Lisboa, muito bom

Last weekend was the first of my [hopefully] many European adventures this year. On Thursday, Ester, Andrea, and I set off for Lisbon, Portugal in search of the best possible way to spend our 5-day weekend.

Looking posh, as always

Success.

We took a bus... kind of a schlep, but we're on a budget. It was an over-nighter so we got to Lisbon at around 6am. I may or may not have forgotten to print out the hostel information so we had some time to kill while in the process of finding a wi-fi connection. We grabbed a coffee at what I'm pretty sure was the only open café in the city and when we were finished we headed downhill where, in Lisbon, you can always find the sea.


O Mar
We got there just in time for the sunrise- stunning. And who knew I would miss that salty smell of ocean air so much? Not a bad way to start the day.

As Ruas

We had a lot of time to explore on our own and what we found made me fall more and more in love with this city. There was so much beauty packed into those old streets and it felt like every building had a story to tell.

And now for a semi-educational moment:

Azulejos tiles
Do these blue tiles look familiar? Portugal is famous for them. There are intricate buildings all over Lisbon covered in these tiles and dozens of shops where you can buy your very own hand-painted azulejos... one of the more expensive souvenirs but worth it for the little piece of Portugese culture that comes with.

The trolley in lisbon runs on these cables and you can find them all over the city. To me, it can become a bit of an eye-sore but it definitely adds a unique look to the streets

We hunted down one of the best vintage clothing shops in Lisbon which was so conveniently equipped with a funky, vegetarian-friendly restaurant. For all my foodies out there, this was a tomato/mozzo quiche with roasted veggie pasta and mixed greens. The part of this meal you don't see featured here is the giant slice of what might be the closest I get to apple pie this year that I demolished so fast, there was no time for silly cameras.

That night, we found some fun happening in Bairro Alto, the neighborhood where we specifically booked a hostel because it's known for a great location and an even better night life. That weekend, Bairro Alto definitely lived up to my expectations.

Jazz Club- you couldn't walk 5 feet down our street without
stumbling upon some good live music

Our tour guide with San Vicente. So Portugese, right?

Here are a few shots from the free walking tour we went on the next morning:

The thing about Lisbon that really got me was its unassuming beauty... as if no one even tried to make it as perfect as it was-  just happened that way.

Getting lost and "finding ourselves" in the old, narrow
streets of Alfamma- one of Lisbon's oldest neighborhoods. 

Too cute to not put in the blog.

 

A hoarder's dream... also known as the Feria de Ladrao
(Fair of Thieves... because who knows how much of the stuff sold
here was "previously owned")

When in Lisbon...

...eat fresh seafood (literally, fresh. I'm still regretting this choice a little bit.
It tasted great, but the whole looking-at-me-with-the-eyes-that-it-still-has part was rough.)

Sunset over Lisbon

Cascais

We couldn't resist a trip to the beach... only a short train ride to Cascais! 

Waves crashing over the sea walls. Reminded me of Splash Zones
at Sea World... minus the Killer Whales

Soaking up the Portugal sun!

Top it all off with another epic Portugese sunset

Belem

So we all know how much I love a quality dessert. In Lisbon, there are these "pasteis de nata" (cream pastries) which are like little baby creamy creme brule custard pies which could turn any atheist into a believer. Sprinkle a little cinnamon and powdered sugar on them and brace yourself for an out-of-body experience. Now, these so-called "pasteis de nata" are actually just really tasty imitations of the real thing which you can only find in this bakery in Belem [circa 1837]. The recipe is TOP SECRET and for good reason. As the story goes (told by our questionable tour guide), there are these 4 guys who each know a portion of the recipe and they are never allowed to all be together because the risk of having someone else piece together the recipe would be disastrous. Do they think someone is going to hold them up at gunpoint? Probably. Fact check me on this one, but I was told they sell about 40,000 of these babies per day from this single bakery. Legendary!

       

Lisboa Moderna 
Lisbon has it all- including the skyscrapers that you'd expect to see in a European capital city. We just didn't realize how underwhelmed we'd be by Lisbon looking more or less like a normal city. We did, however, see some interesting sculptures...

Sintra

We took another quick trip to a nearby town called Sintra which is famous for it's palaces, castles, and just the overall feeling that you're inside of a fairy-tale. 

Touring the Quinta de Regaleira

Abundant gardens complete with caves and grottos

If this doesn't remind of you of a Disney movie than either you're not of
my generation or you didn't have a childhood.

Recap from the Coldplay concert last week:

It was amazing- the music and the special effects blew us away. And we made friends. Who could ask for more?

In line at the Plaza de Toros de las Ventas con Margarita!

Can't beat the venue

Our Mysterious Coldplay Blinky Bracelets

When entering the Plaza, everyone was given a bracelet... we found out why when the band started playing the first song and immediately every single bracelet in the stadium started flashing multi-colored lights. Every song had a different special effect and in that first song, we were wearing it. How clever, right? Here's a video Margaret took in case you need a visual aid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA0gdaaqW_U

During one of the songs, a band member started spray-painting
this onto one of the massive screens

I think that's definitely enough for now... as always, thanks for reading!
hasta luego xoxo