Four days in Lisbon, Portugal

This year I had an opportunity to travel abroad with another flight attendant friend and we chose to visit Lisbon, Portugal. We were only there for 4 days, but that was just the perfect amount of time to see and do everything we wanted to.  Here is how we spent our days.

Day 1:

The first day in Lisbon Portugal I was pretty jetlagged from taking a red eye from the East Coast. After checking into our Air BnB I took a nap then we went to dinner. I got a Pad Thai dish that was delicious. After dinner we explored the downtown area for a bit then called it a night because we had an early day planned for tomorrow. 

Day 2: The next day we did a free walking tour of the city with a guide. He showed us many historical buildings of the city.

 We also went to the oldest book store in the word. When you bought any books there, they stamped it for you stating "We hereby certify this book was bought at the world's oldest operating bookshop in the world" so of course I had to buy one. 

After the tour we went for lunch. Luckily all the menus were in English so they were easy to read, however the description of the items were the challenge. I was going to order a skirt steak but then decided to order the sea bass since we were close to the ocean and the waiter said that was a great choice. In my mind it was going to come out as a square white piece of flakey fish.

Boy was I wrong. I told my friend I was going to have a hard time eating something that was looking at me . She then moved my lemon slice over top of it's eye and said there, now it's not. I still struggled to eat it but tried my best. I wasn't too concerned not finishing it because I knew we were going to continue to eat, drink, and explore the city.

After not eating my lunch, I didn't feel bad having an afternoon treat at "A Brasileira" I had a delicious croissant that was filled with Nutella and a cafe latte. After our snack we visited the downtown area at the popular "Pink Street" 

This was a trendy area that had several shops and restaurants. 

We went to one place for a drink since they were having a Happy Hour special. We walked around the city a bit before our dinner reservations. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but it was recommended by our tour guide and it did not disappoint. 

Olives and Cheese

In America we are used to the bread basket brought out prior to dinner, well in Portugal they brought out olives and this delicious cheese. So after indulging in all that, since we got two orders, we shared some sauteed shrimp that was also very tasty.

 

 Since we got two orders of cheese and olives, we decided to share an order of the sauteed shrimp. That was also very tasty.

Day 3: The following day we took a bus trip to Sintra, Regaleira and Penna Palace On the website it states "Visit the most extravagant palaces of Sintra on a full day trip.

 From lush gardens to imaginative architecture, transport yourself back in time to a fairy- tale era". And that is exactly how it felt.  There was this one castle that had a spiral staircase that you walked down into a cave. The one palace that we visited was so far up that it was it was so cold and windy when we got to the top of it. However, there were some fun photo ops despite the cloudy and overcast skies. 

When we arrived back in Lisbon we were hungry but because everything shuts down in the afternoon until dinner time it was difficult to find somewhere that served food. We came upon this Sushi restaurant that was closed for food but he said we could have a drink in there. We were the only ones there, except for this one family that was finishing up.. They said we should try their Rose. After sitting down, they ended up buying us a glass which was so nice. After drinking the wine we asked if we could stay and order a bottle of it. Our server said absolutely. So we just relaxed and enjoyed the rest of our wine. By the time we were finishing our wine the restaurant was about to open for dinner so we stayed and had a few sushi rolls. After walking around the city some more, we stopped for some late night nachos and guacamole. 

Day 4: Our last full day in Lisbon was a busy one. We woke up and took an Uber to Pasteis de Belem. This is the original place for the Pastel de Nata. These are the famous Portuguese custard tarts. We have had them a few times throughout the weekend but wanted to try them here.  They did not disappoint. We had a few while we were waiting in line since you can order them on the other side to go if you don't want to sit down in the dining room. But the dining room had many more pastry options that we wanted to try. They all were super cheap so we thought they would all be bite size like the tarts but they were not. Our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs and we were struggling to finish all the tasty treats we ordered. 

After breakfast we walked to another area called LX Factory. This was another trendy spot that had a bunch of shops and restaurants as well. We explored the area for a bit before getting our Uber to take us to a show we had purchased tickets for prior. This was an Immersive show that was pretty cool. After the show we went to a local park and had a glass of wine and just people watched and had great conversation. 

After the park we walked to the downtown area where it almost reminded me of the Kriskringle shops   that cities have around Christmas time. They had a bunch of different vendors selling a variety of crafts and snacks.

 They also had some musicians playing guitars and singing. We tried this cheese and honey sandwich that was ok but a little dry. 

I thought it was going to be melted but they just put the slices of cheese with a drizzle of honey in between two big slices of bread(that were also very dry). Good thing we had a glass of wine to make up for it. After enjoying our wine and the music we walked to our next activity.

In the evening, we took a river cruise.  On the way out it was still sunny and we had a great view of the city.  The cruise included a glass of  wine and a charcuterie board.

 

Lisbon also has an iconic bridge that is suppose to be replica of the San Francisco bridge. After the cruise we walked around the lively city. That night Lisbon won a very big football match (aka soccer) and the locals were going crazy. It was fun to just walk around and watch. It was finally time to call it a night on our final night in Lisbon.

A few take away tips. 

Definitely try to sleep on your red eye flight over there due to the time change. I left the East Coast at 5:40pm and arrived in Lisbon at 6am. So with the time change technically it was only midnight to me. So that first day was a bit of a struggle. Usually when I travel abroad I am taking a true red eye flight that leaves later at night on the east coast and it's easier to sleep on the plane. After getting some sleep and adjusting to their time zone I was good to go the rest of the trip.

We stayed from Wednesday-Sunday. I think that was a great timeframe to see everything we wanted to see. 

Places to definitely visit:

Book a Day trip to Sintra, you won't be disappointed. 

Visit the World's Oldest bookstore, and buy a book to get the stamp inside.  

Visit Pasteis de Belem to get a Pastel De Nata. You can get these all over Lisbon but this is the best place for them since this is where it originated.

Take advantage of all the free walking tours to explore the city and learn some history. Make sure you wear comfy shoes because it is a very walkable city, however there are many inclines and steps throughout the city. The only time we ordered an Uber was to and from the airport and to get to Pasteis de Belem and from the LX Factory to the show. We may have been able to walk from there, but we were kind of crunched for time and didn't want to be late to the show.

The city of Lisbon is very Americanized and was easy to explore and get around. Everyone spoke English and the menus were also in English, which was a huge plus. It was a beautiful city to visit and I am so glad I got to experience another great country. 

Have you ever visited Lisbon? If so, what was a highlight if yours? ~L