i’m deeming this week ‘euro-week’ on the blog and will be recapping our recent travels to europe! we hopped around portugal, france, spain, and italy this past may and fell in love with each place we visited. going through all of our photos made me want to do a repeat of our entire trip.
first up: lisbon, portugal!
lisbon is a super old city, rich in culture and covered in old tiles and mosaic cobblestone sidewalks and streets. it’s incredible! it took us forever to walk anywhere because i kept stopping to admire the intricate detail of the tiles and perfectly placed stones. it was also really hilly and walking around all day was quite the workout. we had perfect weather during our stay and the climate felt really similar to any southern california beach town, warm during the day, a little chilly at night.
where we stayed
we loved our hotel so, so much! it was probably our favorite accommodation of the entire trip. it was about a 10 minute walk to the baixa/chiado area and 15 minutes to alfama. the concierge was lovely, the entire building was gorgeous and the rooms were hugeeee. our room had a view of the central courtyard and it even had a separate “lounge hallway” with a tv, chaise, mini bar, and herringbone wood floors (want these in my future house btw).
things we did
castelo de são jorge | our first night we went to the castle to explore the grounds and watch the sunset over the beautiful city. touristy, yes. but we went about an hour before it closed so it wasn’t too crowded and the views were well worth it.
feira da ladra flea market | reis’ good friend lived in lisbon a couple years ago and told us we had to visit the flea market! it’s pretty much one gigantic garage sale; the locals set up all of their old crap they don’t want on blankets and attempt to sell it to tourists. we walked around for a couple of hours and found a few treasures including some old tiles that i made reis carry around the rest of the trip. still not sure what to do with them since we only bought 4, but i still think they’re cool.
got lost in alfama | one afternoon we just walked for a couple of hours through alfama. it’s the oldest (and most charming & picturesque, in my opinion) district of lisbon and full of steep alleyways. #bunsofsteel
shop | the baixa/chiado area is the place to shop! there are also lots of cute cafes and restaurants. i spent about 2 hours in zara because prices are nearly half of what they are in the states! major score.
belem | we took the train to belem one night and indulged in the popular custard filled pastries & espresso at pasteis de belem as an appetizer before dinner. they were delicious and we could have eaten 5 more. unfortunately most of the historical sites were closed since it was late at night, but if we had more time, we would haved loved to explore the impressive jerónimos monastery.
where we ate
food in general in lisbon is much cheaper than anywhere else we visited during our trip. i also didn’t think it was the best food i’ve ever eaten in my life, but i’m not a foodie so i’m not the most credible source. but! it was awesome to pay 1 euro for espresso and 35 euro for an entire dinner with drinks and dessert.
our favorite restaurants were pois cafe, cruzes credo (great local spot that we ate at 3 times), and royale cafe (sit on the patio with the plant wall!).
next stop: biarritz, france!
