【Travel Blog】Lisbon .::The city of light::

Portugal was never on my bucket list. I only decided to add it into our itinerary because it’s the closest to Spain and the weather seemed warmer compared to the other countries in the month of February, when we planned to travel.

Who would have known, our two short days in Lisbon turned out to be the best days of our entire trip!

For the beautiful weather, lively city, friendly people, and down-to-earth living expenses, Lisbon is a holiday destination that I would recommend to everyone.

Itinerary

I had a detailed itinerary but we didn’t really follow it because there was a small hiccup on the second day – my sister, Ju, was supposed to meet us at the hostel in the morning, but the TAP airline lost her luggage so she was delayed (luckily, they tracked it down in the end and returned to the hostel the next day). Also, because my dear friend, C, was happily just pregnant so we didn’t pressure ourselves to stick to the schedule.

Anyway, here’s my suggested 2-day itinerary:

Day 1 (arrive in the afternoon): Check-in hostel. Chiado city centre (shopping, Carmo Convent). Feira da Ladra (if it’s open). Alfama (afternoon tea). Bairro Alto (dinner).
Day 2: Day trip to Sintra (40 mins train from Rossio Station). Belem (Portuguese tarts, Jeronimos Monsatery, Discoveries Monument, Belem Tower).

A tip: the VAT tax refund minimum spend in Portugal (61.35€) is on the lower end compared to other EU countries (e.g. Spain 90.15€, Italy 155€) and the VAT refund that tourists are able to get is up to 23%. We did our shopping at Zara and H&M here and it worked better for us than shopping in Spain.

Chiado

A reason why I loved the Lisbon streets so much was that so many of them lead to the water! The pedestrian streets in Chiado were clean and seemingly well-planned with heritage buildings on the sides of the streets.

Seagulls and pigeons rule this town. They don’t care who this important person was and why humans made a statue out of it.

This was the Santa Justa lift that connects the streets of Baixa with the higher Carmo Square. It’s a funny structure standing tall in the middle of the street. It’s now a tourist attraction and you could get a ride in the lift (for a fee).

The bright sunlight and the azure sky gave Lisbon its deserving name – The City of Light.

The natural lighting made every corner of Lisbon shined with vivid colours, and so full of energy.

We sat down at Cafe Bernard and ordered a Portuguese tart and some pastries to share. The outdoor seating area was perfect for people-watching and soaking up some early spring sunshine. Mmm, I’ll talk about the tarts later.

We met this cool artist with a tattoo on his forehead near Cafe Bernard selling handmade earrings.

I got a pair of medium sized earrings made of plastic shrink films for 3€ with the artist’s original signature and the words “City of Light” in Portuguese at the back. Happy!

Carmo Convent

The location of this medieval convent ruins was really central (right in the middle of Chiado) and was worth a visit. Although most of the original architecture had been destroyed, the remaining Gothic elements of the convent still maintained its charm.

Beyond these ruins, there was a small archaeological museum set in the nave and apse of the Carmo Convent and entry was included in the ticket price.

{Carmo Convent}
Address: Carmo Archaeological Museum, Largo do Carmo 92, Lisbon
Hours: 10am - 5pm or 6pm

Oh, another feature that I liked about Lisbon was of course its bright yellow and red trams. I was amazed by how small some of the roads these trams were able to lead on and how the tracks were so precisely built for them to navigate these roads. There were multiple occasions where I was so sure that we were going to hit the wall– yet we so narrowly avoided it.

The trams came very frequently and was easy to catch. We got the Viva viagem card which could be used on trams and metro and was a convenient choice for tourists like us.

However, not sure what the locals think about these tram surfing kids? Seemed rather dangerous to me, yet we saw so many of them doing it and no one else blinked an eye.

Feira da Ladra (Flea market)

The Feira da Ladra flea market is held every Tuesday and Saturday, and is next to the national pantheon, Santa Engracia Church. Thanks to the Church being in the background, it was the most beautiful flea market that I had ever been.

The flea market was quite big, and would be a treasure grove if you know what you’re looking for.

Do beware of thieves though. Ju’s mobile phone almost got stolen from her pocket. I didn’t even see what happened until I heard her yelled “HEY”, followed by a loud slap – the sound of her slapping the guy right on his dirty hand. I turned around and saw the guy walked away as if nothing had happened. Funnily enough, I read that the word “Ladra” means “female thieves” in Portuguese, and this flea market was nicknamed as “the thieves’ market” by the locals – coincidence?

A snapshot of what to expect at the flea market.

Santa Engracia Church.

Treasure hunting.

{Feira da Ladra}
Getting here: Tram 28 to "Arco de São Vicente" stop.
Hours: Tuesday and Saturday from dusk to dawn.

Alfama

We spent the rest of the sunny afternoon chillaxing on the outdoor sofa of Porta do Sol Cafe in Alfama overlooking the Rio Tejo (Tagus River).

It was perfect.

We stumbled upon this terrace cafe by chance as we randomly got off the tram to see why so many people got off at this stop.

We couldn’t have asked for a better afternoon. I reckon the best way to fall in love with Lisbon is to take it slow and relaxing.

By the way, considering the location and the view, the drinks were reasonably priced at 2.5€ for tea and coffee.

{Porta do Sol Cafe}
Website: http://www.portasdosol.biz/homeen.html

Jeronimos Monsatery

The Jeronimos Monsatery was classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We came too late so didn’t get to go in.

It’s alright, next time! Honestly, Lisbon is a city that I wouldn’t mind coming back.

{Jeronimos Monsatery}
Hours: Oct-May 10am-5:30pm. May-Sep 10am-6:30pm
Closed: Mondays and 1 Jan, Easter Sunday, 1 May & 25 Dec.
Tickets: General 10€. Check official website for full details.

Lisbon Destination Hostel (accommodation)

This was the facade of our hostel. Seriously.

The Lisbon Destination Hostel was situated right inside the Rossio Train Station, the location couldn’t get any more convenient than this – trains to Sintra departs on the platforms right outside the hostel door! Surprisingly, at night, it was very quiet that you wouldn’t remember that you’re actually in a train station.

Cosy decor. Clean beds. New amenities. Friendly English-speaking staff. Full kitchen for use. Free daily breakfast. Free walking tours. Free and stable wifi throughout the hostel. All checked!

{Lisbon Destination Hostel}
Website: http://destinationhostels.com/index.php?pagina=1&menu=1

Pasteis de Belem (Portuguese tarts)

In the late 90s, “Portuguese tarts” was introduced to Taiwan from Macau (once a Portuguese colony) and it was an instant hit. It became so popular that it is nowadays still a permanent menu item in KFCs in Taiwan – one of the things that I always have on my “to-eat list” when I go back to Taiwan.

That’s why we were so excited to visit Pasteis de Belem, known for being the oldest (since 1837) and most popular Portuguese tarts eatery in Lisbon, if not the whole of Portugal. The inside of Pasteis de Belem was so big it was almost like an optical illusion, doors after rooms after doors after corridors after rooms.

We very excitedly got two tarts to share, one with cinnamon and sugar powder, one without. They were still warm and they looked very promising.

…

I took a bite, it’s room temperature in the inside. And then, it hit me. These genuine “Portuguese tarts” tasted totally different than the “Macau style Portuguese tarts”.

I couldn’t believe it. Macau style is so much nicer!!

I had another bite, and remembered all the times that I would order a “Portuguese tart” in Sydney and thought to myself: “This is so bad, Australians don’t know how to make Portuguese tarts. This is not even half as tasty as the Taiwan KFC ones.” (Sorry, I doubted you, Nandos.) It turned out the “bad tarts” that I had had throughout the years were actually “authentic”.

Anyhow, it’s discoveries like this that make me love traveling so much – it’s not just a tart, it’s resolving my long-time mystery and gaining new respect for the Portuguese restaurants in Sydney.

And of course, highest respect to the Macau pastry makers for turning an old classic into such mouth-watering new kind of awesome!

{Pasteis de Belem}
Address: Rua de Belem no 84 a 92, 1300-085 Lisboa
Website: http://www.pasteisdebelem.pt/en.html
Winter hours: 1 Oct - 30 Jun, Mon - Sun 8am-11pm
Summer hours: 1 Jul - 30 Sep, Mon - Sun 8am-12am(midnight)

Pasteis de Cerveja (beer cakes)

I saw many great reviews online about Pasteis de Cervaja‘s famous “beer cakes”. It was a 2-min walk from Pasteis de Belem, so I darted there to pick up a few to try.

Here they were, bite size cakes infused with beer sitting neatly in the window display.

To be honest, I didn’t quite catch the beer taste and found it to be too sweet for my liking. I think it’s just my taste buds not agreeing with Portuguese food…

Other food

I actually don’t understand why I couldn’t get used to Portuguese food. Here’s a sample of what we ate in Lisbon: meat/fish, check. Rice, check. Fries, check.

Yet, all of the places that we tried did not impress. Even the “bacalhau” (Portugues word for “cod fish”) place recommended by our hostel staff was nothing to write home about. We all felt the food was bland and way too oily.