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Published: June 15th 2008
Lisboa
Our first view of the city from the bridge, 25th of AprilI like Spain and its holiday system. They tend to time everything quite perfectly. This time vacation came along the very first few days of May thanks to their ‘Labor Day’ and remembrance of their fight for independence. I took advantage of this by finding a trip to Portugal. I never had a strong desire to visit Lisbon or Portugal but an offer came that seemed too good to pass up and was also well priced compared to the atrocious prices of many flights for that weekend. I had my friend Kathy visiting at the time on vacation and I suggested to her why not hit up TWO countries while you're in Europe ... she was in. Nikki also came along and the three of us met up Thursday morning to start our 8-9 hour bus ride along with 40 other strangers.
We had pretty much no expectations because Portugal wasn't exactly at the top of the list of places to visit (at least for me it wasn't). We dozed, watched movies, and did some reading up on the place we were heading before we were told we'd arrived. We entered the city on the bridge the 25th of April
7 Hills
Lisboa spreads across 7 hills just like Rome ... ... a distant cousin of the Golden Gate, as it was designed by the same architect. Upon crossing this bridge, we could see Lisboa spread out over its seven hills along the banks of the Tegos river. Wow. It was a powerful sight. Immediately, the pure character of this city captured my attention. It rests on 7 hills all crowded by buildings with red tiled roofs and backyards somehow smooshed on top of one another
Excitement started to build up.... We passed through a valley of two hills and saw aqueducts and entered through the modern, swanky, financial district and then down the main street through many round abouts and plazas. Our hotel was right in the heart of the city and within walking distance of many sights and restaurants, we were set. They gave us the rest of the afternoon to inflate after our long bus ride which was very needed. We chose to find a place in one of Kathy’s books to go eat and possibly walk around before coming back and refreshing from the nine-hour bus ride. We picked a restaurant described as having many chicken selections and that happened to be close by. We were
Golden Ticket
I've got one ... and I will be meeting Charlie in the Chocolate factory deceived … Nikki and Kathy however did share the one chicken plate they offered and were pleased. The tour guide took us to Barrio Alto that night which is supposed to be THE spot for the Liboa night life, however, Nikki, Kathy, & I had had our fun night the previous night so we quietly sipped some beers and then slipped out the door to get a decent night's rest.
The following morning we had our walking tour at 9 am. We were split into two groups to make our weaving and winding a little more comfortable. Our guide, Natasha, was born and raised in South Africa but had Portuguese parents and had been living there for the past 9 or so years. She was an excellent guide as she was very passionate and informed about the city and it's landmarks and history. We were staying in the heart of it, so we stopped many times along our way to be shown a local cherry brandy, a church that had survived many earthquakes and fires, a couple of plazas, a large elevator with a rooftop café, an area where intellectuals pondered the universe at cafes, and finally hopped one
Stairs
These now make me very nervous .... of the famous trams. These are much smaller than a bus but I’m sure we managed to cram at least 60 to 70 people on it. I had the sheer luck of being up front next to our driver with my face plastered against the windshield…yikes. We drove across the town, down some hills, up some others, careened passed a few buses, narrowly missed running over toes, and rounded corners with accuracy. High five driver.
We made it to an overlook to see the river Tegos, as well as much of the city. GorGEOUS! We then submerged ourselves into a neighborhood called Alfama which has narrow, windy roads that make it a true labyrinth. It was formerly the Jewish neighborhood that sat outside the city walls and houses were literally built on top of one another. It also houses many restaurants that play the famous Fado music of Portugal, which is supposed to be very moving and melancholy (unfortunately we didn’t get to hear any). We winded down some roads and saw another Cathedral and finished our tour.
That afternoon we were taken south of the city to check out a winery, a national park, and spend some
Walking
This is what we would see walking around ... it is very old and very pretty R&R time on a beach. We drove out of Lisbon to Setabul where we toured a winery specializing in the sweet wine Portugal is known for. I don’t think anyone really cared for it. It was like drinking liquid candy with 3 times as much sugar. Ew. We then drove up, down, and around Arrabida National Park on our way to the beach. When I looked out the window, down the cliffs we were driving next to, I could see clear water and little white houses lining the coast. We became very antsy and eager to get out on the sand and catch what was left of the day's sun. Little did we know that it was actually quite cold ... huuuuge disapointment. The water was also freezing. So we sat and cat napped on the sand fully clothed reluctantly still wearing our bathing suits. We had a pretty view and were able to watch hang gliders float down from the surrounding mountains that made up the national park that loomed right behind us.
We went back into the city not too long after to clean up and grab a meal before being shown another night on the town.
Tile
Lisboa/Portugal is known for its tiled buildings ... i think it's nice We made a quick decision to hop in this bustling Italian restaurant and upon walking in I shouted 'GNOCCHIS!?!?! We are most DEFINITELY eating here!' We decided to try a bottle of green wine from the area along with our pasta. Again, pleasantly surprised. It was a delicious meal. We met up with our group and all hopped in taxis (which were amazingly cheap compared to Madrid, score!) and went to our destination. The first place they took us was a hole in the wall and painted a sad picture for how the rest of the night would go ... We left soon and entered Numero 2. My excitement started when they handed us cards to use to keep track of our tabs. Then the inside was impressively full of people. And finally, the DJ was AMAZING. We met a lot of really fun, friendly Portuguese people and sang and danced the night away.
The following day we were given a later start time, which was much appreciated. Regardless of our later exit time, Nikki, Kathy, and I took advantage of our free time to go grab a Subway meal and head to the castle that sits on the
Cherry
This is a famous cherry brandy the Lisbonese people like to drink to stay healthy ... it is most definitely an acquired taste. ew. top of one of the seven hills. We had a really fun time oooh-ing and ahh-ing at the views and taking pictures as royalty, as statues, and as defenders of the fort. It was 5 euros very well spent. We did however cut it very close because we had to be ON the bus at 1 pm ... we left the castle (on the TOP of a hill we had NOT climbed) with 15 minutes to make it along with grabbing our things. We opted for a taxi and hopped in for the ride of our lives. It felt like something out of a movie. Our driver was laughing with and at us from our squealing and giggling and got us to the hotel in perfect timing.
We were on our way to Sintra, a beautiful town set on the side of a mountain who's claim to fame is as one of the birth places of the romaticism movement. It was stunning. Very green, very hilly, really impressive. Unfortunately we were only given an hour and a half to roam which didn't leave us much time to hike to the top of the mountain to see the castle or
Hungry?
This is bacalao (codfish) and the Portuguese like it a lot, so much so they have a different recipe for every day. yup. 365. wow. fort, but we had some great views from below. It was jam packed full of tourists as well, so we did some minimal walking around and picture taking. We got back on the bus to head to our next stop, the end of the world. We made it to Cabo de Roca, the western most point of Europe, to breathtaking views and a glimpse at what past Europeans saw as the literal end of the world centuries ago. We spent time roaming and taking in the cliffs and crashing waves below. We could see the beach we were heading to from there and it was enormous. EXCITEMENT.
We made it to the beach and had much better weather than the day before. I also arrived with determination to enter the Atlantic from other side of the world. I only managed to barely get water up to my shoulders before I had to get out because it was so cold my breath would leave me if my lungs were submerged. We had less wind and more sun that day, but not enough to change our skin tone, which I suppose is the healthy thing to do. We left to head
Balance?
The theatre with the typical wavy tile sidewalks that made us feel a little off balance back south to Lisboa and go to a prepared buffet style typical meal of Portugal. We had endless amounts of bacalao, lamb, potatoes, rice, bread, and wine. It was very tasty. We were then taken to the most touristy area called 'The Docks' which was under the bridge we crossed to get into the city. We were not very impressed and ended up finding some friends from the night before and hanging out with them in a different area for a little before heading home.
The next day we hit up a few last minute spots before our long journey home. We headed to an area called Belem to see one of the last standing towers built in the 1500s as a defense post which later turned into customs and the only one left standing after all of the earthquakes and natural disasters that seem eerily typical there. We also saw a replica of the first plane to cross the Atlantic from Portugal to Brazil. We glimpsed at a HUGE monastery across the street and walked around a large monument built to honor the explorers that embarked on the journies from Portugal. All very impressive and picture worthy. We
Up high
Standing on top of an elevator looking at the view wandered around looking for somewhere to eat before our drive home and chose this appetizing Brazilian restaurant that was also buffet style and ate to our stomach's delight. When we boarded the bus it became very clear that many people were not feeling so well. This was 3 in the afternoon and 4 of our companions were all feeling queasy. By the middle of the drive home, we'd stopped more times that we were supposed to to allow the sick passengers some time on solid, non moving ground. The numbers slowly started to climb, by the end of the trip at least 12 people had gotten sick. Thankfully I was not one of them, but it could have easily happened as I watched at least 2/3 of them use plastic baggies on the bus.
We got back safely around 1 AM and Kathy and I hopped in a cab to go home. We had to take a round about way because Real Madrid had won the championship that night and it is custom here to celebrate the victory in the heart of the city at the Plaza de Cibeles. We drove around it and saw the swarming amounts of
Castle
On the elevator roof with Kathy & the Castle people streaming to the fountain to wait on the futbol team to properly celebrate. Our cab driver was clueless and I had to give him directions in order to get home ... first time that has happened to me here, but I was pretty proud of myself for knowing my way around in a city I don't drive in. We got home, quickly went to bed, and in the morning I said good bye to Kathy as she was flying home that day.
That Monday was pretty rough and I think the virus that had been with my friends on the bus had finally broken through my immune system and started its slow attack. Nikki and I were both sick for a few days but eventually seeped it out of our systems. We had an unbelievable time in Portugal and I would go back in a heartbeat. It's a beautiful country and I would love to see more. My time is slowly winding down here and it's very surreal to me that I will soon be back home. I miss and love you all very much and think of you every day! I hope you are all well and
Vertigo
looking down the elevator shaft ... yikes to hear from you soon! Take care! Hugs and besos!
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Jess
non-member comment
AWESOME!!!
Hey love! Thanks for sharing all of your adventures! I feel so honored to be able to "see what you see" on your trips and Portugal looks like an awesome place to visit. I'm sorry you got sick...but I'm sure it was worth it! Love and hugs....