Lisbon

12:11:00 PM Out And About Global 2 Comments

We didn't have near enough time in Lisbon--I feel like we got an appetizer taste of the city, just enough to lure us back again. Since we didn't have much time we took a tour of the city with Lisbon Chill-Out Tours. It offered a good orientation to the city and was a launch pad for exploring. Our guide, Rafa was personable and pleasant. He doesn't spend much time at tourist hot spots as he figures you can find them on your own. Instead you will wind through different neighborhoods allowing you to interact with the locals. We even stopped at someone's house for a taste of homemade Ginja, a cherry liqueur popular with the Portuguese.

The Details

Lisbon Chill-Out Tours

Cost: gratuity

Time: 3.5 hours

Tip: Wear sensible walking shoes and bring snacks for kids.

We discovered this wall of Fado art by accident. The gossipy ladies made me laugh. Our guide told us it's very common for the ladies to lean out their windows and chat.

The best tip our guide gave us for the day was where to eat. He pointed out a small restaurant on a corner on our way up to the castle--We went back after the tour and it was fantastic! Not much to look at on the inside, but the food was delicious. For about €50 we enjoyed a mixed appetizer plate of cheese, meat, olives and bread, 4 grill plates, 4 drinks and still had food to take home. Service was friendly and fast.
A Nossa Churrasqueira Cova Funda
Largo Rodrigues de Fritas 2 (Junto a S. Tome) Lisbon Telephone: 218 871 552

With so many hills it's not hard to find a good vantage point overlooking the city.

This fellow was sort of a lame duck ruler. He is shown here with his back against the city and his face pointing in the direction of Brazil where his interests lay.

If I've said it once, I've said it 10 times, I love how Europe is not afraid of their Christianity. Can you imagine Wells Fargo or Bank of America being the Bank of the Holy Spirit?

The photos below were taken by a professional photographer friend of mine whose camera is bigger, better and faster than mine! You can read her blog here.

During the 15th century, Portugal led the world in sea exploration. Untold amounts of wealth poured into the country from its territories abroad. This monument celebrates those courageous men who set out to find new routes linking the west and east. Most famous are Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias and Ferdinand Magellan who was the first to circumnavigate the globe.

For once, I have a good recommendation for accommodation. We stayed in a two bedroom apartment which easily could accommodate more than 4 guests. 2 full baths meant we weren't fighting to shower time, the kitchen is brand new and comes with washing machine. TV channels were in English, so at the end of the day we looked forward to coming back to the apartment to relax. Location was convenient to shopping, but parking was tough. There are several parking garages many which allow over night stays. We arranged our apartment with booking.com, click here for link to our apartment. Traveling to Lisbon Barrio Alto Apartments has several properties ours was the bird themed apartment.

A couple of tips...You don't need a car, we had one because we were traveling between Porto and Lisbon, but the city is very walkable and there are loads of busses and trams. Portugal in general is less expensive than the rest of Europe which is a happy change. It allowed us to splurge on souvenirs and a better hotel. The people were lovely and the food was very good. Two thumbs up for Lisbon.