordering.
The whole experience was extremely polished. There was the executive chef, a whole team working with him, a host who explained each part of the meal, and very fancy wait staff who seemed to watch us with hawk-like intensity so they could anticipate our needs before we had them.
One course was paired with sparkling sake, which felt like the right way to start a meal that already seemed a little above our pay grade.
Later, another course came with what might have been the smoothest sake either of us has ever tasted.
The meal was organized into different “moments,” which basically meant a series of small dishes, each presented like its own little event. Every moment came with completely different forks, knives, plates, or bowls. There were men in black gloves standing behind us who would silently swap out silverware or refill glasses. They were always perfectly in sync. We would be talking, and then suddenly two black-gloved hands would appear behind us, take our forks, and place new ones down at the exact same time.
It was unsettling, but in a fancy way. Imagine The Menu, but without the yelling and murder. It had that same intense, choreographed energy, except everyone was very kind and the food was incredible. We loved it.
Almost everything was art. The one exception was the extremely bland and tough squid served as the second “moment.” It took about three times as long to chew as a tough steak and was almost panic-inducing. Everything else was a dream.
The highlight was the nigiri experience. A chef prepared each piece right in front of us, slicing and shaping the fish by hand. Our chef was either new or visiting from Japan, and he had very personal connections and explanations for each fish. We felt lucky to have him. He seemed a little nervous about his English, but it was completely fine, except when he used Japanese names for the fish, which was expected. The host stood nearby in case he needed help translating, which might have been helpful but was mostly a little awkward.
Aaron eventually threw out the Japanese word for thank you, which was either a nice moment of cultural appreciation or one of those things you do and immediately wonder if you pronounced it correctly. He seemed to take it well.
We both tried sardines and sea urchin for the first time. That was part of the fun of the whole experience. We were eating things we probably would not have ordered on our own, but because it was omakase, we just went with it.
Dessert was exactly what you would hope for after a meal like that. We had unreal fresh strawberry slices in mochi, chocolate infused with liquor, and green tea ice cream with wildflower honey and sea salt.
At the end of the night, they gave us a traditional Daruma doll as an anniversary gift. We were not totally sure what it was at first. The idea is that you draw in one eye when you make a wish, then draw in the other eye when the wish comes true. It was thoughtful and made the night feel even more special. We wished for another 10 years together.
It was a pretty perfect ten-year anniversary: a morning outside Cascais doing something adventurous, followed by a dinner was the full five-star experience: careful, personal, a little over the top, and completely memorable.
Not a bad way to celebrate ten years.
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