We woke up at 9:30 am, got ready and checked-out of our hotel. There is a taxi stand right next to our hotel so we took a taxi to the airport for our flight to Lisbon. It was a 20 minute ride without much traffic that took us through modern highways of Madrid and we got a chance to see the newer areas of the city. We were at the airport at 10:45 am. After dropping off our suitcases, we proceeded through security to our gate, window shopping at the various duty free stores on our way. Once close to our gate, we had brunch - croissant, orange juice, cheese baguette sandwich and cappuccino. A quick note about European cappuccino and orange juice. Unlike North America, orange juice is fresh everywhere you go. Similarly, cappuccino is very high quality with just the right balance between milk and coffee. We haven't had bad cappuccino anywhere on our trip.
After that, we stood in line for boarding which formed around half an hour before the actual boarding. We had so much time that Samia kept standing in the line and I went to 100 Montaditos opposite the gate to get a bite-sized dessert sandwich - Oreos, cream and chocolate sauce in a chocolate cake bread. I joined her in the line and we had the delicious sandwich. Then I stood in the line while Samia went for a washroom break and when she came back, the line had just started moving. Once we boarded the flight, it was late and took off almost 50 minutes late. It's a short flight though - just about an hour. The time zone in Portugal is one hour behind so we reached there the same time as we left Madrid: 1 pm. After getting our bags, we had to wait for almost half an hour in the line for getting a taxi - that's how busy the airport was! We reached our hotel and checked-in around 2 pm. Then we made a walking plan using our guidebook, rested a little and headed out.
Our plan was to see an old castle in the Alfama area and visit the area of Belem. We walked to the closest metro station that is a little less than a km and bought an unlimited day pass. The castle and Alfama are on a hill - Lisbon's city center is built on seven hills - so we got off at the station at the base of the hill and took an old tram up the hill. This historic tram is over a 100 years old so the ride was quite different. It went through narrow winding cobblestone streets up the hill and the outer facades of the houses had colorful tiles on them. This was the Alfama area. Due to some confusion, we got off a couple of stations earlier but then asked for directions and walked the rest of the way up the hill. On our way, we saw a viewpoint square that overlooks the sea with a backdrop of colorful houses on hills. After reaching the castle, we took a few pictures and then headed back down to the square for a chicken wrap. Then we took the same tram for taking us down the hill to the downtown area called Baixa. We were enjoying the ride so much that we decided to get off a couple of stations after the station that would've taken us to the Belem area, the idea being that we could walk back and take in the atmosphere of the neighborhood. But the next station was too far from Baixa so we decided to take the tram back in the opposite direction but for some reason, 4 trams passed by without stopping so we started walking back following the tram line. This took us to the inner streets of the area and exploring the hilly cobblestone streets on foot turned out to be very enriching. We finally managed to get on a tram after a couple of stops. After getting on it, we recognized the driver and a passenger that was sitting in front of me on our last ride - in the time between us getting off at that wrong station and walking back to this station, the tram had circled back and we were on it again! This time we got off at Baixa and waited for the tram to the Belem area. The square where we waited was called Praca da Figueira and had a dance performance going on at a stage so we saw that for a little while and then boarded the tram. Unlike the historical tram earlier, this was a modern tram similar to what we had seen in Amsterdam last year. The Baixa area seemed a happening place so we decided that after exploring Belem, we would come back here for dinner.
The ride to Belem was almost 25 minutes long and passed by an imposing 18th century palace called Palacio Foz and then went parallel to the coast of the River Tagus. There is a famous dessert of Belem sold at a store that started in 1850s - the Pasteis de Belem. The dessert takes its name after the shop and is essentially a custard patty. We first tried it at a copycat store along with cappuccino and chicken patty (Pakistan style) and then set off for a walk along the coast. It was a very refreshing walk and the river is calm and the area clean. We also saw yachts docked there. The best thing about the coast was that there were no tourists so it was very peaceful. It's not a beach and we were walking at the side of the river on a cobblestone path. We walked all the way to the Monument to the Discoveries that's a huge memorial for various important personalities in Portugal's history. Among them is Vasco de Gama, the explorer who sailed to India successfully (unlike Columbus) and is the reason why there was a Portuguese colony in the Goa area of India. The monument must be 100 meters tall and has a huge cross/sword in front and statues of about ten men on its side and they are all looking towards the sea. Then we crossed the road to walk in the park of the San Jeronimo monastery, a grand yet serene building. We didn't have time to go inside so we just saw it from the outside and headed back. We stopped at the original Pasteis de Belem store and got two dessert pastries packed. We'll have them tomorrow. Then we boarded the bus back to Praca da Figueira and passed through some more inner streets in a different part of the city but equally full of character.
We had dinner at a really nice restaurant in Praca da Figueira - Peri Peri chicken and cod fried rice - two typical Portuguese dishes. Yes, this is the same Peri Peri chicken that's sold at the Nando's chain throughout the world. Actually, Nando's also sells custard tarts which we are guessing are inspired from the Pasteis de Belem. The food was great and we realized that Nando's serves quite authentic Portuguese cuisine.
After that we took a few photos in the nearby square called Rossio that has the national theater and a couple of fountains and statues in the square. Lisbon is a city full of character, colorful houses and rich history. We are a little surprised that it doesn't have more tourists.
Then we took the subway back to the station closest to our hotel and walked back. Lots of walking again today at just shy of 11 km. On our way, quite close to our hotel, we saw Pakistan style houses with outer walls and a gate - thanks to Mohsin for telling us to look out for them otherwise we might not have noticed.
Time to go to bed now since our guide will pick us up at 9 am tomorrow for an 8 hour tour of Sintra and Cascais areas, within driving distance of Lisbon. It will be in a car with a guide since it will the last bit of sightseeing in our trip and we don't want it to be too taxing on our legs.
Till tomorrow, take care and good night!
After that, we stood in line for boarding which formed around half an hour before the actual boarding. We had so much time that Samia kept standing in the line and I went to 100 Montaditos opposite the gate to get a bite-sized dessert sandwich - Oreos, cream and chocolate sauce in a chocolate cake bread. I joined her in the line and we had the delicious sandwich. Then I stood in the line while Samia went for a washroom break and when she came back, the line had just started moving. Once we boarded the flight, it was late and took off almost 50 minutes late. It's a short flight though - just about an hour. The time zone in Portugal is one hour behind so we reached there the same time as we left Madrid: 1 pm. After getting our bags, we had to wait for almost half an hour in the line for getting a taxi - that's how busy the airport was! We reached our hotel and checked-in around 2 pm. Then we made a walking plan using our guidebook, rested a little and headed out.
Our plan was to see an old castle in the Alfama area and visit the area of Belem. We walked to the closest metro station that is a little less than a km and bought an unlimited day pass. The castle and Alfama are on a hill - Lisbon's city center is built on seven hills - so we got off at the station at the base of the hill and took an old tram up the hill. This historic tram is over a 100 years old so the ride was quite different. It went through narrow winding cobblestone streets up the hill and the outer facades of the houses had colorful tiles on them. This was the Alfama area. Due to some confusion, we got off a couple of stations earlier but then asked for directions and walked the rest of the way up the hill. On our way, we saw a viewpoint square that overlooks the sea with a backdrop of colorful houses on hills. After reaching the castle, we took a few pictures and then headed back down to the square for a chicken wrap. Then we took the same tram for taking us down the hill to the downtown area called Baixa. We were enjoying the ride so much that we decided to get off a couple of stations after the station that would've taken us to the Belem area, the idea being that we could walk back and take in the atmosphere of the neighborhood. But the next station was too far from Baixa so we decided to take the tram back in the opposite direction but for some reason, 4 trams passed by without stopping so we started walking back following the tram line. This took us to the inner streets of the area and exploring the hilly cobblestone streets on foot turned out to be very enriching. We finally managed to get on a tram after a couple of stops. After getting on it, we recognized the driver and a passenger that was sitting in front of me on our last ride - in the time between us getting off at that wrong station and walking back to this station, the tram had circled back and we were on it again! This time we got off at Baixa and waited for the tram to the Belem area. The square where we waited was called Praca da Figueira and had a dance performance going on at a stage so we saw that for a little while and then boarded the tram. Unlike the historical tram earlier, this was a modern tram similar to what we had seen in Amsterdam last year. The Baixa area seemed a happening place so we decided that after exploring Belem, we would come back here for dinner.
The ride to Belem was almost 25 minutes long and passed by an imposing 18th century palace called Palacio Foz and then went parallel to the coast of the River Tagus. There is a famous dessert of Belem sold at a store that started in 1850s - the Pasteis de Belem. The dessert takes its name after the shop and is essentially a custard patty. We first tried it at a copycat store along with cappuccino and chicken patty (Pakistan style) and then set off for a walk along the coast. It was a very refreshing walk and the river is calm and the area clean. We also saw yachts docked there. The best thing about the coast was that there were no tourists so it was very peaceful. It's not a beach and we were walking at the side of the river on a cobblestone path. We walked all the way to the Monument to the Discoveries that's a huge memorial for various important personalities in Portugal's history. Among them is Vasco de Gama, the explorer who sailed to India successfully (unlike Columbus) and is the reason why there was a Portuguese colony in the Goa area of India. The monument must be 100 meters tall and has a huge cross/sword in front and statues of about ten men on its side and they are all looking towards the sea. Then we crossed the road to walk in the park of the San Jeronimo monastery, a grand yet serene building. We didn't have time to go inside so we just saw it from the outside and headed back. We stopped at the original Pasteis de Belem store and got two dessert pastries packed. We'll have them tomorrow. Then we boarded the bus back to Praca da Figueira and passed through some more inner streets in a different part of the city but equally full of character.
We had dinner at a really nice restaurant in Praca da Figueira - Peri Peri chicken and cod fried rice - two typical Portuguese dishes. Yes, this is the same Peri Peri chicken that's sold at the Nando's chain throughout the world. Actually, Nando's also sells custard tarts which we are guessing are inspired from the Pasteis de Belem. The food was great and we realized that Nando's serves quite authentic Portuguese cuisine.
After that we took a few photos in the nearby square called Rossio that has the national theater and a couple of fountains and statues in the square. Lisbon is a city full of character, colorful houses and rich history. We are a little surprised that it doesn't have more tourists.
Then we took the subway back to the station closest to our hotel and walked back. Lots of walking again today at just shy of 11 km. On our way, quite close to our hotel, we saw Pakistan style houses with outer walls and a gate - thanks to Mohsin for telling us to look out for them otherwise we might not have noticed.
Time to go to bed now since our guide will pick us up at 9 am tomorrow for an 8 hour tour of Sintra and Cascais areas, within driving distance of Lisbon. It will be in a car with a guide since it will the last bit of sightseeing in our trip and we don't want it to be too taxing on our legs.
Till tomorrow, take care and good night!
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