I love travelling and exploring new places, and recently I took the opportunity to go away to Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal for a long weekend, and boy did it not disappoint!
Friday afternoon
Although we traveled during the off-peak season, I didn't quite expect the strong gust of wind and falling sleet to hit my face as soon as I got off the plane after we touched down in Portugal's capital. I had hoped that Lisbon's winter would be mild, and whilst it was certainly that for most of the weekend, it was a bit of a shock to feel like the plane had done a u-turn and we were back in England!
Once we had got through security, we were quickly greeted by our transport and whisked off to our apartment. We stayed in the Hello Lisbon Santa Apolonia Apartments, very close to the Alfama district and Lisbon's main rail station, Santa Apolonia. Now I had never stayed in an apartment before whilst travelling, so I was a little unsure of what to expect. Tucked away on a very narrow yet hilly street which looked rather derelict on first impressions, I was pleasantly surprised by the apartment once we had got in. We stayed in an apartment on the fourth, and the highest floor, where we could enjoy views of the Tagus River. The amenities in our apartment were fantastic. There was plenty of space for the clothes of three girls in the wardrobes, the bed and the sofa bed themselves were comfortable, and the kitchen was well equipped with all the necessary cutlery and utensils we could possibly need. We also had a TV which had both Spotify (allowing us to listen to Ed Sheeran's new album that evening) and Netflix. The apartment also felt quite secure, as you are emailed a unique code before you arrive which gets you into the complex and your apartment, and then another code to just get into the complex if you need to pick up any luggage from the lockers at reception once you have checked out.
Whilst many travelers would prefer to get out and about and explore Lisbon at night, we all agreed that whilst we wanted to see as much of Lisbon that a long weekend could possibly allow us to, we all needed to use the weekend as an opportunity to relax too! So we discovered a supermarket in the train station just opposite the apartment, and for around 10 euros each, we were able to pick up enough snacks, food and wine to last us that night and for our breakfasts and snacks the rest of the weekend. Once we cooked, we sat down to enjoy our first meal in Lisbon in our very own apartment whilst watching documentaries on Netflix, like the grown-ups we are!
Saturday
We managed to do a lot of sightseeing on our first full day in Lisbon, and the funny thing is, we might have had the opportunity to do even more! We decided that the best way to see as much of Lisbon as possible and the easiest way to get from one district to another and learn about the city at the same time, was to get tickets for the City Sightseeing Open-top bus. Unfortunately, whilst it did allow us to see a lot and was relatively easy to use once we were on it, it did mean that we spent a large majority of the morning waiting for it on a small side street just off the Praca do Comercio due it being the beginning of March. However, we did get a chance to wonder over to the Praca do Comercio and have a brief walk through the Alfama district, discovering the quirky cobbled streets of Lisbon on our way over. We also had the opportunity to visit Se Cathedral (Lisbon Cathedral). When we arrived, the locals were singing songs of prayer inside, and it made for the most enchanting and sacred atmosphere. I don't remember feeling like that in a Church for a long time.
Once on the bus, at a cost of just under 20 euros each for a 48 hour ticket (we only got to use ours for the 24 hours though due to our plans for the next day), we did a loop of Lisbon, taking in many of the sites, and the first place we stopped to explore in greater detail, was Belem.
Belem is a fantastic district in Lisbon, and is home to three of what I consider the most impressive sights in Lisbon - the Torre de Belem (Tower of Belem), the Discoveries Monument, and Jeronimos Monastery. First on our list was the Tower. By the time we arrived, the Sun was finally out (yay!) and the river glistened beautifully around the Torre de Belem. Surrounded by calm water, and lush green grass, this was a peaceful haven, largely in part to only the small crowds of tourists who come to Lisbon during the off-season. It was the perfect place to start our journey of discovery.
Not even a five minute walk away from the Tower, was the Discoveries Monument. Now this is the most impressive monument I have ever seen! On the banks of the Tagus River, the Discoveries Monument is an imposing sight, with the sculpted adventurers and explorers who contributed to Portugal's empire and strength of power during the 14th century, looming large above and looking out towards the water. This really was a spectacle to be seen!
Next, we wondered through the subway and across the road to the Jeronimos Monastery, another truly magnificent sight! I became fascinated with Lisbon's architecture during the trip, and the Monastery is a brilliant example of the complex and uniquely decorative buildings which Lisbon has to offer. In addition, the gardens and fountains just outside the Monastery added even more beauty and calm to the building's surroundings. The level of detail and intricacy in the Monastery's spires and columns is second to none, and it took almost a century for the Monastery to actually be inaugurated after the foundations had been laid. I thoroughly enjoyed looking around and exploring Portugal's history, and indeed that of the world's which were highlighted in exhibitions here. So in short, Belem is an absolute must-see for anyone exploring Lisbon for the first time.
That evening, we went for dinner at the Time out Market Lisboa. Located in the Cais do Sodre locality of Lisbon, this was an indoor market dedicated to food vendors from not only Portugal, but all over the world. Here, we tried the famous Pastel de Nata (a Portugese egg-custard tart). Warm and topped with cinnamon and icing sugar, this was absolutely delicious and a bargain at 1 euro each! We then wondered around to try even more food. I also tried a Bacalhau (codfish) cake! Codfish is a pretty integral element of the Portuguese diet, and as I was told by our tour guide on the day afterwards, there are about a 1000 different ways to cook it! For dinner, I tried the grilled Salmon with egg and mushrooms at Sea and Me, another vendor. As you can probably tell, in Lisbon it's all about the seafood!
Overall, on the Saturday, we managed to see and do the other following places and things:
Arco da Rua Augusta
Rossio Square
Belem Palace
We tried Ginjinha (a shot of cherry liquor in a chocolate cup).
Sunday
Prior to flying off to Lisbon, we booked a tour to Sintra via Viator's website. The tour was called 'Sintra: Let the Fairytale begin', and would allow us to take in a couple of Sintra's beautiful palaces, the local town, Guincho Beach, Cascais and Cabo da Roca (the westernmost point of the European mainland) at a cost of around £50 each.
Our guide picked us up around 8:30am and then we were on our way. Now unfortunately, this day was the worst of the weather and it did affect what we got to do on our trip, in both good and bad ways, but I think this tour would be even better during the summer. Despite this, I was so surprised to see so many people in the sea, but not so much to see people taking advantage of the waves to surf.
Cascais is a small beach town just outside of Lisbon, and according to our guide, it's a relatively wealthy area and even boasts Cristiano Ronaldo as one of it's holiday residents. Although our stop was a quick one, we got to appreciate how peaceful it can be by the coast, and we got to see many of the fishermen out working.
Now I get car sick most of the time! And the journey to Sintra didn't do much to stop this from happening! We went through lots of narrow and winding roads across the mountains to get to Sintra, and I felt like I was going to puke all over the driver on more than one occasion but thankfully the gorgeous greenery and forest surroundings were enough to distract me from doing so!
Once we reached Sintra, we stopped off at Pena Palace, and this really was a highlight of the trip! If its this beautiful in foggy and wet conditions, where the mist adds only to the mystery, intrigue and fairy-tale ambiance of the palace and its grounds, I can only imagine how beautiful it must be during the summer with the sunlight allowing the extraordinary multicolored turrets to truly be taken notice of and the opportunity to see far out from the terraces. Taking the opportunity to look around both inside and outside was a real treat and no picture could honestly do it any justice. The Palacio de Pena's history dates back to the 12th century when it was merely small chapel, but it was not until 1843 when King Ferdinand II and Queen Maria II oversaw the construction of the new palace. After Queen Maria II passed away some years later, King Ferdinand II married Elise Henler, an opera singer, who was left the palace after the King himself had passed away. Elise, the Countless of Edla agreed to leave the Palace and its gardens to the state, and after Portugal became a republic in 1910, the palace became open to the public.
Whilst in Sintra, we had lunch at a small family-run taverna, where we tasted a beautiful dish of baked bacalhau. Imagine a creamy Portuguese fish pie and you get the idea. It was so good! Afterwards we wondered around the rest of Sintra, stopping into the quaint little shops and admiring the views of the misty mountains above and the National Palace of Sintra from the outside. The biggest bummer of the trip was that the weather disabled us from being able to admire the Quinta de Regaleira palace, somewhere I had so looked forward to seeing. But it just gives us another excuse to go back to Sintra next time!
Monday
This was our last day in Lisbon. After leaving our luggage in the secure lockers in reception, we set off for a few hours more of exploring. Instead of walking down towards the river like we had previously when leaving our apartment, we set off up the hill. Lisbon has many steep hills and if you're anything like me, walking up hills just doesn't fill you with joy. But if I can do it, then I think anyone can!
We walked further up and through the Alfama district until we got to Largo de Graca viewpoint. Lisbon has many viewpoints from which to admire views of the city and the river from and this one was shaded with trees and even had a cafe and bar where you could purchase drinks from. It gave us a great view of the Castelo de S. Jorge, our next stop!
With a bit more walking, and a bit of common sense and hope rather than the use of a map, we ended up at the castle, where we purchased our tickets for that day. By the time we had reached the castle, the sun had also finally come out! Before we went inside the castle, we stopped off at a local taverna to get some much needed fuel for our afternoon of castle exploration. Be wary of the prices near the castle and most of the other tourist attractions. I had my priciest meal of the whole trip here but luckily, my meal was delicious! I treated myself to Seafood rice, and the rice came out in a pan with a large mixture of seafood cooked in the shell. Whilst I do sometimes find it a faff trying to claw out the fish from their shells, it really does add to the flavour of the dish and I massively enjoyed this dish!
Finally after finishing off our meals, we set off again for the castle. The castle itself also has a viewpoint and this was perhaps the best of the three we got to visit on this day. There were several different angles from which you could admire the sweeping panoramic views of the city, the Tagus river and the 25th of April bridge. It was sunny whilst we took in these views and although there were a fair few tourists here (definitely not as much as there would be during the summer), it felt really calm and chilled out here.
We then went on a route around the castle, exploring the terraces and romantic gardens, as well as saying hello to the many peacocks that roam around the castle grounds!
Overall, I must say that Lisbon is a charming city, and it's easy to see why it's recommended on a lot of established lists of places to travel to in 2017. With it's gorgeous river, the stunning and nearby town of Sintra, the great seafood, the quaint cobbled streets and vintage-like trams, you would be missing out on a lot if you didn't travel to Lisbon at least once in your lifetime!
Visiting Lisbon has definitely given me another burst of the travel bug, and I'm now going to get back to curling up on the sofa planning all the other trips I want to go on!
