Lisbon, Portugal

I’ve just spent 5 days in Barcelona, but there was no wifi, so this post will have to be a bit late. Sorry!

Portugal is covered in these fancy tiles. On my first day, the first thing I did was visit the tile museum:

In it was this stunning chapel:

I spent the rest of my first day in Lisbon in the Belém quarter. There, I went to the Lisbon cathedral (Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa):

I relaxed inside the cloisters indoors with my travel buddies, Tara, Melissa and Athina:

A short walk away is the tower of Belém: 

It has about 6 floors and a tiny spiral staircase to get up it. The walk is definitely worth it, though – the view from the top is gorgeous.

I also walked up to the famous Castillo, though I didn’t bother paying to get in. (It was raining pretty furiously, for once.) It’s this castle that sits above a mountain, and you can see it from many places around the city (reminiscent of other familiar buildings, if you ask me):

I wanted to say, Lisbon itself is actually quite reminiscent of Israel. It’s apparently subject to many Arabic influences historically, so that could explain it.

We took a day trip to Sintra, a beautiful little village a short 40 minute train ride from Lisbon:

We stumbled upon a hike:
The walk is definitely worth it, though – the view from the top is gorgeous. The hike lead to the Moorish Castle, but, like above, we didn’t feel like paying to go in. What is it they say, about the journey being more important than the destination?

Bars in Lisbon are really weird. You go in and buy drinks, but then hang out outside:
The bars themselves consist of a room with nothing but a bar, and perhaps a bit of decorations and a handful of stools.

One night, we had dinner in the hostel, prepared by our fantastic chef, Pedro.

A great Portuguese tradition, similar to traditional Irish music, is that of Fado music.
Here’s a little clip. You can’t see anything, but you can hear it a bit. The man you hear singing (as there were a few) is voiced by the guy in the grey striped shirt, above. The instrument being played is a Portuguese guitar:

Fado doesn’t differ much from Irish pub music in style, though the music itself is very different. The spirit seems to be identical.

While I was in Lisbon, Stef and I shared our 6th year anniversary. We had a romantic, candle-lit dinner. I put on my best shirt and had a sandwich and some wine while she stayed in her pajamas and had pasta and brocolli:

Finally, speaking of gorgeous things, here is a beautiful view of Lisbon:

And here’s a beautiful view of some Portuguese graffiti:

Portugisms

-Portuguese sounds a lot like Spanish, but with an Arabic accent.

-(Touristic, central) Lisbon seems to be incredibly dependent on its tourism – people are constantly walking into bars or at outdoor terraces trying to sell you flowers or weird lit-up trinkets, and they really don’t leave. Like, ever. Even if you explicitly tell them to. Bar and restaurant owners don’t seem to be bothered by the fact that their patrons are constantly harassed by outsiders.

-Really weird, really intimate bathroom:

-Portuguese chicken:
Best meal I’ve had on my trip, quite possibly one of the best meals I’ve had ever.

-Portuguese pastries:

-Casa… Canada?

I’ll post on Barcelona tomorrow. Bye!