Getting from Cádiz to Lisbon is not a short journey – 581km/6 hours going the “fast” way. My ride did not go the fast way… So, at the end of 8-9 hours of riding in a car, I found myself in a strange new country where I didn’t speak the language at all, wondering what have I gotten myself into?
My first stop was to check in to my hostel, We Love F******* Tourists. To be honest, the name might have deterred me from staying there, but my friend Paolo had stayed there the week before. With his glowing recommendation, I figured what the f***… why not?
W♥FT turned out to be a perfect base of operations – friendly staff, comfortable, conveniently located, and full of events to expose you to local food, culture, and your fellow hostel residents.
Wandering around Lisbon, you quickly notice two common features. First is the Portuguese pavement (calçada portuguesa):
Second are the azulejos covering the exteriors of many of the buildings:
While neither are unique to Lisbon, they definitely help give the city its own feel.
Lucky for me, I met a trio of Brazilians at W♥FT, so I had translators for my first full day in Lisbon. We went to Belém, a parish in southwestern Lisbon that’s home to the Jerónimos Monastery, the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument of the Discoveries), Belém Tower, and many, many museums.
There was some sort of bombeiro (firefighter) awards ceremony going on when we arrived at the Jerónimos Monastery. It was quite a production and included a marching brass band plus many firefighters in uniform carrying axes.
The rest of my too-short time in Lisbon was spent wandering around the city.
I truly enjoyed visiting Lisbon. I found it surprisingly easy to get around despite the language barrier, and there were many, many things to see. (Also many, many things to eat, especially pastéis de nata!) By this point in the trip I was less than 2 weeks from my first hard deadline: meeting up with my sister. So, with promises to return for a more thorough visit, I left Lisbon for Sintra and the Edge of the World!