Lisbon, Portugal

My final travel weekend took me once again south of England, not too far from Sevilla and my trip the week prior, to Lisbon, Portugal. The destinations in southern Europe had always been on my radar and when Monica mentioned she also had a free weekend in November and was looking to travel somewhere, I jumped to suggest Portugal. As I had subconsciously planned, I was to make my visits in a southerly direction, ending with “warmer” weekends in Spain and Portugal. Considering I call Denver home people seem to be confused at my “need” to travel somewhere warm. See, what they don’t understand is that, while it may get cold in Denver, we will get sun the next day… that is not the case here in London. But, this is all besides to point. On to Portugal!

For the last time, I was excited if you can’t tell, my alarm went off at 2:30 a.m. and I made way to Victoria for a bus to the airport. I have yet to touch on flying budget airlines so I will do that now. The bottom line is RyanAir and EasyJet both do what they are intended to do – get you from point A to point B on time (cant necessarily be said of our domestic United States flights on United, etc.) for a low cost. While they are often compared to one another, EasyJet is by far my preferred low cost carrier. Riding on RyanAir is like watching an annoying game show. Midway through the flight, after they have offered to serve you ridiculously high priced beverages and cocktails, the announcer goes into a highly enthused sales pitch about purchasing your chance at winning one of a million great prizes… including a million pounds! Flying with RyanAir can make you a millionaire. Yeah, right, just turn off the lights and the ridiculous announcer and let me get some sleep. Either way, you can’t beat a $100 flight roundtrip to Portugal, so I guess I can’t complain too much.

I landed in Portugal mid-morning and hopped a quick public transportation bus from the airport to the hostel. Our hostel, Goodnight Backpacker’s Hostel, was one of the cleanest I have stayed in. The owner, Joe (the owner ran hostels are always the best) was very friendly and able to check me in right away. Which, considering it was before noon was very unlike many other locations I have been. I quickly unpacked my backpack and headed out to explore Lisbon. With Monica arriving in the evening I had almost eight hours to wander on my own. Highlights of my day include a fifteen minute conversation with a very nice man in the Barrio Alto about how hard it is to find a job in Portugal, a trip to Belem on the light rail (which five ticket checking guards ambushed, for lack of a better term, the train at one stop; they certainly don’t mess around in Portugal), a much longer walk back from Belem to Lisboa than I anticipated (guess that light rail moved quicker than I thought), and my first taste of the Portuguese pastries.

Monica arrived around 8 p.m. and our plan to meet at the hostel worked flawlessly. After she settled in we made our way towards the Barrio Alto (known in Lisbon for its bars with very close proximity to one another and flocks of young tourists). We stopped for dinner at a nice café that I had found earlier in the day before going to a Jazz Wine Bar and meeting up with some of Monica’s friends from Madrid.

Saturday, after waking and enjoying breakfast in the hostel, we made our way to Sintra, about forty five minutes outside of Lisbon. Joe, our hostel guide, had told us about a Lisbon Card that cost 13 euro but was the best value if you intended to go to Sintra, including entrance to the Palace, Castle, bus, and train tickets. Having been “screwed over” in the past with deals like this we opted, being the witty college students we are, to purchase things individually choosing only the monuments we wanted to see and saving some money. Needless to say, by the time we had caught the tram and train to Sintra, we had almost spent the value of the card. As we stood in front of the entrance to the Palace and Gardens Monica and I both rationalized spending ten euro for the entrance fee. We laughed as we both hesitated the purchase, but quickly realized this was nearly the end of our trip and how often would be back in Portugal.

The palace was stunning. I felt like I was in a Disney movie with colorful towers, large arches, and beautifully adorned rooms. The panoramic views around the palace revealed a picturesque country side, a hazy view of the Atlantic Ocean and Lisbon off in the distance. For lack of words to describe the palace, I will let the pictures below do the talking.

Following the palace we made our way to the nearby castle. Portugal has a very unique blend of Moorish and Islamic influence, which is very evident in the monuments throughout Sintra. The castle was, much like the palace, magnificent for its views of the valley. Sintra is perched on a hillside, providing panoramic views of the surrounding area.

The final stop on our “scenic bus ride around Sintra,” was in the old town near the train station. We arrived later in the evening as the sun was setting and the town was buzzing. After a few quick postcard stops, we wandered into a port wine shop learning and tasting our way through the various types of Port wine and the different methods for aging them. Walking up towards a shopping street we saw quite the line forming near what appeared to be a bakery and café. Interested, we grabbed a number and eagerly waited what wonderful pastry seemed to be causing all the attention. Twenty minutes later our number was called and we approached the counter and ordered “two of whatever everyone else was getting.” Turns out, that special pastry was the house specialty, which was quite tasty and well worth the wait. The old adage that a place must be good if it has a long line stood true again in Sintra.

Returning from Sintra mid evening we met again with Monica’s friends from Madrid, on the night’s agenda… traditional fado music. The fado area of Lisbon is near the Castle just east of where we were stating. Monica and I decided we would walk to Fado Maior, where we were meeting the others from the other hostel. We left plenty of time for errors, which thankfully we did, as the location was very tough to find and thanks to Monica’s semi understanding of one bar owners Portuguese we made our way “around the bend, down the stairs, and on the left.” For dinner I dined on bacalhau, cod, cooked with eggs, a Portuguese specialty. But the real reason why the night was so memorable was the fado music and the friendly hospitality. Fado Maior is a small, maybe ten tables, family ran restaurant. Our waitress took our orders, kept the wine flowing, was kind enough to separate all of our bills (at a table with 8 others, this was very much appreciated and unexpected), and sang fado music throughout the evening. She was joined by an older lady, whom we presume was the chef or owners wife, as well as what appeared to be the sun. For twenty euro we had a great meal and three hours of free entertainment! This ranks with one of my favorite memories of Europe. (Sorry no pictures here, didn't bring the Rebel and forgot my other camera)

Our final morning was spent in Belem. Belem is a suburb west of Lisbon. Belem is home to a Monastery, a naval and armored tower, the President’s residence, and many museums. Being a Sunday, we got free entrance to the Monastery and attached museum. Inside the Monastery was Vasco de Gamas tomb, our second straight weekend with an explorers tomb. The attached museum had the remains of a mummified Egyptian body, all that is worth mentioning. A picture of the Monastery is below.

Following the museum we explored the tower (also free) and the Sunday street market / flea market. We ended our visit to Belem with the world famous Pasteis de Belem. Apparently only two people know the recipe which is handed down only when someone passes away. The famed British chef Jamie Oliver has traveled to Belem to replicate the pastry without success. Its best described as a phyllo dough with a sweet custard filling best hot from the oven. So you are probably recognizing a trend here, Portuguese are known for their sweets and for good reason, the food throughout was very rich. We returned to central Lisbon to witness a motorcycle exhibition by the National Guard (who at one point put 12 people on one motorcycle) and listen to the sweet sounds of bagpipes in Lisbon. Monica left later that evening. With a flight the next morning, I took the evening to relax, walked a bit more around Lisbon, and reflected on my last trip away from London in Europe, this was my 12^th country in a little over 9 weeks.

Below are photos of the tower, pastries, the main square, and the impressive twelve people motorcycle trick.