Our path through Portugal
Our path through Portugal
After a smooth flight from San Francisco on TAP Air, we landed in Lisbon around noon. We took the metro to the center of Lisbon and then had a short walk to our AirBnb near Principe Real.
The apartment surpassed expectations, and the location is excellent--near the central part of the city, but not too busy around our front door.
After settling in, we walked down Rua do Alecrim into Barrio Alto and Chiado, some of the more happening neighborhoods of Lisbon. On the way, we came accross Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, a terrace with incredible views of Castelo of red-roofed apartments, Castelo de São Jorge, and the harbor.
We then came accross vegan pastels de nata, a local speciality which will be a source of much weight gain on our trip.
We eventually made it to the waterfront, saw some impressive buildings, and had dinner at the Green Affair Chiado, which was satisfactory.
The morning started with um cafe at a nearby Copenhagen Coffee Lab location, where Lauren's rye bread stole the show before Lauren did some studies from the apartment. We had lunch at Healthy V, a vegetarian restaurant right near our apartment, which was a delight.
In the evening, we went to a board game night meetup at a nearby cafe. We played Trial by Trolley, Bang, and some other games with some people from Brazil, France, and the US.
We spent the morning at Numa Cafe right by our apartment. The main attraction that afternoon was a walk out to the previously mentioned Castelo de São Jorge, a 12th century castle down the hill from us.
The view was equally impressive as the castle.
On the way back, we took Tram 28 from the Alfama neighborhood, a somewhat famous small electric trolley route. It ended up stuck in a long line of traffic, so we got off early and walked the rest of the way. We ate dinner at SHOSH, a delightful vegan restaurant.
We bussed to Monsanto Forest Park for a morning run. The park's flora and terrain were reminiscent of California. The highlight of the run was a stop at the Panorâmico de Monsanto, a totally not creepy abandoned multi story luxury restaurant with incredible views of the city and lots of graffiti.
On the walk back from the park, we stumbled upon Aqueduto das Águas Livres, a giant 18th century aqueduct.
We then stopped for um cafe in a park, which had incredible trees.
That evening, we went to a social meetup on a rooftop bar with views of the harbor.
We woke up early to catch the train to Sintra, land of Portuguese royalty. We then took a bus from the train several miles out into the park, where we entered through an ahem unofficial entrance. We started at the Palace of Monserrate, a fancy house and gardens randomly built by a wealthy Brit in the 19th century.
We then hiked through the woods a few miles to the Convent of the Capuchos, a secluded convent in the woods started in the 16th century.
We then walked another several miles to the Palace of Pena, the main attraction. Though way too crowded, this 16th century monastery converted into an 19th century palace still impressed.
After a short walk down the hill, we arrived at the Castle of the Moors, the real star of the show. The views were panoramic.
Finally, we walked back into down and saw the Palace of Sintra right before closing. This was the historic royal palace and had two large chimneys coming straight out of the kitchen.
After the exciting day in Sintra, this was a bit of a rest day. We had some espresso and read in a nearby park amd then went grocery shopping for dinner.
The main event of the day was visiting the Museu Arqueológico do Carmo, a museum housed in the semi-repaired ruins of a 15th century medieval cathedral that was destroyed by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Other than the structure itself, the highlights were a collection of Roman and pre-Roman artifacts from Portugal. Some dated back before 3000 BC!
We had brunch at a healthy-vibed restaurant (Wel Well Center Cafe) which had an excellent Panini Capri.
Next, we ventured out to some of the main attractions of Lisbon: Torre de Belém and Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. Both were built in the 16th century on the heels of Portugal's newfound wealth. The Belém Tower was better to look at from the outside than to see inside of.
The monastery was much more impressive from the outside as well as the inside. It was quite large and had ornate stonework all over.
We wrapped up the day enjoying the view from the previously mentioned Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara plaza.
Not too much excitement. We picked up some more nata, then went on an evening run along the riverfront.
Our last full day in Lisbon was relaxing. We checked out Church Sagrado Coração, an impressive urban church built during the 1960s displaying some of the least offensive brutalist architecture I've seen.
That evening, we went returned to the board game meetup from the week before and saw some familiar faces. We then went to Pavilhão Chinês, a bar down the street from us that looked like a creepy toy museum on the inside. Upon arrival, we had to ring a bell and wait to be let in.
We woke up early, packed our bags, and took the metro to the airport. Next stop: Madrid.
Lisbon was an excellent first stop on our journey. The city was extremely walkable (and appeared to be un-drivable from our observations) and had a lot to do, but was not excessively large or crowded. People spoke great English, which made things easy for us. Between fellow travelers and expats, there was an active and welcoming meetup community. All that, and we barely made it outside of the city!