We must admit, that big cities are usually not our favourite travel destinations. However, with Lisbon it was different. We just can’t seem to put our finger on exactly why, but we could have stayed in this city for a few more days. Hum …could it be the sardines (which were simply yummy) or the fact that we saw many people eating soup for breakfast? 😊 By the way, sardines in Portugal are different from what you would get back in Canada. Here they are thicker and more succulent.🐟

What a week! We have been very busy. I think the first amazing thing was feeling the heat. Man does it ever feel good! Especially when a week ago we left Canada at –18C Burr! This is our first experience of getting away to warmer weather in winter. A +15C  feels like +25C for us right now! So here’s the +15 proof in the photo below! Nice!

On our very first morning out & about we found this little gem! An amazing café (see below) in the Alfama neighbourhood. Le Pois Café. So for all our expresso-addict friends back home be sure to bookmark this café for when you come to Lisbon. We could have spent all day here.

The city has a lot to offer, great character, its people, the art and as well the fact that we felt totally safe here. On the first day, we briefly visited the waterfront area (home of the Aquarium) which is the newer part of  Lisbon, but we were quickly drawn back to the historic centre. Don’t get me wrong there is still that hustle and bustle of big city life here in Lisbon but maybe not as “quick a pace” as most other big urban cities we’ve visited so far.

Since we were only here for a few days we had to do a bit of a priority list of things we wanted to see and do. We got to most of them. Here goes…

Our apartment was just a short walking distance from the Time Out Market. We had a great time there and had great food and delicious wine. One of our favourites at the Market was at MARLENE VIEIRA LDA.  Fish Galore – Bacalhau (codfish as I love it) Here are a few pics.On our second day, we did a little side trip to Belém. About a 20-minute train ride trip. This was an amazing day as the weather was perfect and this little town is so laid back this time of year. It actually only took us a big 40 seconds in line to get our famous Pastéis de Balém. We hear that in the peak season, people stay in line here for quite some time waiting for those famous little custard tarts. We heard as well that some people get discouraged and leave as the wait is so long. Oh my, my for those who left you do not know what you missed! These were so yummy! 😊  I guess these tarts in Balém are supposed to be the best in the area as they are made from the original secret recipe going back many years. I know nothing about that, I only know they were absolutely amazing!😋

Here is what is written on their website:

“In 1837 we began the manufacture of Pastéis de Belém, according to an old recipe of the Jeronimos Monastery that is reborn daily in our factory by the same handcrafted processes. Pastéis de Belém offers the palate of the old Portuguese sweets”So I was trying to hide from Bernard in order to eat my Pastéis but he caught me in the act! I’m not sharing Bernard!The next day we headed to the little town of Sintra. Sintra is a picturesque, charming little hill town that is a must-see when you come to Lisbon. We had heard lots about it before coming here and we were not disappointed to have made this side trip. It takes about 45 minutes by train and you need to go there preferably on a beautiful day as you do a lot of walking around. You can either just visit the quaint little town or take in some of the historical sites around by using a bus. We opted to visit the little town on foot and also hop on bus to reach and visit the Palace da Pena.

Here are a few photos of our day in Sintra…

Now back to the city to roam around Lisbon! I hope these photos below will help us remember later this fascinating city.

This cafe (see below) was well-reviewed and is one of the oldest cafés in the city. Cafe A Brasileira It’s time to take a café Bernard at this Pastelarias. A Pastelarias is not only where you can get coffee, but you can get many choices in pastries and a main meal (Prato do dia) and oh yes alcohol too. We had all of it!😊Below here I am strolling the Praça do Comércio.

The tram below brings you to the Santa Caterina lookout. There are a number of lookouts in Lisbon and we managed to see a couple. Trams can take you to the top of various lookouts in the city. Remember that Lisbon is HILLY!

The number 28 yellow tram (see below) passes through the popular districts of Graca, Alfama, Baixa and Estrela. This classic tram journey is fun and believe me, it screeches and rattles as it travels through the narrow streets of the city.

Today, was our last day in Lisbon and we spent quite a bit of time again in the Alfama district. It is one of Lisbon’s most genuine neighbourhoods.  Strolling through this district we got lost among these charming streets and alleyways. Alfama is one of Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhoods. You can also stop to admire the fantastic view from the Santo Estêvão lookout. What an amazing day!☀️

One final stop before heading back to the apartment was a visit to the oldest bookstore. This bookstore has actually won a Guinness record for being the oldest bookstore in the world! Fun looking through and thinking about the fact that with all the technology that is upon us, people still love to actually hold a real book in their hands. That’s how I guess this bookstore has survived the test of time through all these years. Mathieu on pense à toi!

We did most of our sightseeing by foot and metro 🚇. We also hopped on the no. 28 tram which our metro card covered as well.
You can get a rechargeable metro card

that you can reload as needed. We chose not to get the Lisboa card as we were not sure we would get to the museums on this trip and it ended up being the right decision as we did not have enough time to do any.

So in order not to forget here is a note to ourselves for when we come back to Lisbon someday. Some of the things we were not able to get to during this stay but would do next time.
We would do a day trip to Cascais.
Do some museums & art galleries.
Do a Fado concert.
Eat at  A Cevicheria. It’s closed for renovations this month.
Hop on a few more trams to see a few more lookouts.
Go back to Cafe Pois.😊
Do a few more cafés.☕️

And even enjoy a bit more of the nightlife!🍷

We stayed in this Airbnb . The location was not far from the Cadres de Sandrez metro and a quick walking distance to the TimeOut Market. This is a hard review for us to do as it was only $63.00 Canadian a night. It wasn’t a big apartment but for only a few nights it met our needs. I wouldn’t be able to stay more than a week here however due to the limited space.  It was super clean so for this price, it’s one we would recommend for a few nights’ stays. One big factor though is that it was on the 3rd floor and there were no elevators, so take that into consideration as well.

Well, that’s it for Lisbon.  Bernard, off we go to Porto tomorrow to discover hopefully that city’s charm and its Port of course. 😊

adeus Lisboa! ❤️