Day 1
I made it to Lisbon and words cannot describe how happy I am. This year I have managed to visit two of my bucket list countries. Italy and Portugal were both very high on my list for Europe. Do you want to know what I think about Portugal so far?
When my plane landed I tried a Portuguese tart (Pastel de nata). The country is famous for them so of course it was the first thing I wanted to try. It was not that tasty…but that could be because I bought it at a train station. So I’m going to try one every day from a different place to see if the taste varies. Anyway, after grabbing my tart I hopped on the metro to my accommodation. I’m staying in a guesthouse which is good value for money and close to public transport. One thing I have to say is that Lisbon is the hilliest city I have ever been to. It is borderline dangerous I almost slipped so many times. I also saw many other people losing their balance whilst trying to navigate through the steep hills and roads.
I went to São Jorge castle which was cool and had a lovely view. After that, I went to a shop called “A Vida Portuguesa” and bought some soap. I was going to also buy some port wine but decided not to because I’m flying with hand luggage only. After that, I went to the Time Out Market for dinner and ordered bolinhos de bacalhau with tomato rice. This was pretty much the end of my first day. Tomorrow I am going to the beach all day to relax after walking all those steep roads. It has been a great first day in Lisbon and I’m looking forward to what tomorrow will bring. For now, I am going to sort out my photos from today and catch some sleep.
Day 2
Wow, I am so tired. I went to the beach today and it was very hot. I took an overground train out of Lisbon to a coastal town called Cascais. It was nice and peaceful to just watch the waves go by. Some creepy guys kept on staring at me and trying to talk to me. It got to the point where I caught one of them taking photos of me on the beach. What the hell! Being a solo female traveller attracts creeps regardless of how you present yourself. So I decided to get dressed and come off the beach for a while because it made me quite uncomfortable.
After doing some research online I tried to get into the restaurant which supposedly has the best octopus. Unfortunately, they did not let me in because they only had one table left and it was a table for 4. I found a less touristy traditional restaurant within 5 minutes and ordered Octopus with rice and some vinho verde. This was quite exciting because I have been waiting to try octopus for ages. Do you want to know what my verdict is? It tastes like chicken and fish mixed together.
I texted one of my friends from university to let her know that I am in her country. She is a solo traveller too and I know she had been travelling around South America for the past year. It turns out she is back in Portugal and we are meeting on Friday. Remember I said that I would try another Portuguese tart? I went to the supermarket on my way home and bought a pack of 4. They surprisingly tasted a lot better this time. Tomorrow I am going on a day tour to Sintra. It is like a town/village in the mountains which has many castles and palaces. I think the tour leaves early at like 9 am so I need to get an early night.
Day 3
So I did my trip to Sintra today. It was good because we had a great guide, he was friendly and went out of his way to talk to everyone. We visited Pena Palace in the mountains which was beautiful. I have been to many palaces in Europe and none of them compare to this. It is mainly bright red and yellow but has some Moroccan patterns as well. I learnt that Portugal has a lot of North African style decorations from when the Moors invaded Spain and Portugal. After visiting the Palace we went to Sintra village to have a break for lunch. Two Italian girls on my tour asked if I wanted to join them for lunch because I was travelling solo. So we went to eat chicken crepes and tried the famous Sintra pillow pastries (travesseiros). They taste amazing!
So after eating we went to try a shot of “ginjinha” which is like cherry liquor. Then we back to the tour bus and made a few more stops along the way. It was so windy to the point where the van was shaking. The police closed off some of the mountain roads due to the extreme winds. Our tour guide said that Madeira airport has been closed for 5 days due to the extreme winds. Madeira is also another place I would like to visit someday.
Anyway, so after the tour our guide drove us back to Lisbon and dropped us off near a square. From here I went to a local restaurant called “Bonjardim” to try Piri Piri chicken. It tastes very different to the Piri Piri chicken we have in England. I even went to the supermarket afterwards to buy some Piri Piri seasoning as a souvenir.
Day 4
I had a nice day today which started with a food tasting walking tour from 10-3 pm. It was a great tour because we got to eat and see the city at the same time. There were nice people on my tour so I got to talk to everyone. On this tour, we got to try sheep’s cheese, port wine, Sagres beer, vinho verde, shrimp, bacalhau, and a fish pastry. To be honest these are things that I could have tried anywhere and I didn’t need to do the tour. But I think it was a nice way to meet people and share travel experiences with other travel/food enthusiasts.
So after the tour, I went to Carmo Convent because I did not get the chance to go on Monday. It was cool because it is not something you get to see every day. It was also not packed with tourists and had a low entry fee of like 4 euros. Worth it in my opinion! Then I went to have dinner and had the cheapest meal so far in Lisbon. This included an olive starter, grilled fish, salad, rice, potatoes, and a glass of sangria. Guess how much I paid? 9 euros. The manager even gave me a shot of Ginjinha and a shot of port wine for free after my meal. Now I am back at my accommodation and need to shower and pack. Tomorrow I am meeting my friend from university in Belém and leaving for the airport in the evening.
Day 5
I am writing this from Lisbon Airport terminal 2 as I wait for my flight which is due to depart at 10 pm. Today I met up with my friend in Belém. We wandered around the area and then she took me on an hour bus journey to a big shopping centre. We went for lunch and I had bitoque, which is steak with egg and rice. I’ve noticed that Portugal is a meat & fish heavy country. I do love fish so this is a bonus for me! Anyway…I am so tired so there isn’t much more for me to write. It’s been a really good trip and Portugal is a destination I will return to.
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