Lisbon

Hi everyone,

I've had a blogging break but I'm back with a holiday blog post. We didn't have too much time for a holiday this year so we decided to split it up, instead of going somewhere for two weeks. 

Back in July we hopped on a plane to spend a week in Lisbon. I had never been before and didn't know what to expect, but I do love city trips so I expected to love it, and I did! My dad had told me that Lisbon is quite an underrated city and it really is. When you think of city trips, you tend to think of Paris, Berlin, Rome. Well I do, anyway. But Lisbon is a beautiful city, with lots to offer. I would love to share every single photo but that would probably get boring so I will keep it short and sweet.

We always make a list of what we want to see and where we want to go. We add addresses and important details like closing times and entrance fees. Since we went for a week, rather than our usual four days, we were able to do the majority of our list. 

The first full day we were there, we took a taxi to a scooter rental place and rented a scooter for five days. There are lots of ways to get round in Lisbon, but if you don't want to keep paying for taxis (although they are cheap) or squeeze into sticky trams, then a scooter (or bicycle!) is the way to go. Plus you get tanned while you ride around and you don't have to pay any parking. It just makes being a tourist really easy. 

Instead of boring you with names of places you could easily look up (google link here), like the Belém Tower or the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, I thought I would share my highlights.

Driving around a city you aren't too familiar with means you tend to get lost, which means you tend to discover amazing viewpoints, like the one we found, looking out to the Marquês de Pombal roundabout. If anyone knows the name of this lookout point, let me know! We actually watched the World Cup Final down there.

We tried to go up the Vasco da Gama tower, but it was closed so instead we went inside to have dinner. It was a bit too expensive for our taste, but delicious all the same. And sitting out on the terrace, overlooking the sea while drinking mocktails and eating amazing food was really lovely. We also visited the aquarium and the casino in that area.

If you want to chill out with a glass of sangria and a city/sea view, then I would recommend going up to the miradouro das portas do sol, which literally means view of the sun doors. It's a lot less crowded up there and has a really nice, relaxed atmosphere.

If you would rather wander the streets while simultaneously doing a spot of shopping, as well as sightseeing, then head to the Rua Augusta, which is where the arch is located. On one side, you have shops and cafés galore and the Santa Justa lift, while on the other side, you have a square with a sea view and a nice place to rest. 

I hope you've all had a great summer!