A Surprise Birthday Picnic in Belem

(I feel like I’m going to gush so much about this lovely experience that I should point out that this post is in no way sponsored and that nothing was comp-ed).

For Ben’s birthday this year, I thought it would be fun to try and find something we could all do as a (very new) family.

I love giving experiences as presents – I’ve sent Ben off on treasure hunt days (where the prizes are head massages and hot towel shaves), surprised him with a sushi buffet at work and a few months ago took him on this spy tour of Lisbon – but this year was a little trickier, as we’d have a then six-week-old Ari in tow.

I’d been following the Wine With a View gang on Insta and spotted they had some cool experiences. Their main deal is setting up at picturesque places around the city, selling wine from an adorable little cart (above) and putting out comfy chairs to enjoy said wine in. Simple, but perfect. But they also offer a wine picnic package, which looked fun, low key and, crucially, private (so there would be no worry of ruining someone’s wine tasting with an unfortunate poo-splosion). I chatted to the lovely Barbara from their team about our wine preferences, food intolerances etc and booked us in.

When we turned up at the little park right in front of the Belém Tower, I was totally blown away. Stuffed picnic baskets, meat and cheese platters, fresh fruit, traditional Portuguese pastries, delicious wine and tons of comfy blankets and cushions awaited us – Barbara had even put out a little birthday cake for Ben as well as dotted birthday-themed messages about the place. It was incredible. 

I’m so glad I decided to bring the camera, so I could fire off a few frames before we stuffed our faces.

It was such a lovely, dream-like afternoon, sitting under the shade of giant trees, taking in the view, tucking in while Ari kicked around beside us (or while one of us walked laps around the blanket, rocking him to sleep 😂). There was no pressure to leave at any point, so we took our time tasting new treats and sipping the delicious wine. 

All in all, a lovely way to celebrate this brilliant man turning 34. A huge thank you to the wonderful Barbara (below) for pulling it all together! 

I think the picnics have packed up for the season, but they’ll be back in spring – you can find out more here. We’re really looking forward to giving it another go with a gang when some friends next come over.