The hills. It feels like an older, prettier, friendlier, more colourful San Francisco. Lisbon is a super hilly city, which makes for some dramatic views. I loved coming down cobblestone streets and looking up from the main squares towards castle-topped hills and terra cotta roofed houses. Very Mediterranean (even though it’s on the Atlantic Coast).
Brazilian influences. I just love how Latin the city is. I don’t know if we were lucky or if it really is teeming with Latin Americans, but seriously, our nights out in Bairro Alto were more Latin than my last vacation in Argentina. We danced to live samba music in old, cozy dives. Portas Largas bar was the perfect hole-in-the-wall place: family-style wooden benches, cheap cheap drinks, old posters on the walls, locals singing and dancing to the Portuguese music. Just so much fun.
Pasteis de Belem. By far, the BEST custard cakes I’ve had. EVER.
Agra salsa bar. We went there after hours, when everything else closed down. I can remember clearly how amazing it was to dance to this song in the heat, the sweat, the loud music.
25th of April Bridge. It connects the city of Lisbon to Almada, across the Tagus river and it looks exactly like the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe because it’s made by the same company!
Taxis! They are everywhere and super super cheap! We were zipping around the city at 5 euros a pop. Such a bargain compared with London!
The drive to Cascais. It’s a 20 minute drive from Lisbon and is right along the sea. We rushed there on Sunday to catch a glimpse of the beach and to get some ice cream. We barely made our train back to the city to catch our plane home! The drive through the hills was beautiful and reminded me so much of California! It made me think about whether I could seriously settle in Europe. The world is small and I lose track of places because they can start to look so similar to one another.
My girls. The trip would not have been the same without M and C. Seriously, we had such a laugh. I pray that everyone gets to experience the kind of friendship that we share. It is the medicine of life.
Seafood, seafood. Lisbon is known for having great seafood and we took full advantage of this. Octopus carpaccio, cod, fish cakes, prawns, scallops. Exquisite stuff. And so so cheap!
Sunset at the Castle of Saint George. I love cities that make you feel like you’re in a completely different era. Marrackech was like this and being at the Castle of Saint George during sunset elicited the same experience. It was magical – glowing orange and pink light, a quiet peacefulness that comes over everyone during the few minutes before the sun dips beyond the horizon, a soft breeze. Mmmmmm. Just magic.
