My Last Weekend Trip: Lisbon, Portugal

Hola (one of the few Portuguese words that's the same as Spanish),

The weekend of April 26th-29th I went on one last trip before buckling down to write papers and study for finals. Two of my friends from high school and I decided to have a mini reunion in Portugal.

With Marti and Katy preparing for Ursuline graduation in 2010

Day 1:
Friday afternoon we met in Lisbon and headed to our hostel, Yes! Hostel. The hostel is ranked high on hostelworld.com and it definitely lived up to its rating. The location was ideal and the staff went above and beyond to make our stay at the hostel comfortable and our time in Lisbon enjoyable. The rooms were clean and there was a nice lobby and bar area to relax after a long day of sightseeing. An added bonus was that a "stag" party (bachelor party) from Ireland and England was staying in the hostel and provided quite a bit of entertainment.

The lobby of Yes! Hostel. 

Picture taken from Google Images

After checking in we walked around the city to see some of the main squares that would not be included on the complementary walking tour the next morning. We stopped along the way to buy some fresh strawberries from a street vendor.

Yummy strawberries

Lisbon really reminds me of a South American city. The architecture is old but not the typical Renaissance and Gothic style seen in many European cities. It is also a very hilly place, which was a nice change from flat Florence.

 A main square in Lisbon

Streets of Lisbon

We passed a Mexican bar while walking around and decided margaritas would be the best way to start off a weekend at the beach! I must say, Portuguese margaritas have nothing on Texas ones.
We got a little lost and Marti spotted a group of young (about 13 years old) children. She asked them if they spoke English and then had them give us directions. In classic Marti form, she continued the conversation and made friends. It turns out, the children attend a ballet school in Portugal but come from all over the world. Their English was impeccable; they also spoke French, Portuguese, and a couple other languages. They loved that we are from Texas and asked the typical questions: do you ride a horse, are you a cowgirl, etc. After saying goodbye we headed off in search of the restaurant.
We had dinner at O Cabacac, a restaurant recommended by the hostel. Katy and Marti ordered steak on the stone and I went with steak in a mustard sauce. Another welcome difference from Italy was all of the meat in Portuguese food. Steak on the stone is a traditional dish where a raw piece of steak is served with a hot stone; the customer is able to cook the steak to his or her liking. When we left the restaurant we saw many locals waiting for a table; being popular with the locals is always a good sign.
We headed back to the hostel to rest and get ready to go out for the night. After a nap, I climbed down from the top bunk, missed a step, fell to the floor, and landed at a weird angle on my ankle. It immediately swelled up and my sweet friends went into panic mode. They brought me ice and figured out the closest clinic in case I wanted to see a doctor. Interesting fact: if I had chosen to get it checked out, I would have had to visit the British hospital because a Portuguese one would not treat me. The people at the hostel explained that this is because of socialized medicine. I called Katy's mom who is a nurse and, after telling her everything, we decided I should wait and see how it felt in the morning. The night ended with some excitement, just not the kind we had in mind.

Day 2:
The next morning I woke up with a swollen and bruised ankle that I could put pressure on (good news!). Katy and Marti went on a complementary walking tour offered by the hostel. I stayed in, iced my ankle, and caught up on some school work.
When the walking tour was over we took a train to Cascais, an old fishing village with small beaches about 40 minutes away. We sat outside to enjoy a delicious lunch of omelets (a common lunch and dinner food in Portugal) and a pitcher of Sangria before going down to the beach. Once we got to the beach we stayed for a while and enjoyed watching the local teenagers play guitar and bum around.

A beach in Cascais

We took the train back to the hostel to grab some dinner and get ready before heading out for the night. My ankle did not last long on the hills, so we went in early in preparation of a long day the next day.

Day 3:
We woke up early and ready to conquer our last day in Portugal. The day started on a short train ride to the nearby community of Belem. Belem is famous for the Torre de Belem, a defense tower commissioned by King John II dating back to the early 1500s that is now a UNESCO Heritage Site.

With Marti in front of the Torre de Belem

Also in the area is a monastery originally built by Henry the Navigator to support pilgrims traveling in the area. This is also a UNESCO Heritage Site as well as a national monument.

With Marti and Katy in front of the monastery

While both of these sites were beautiful pieces of architecture and history, I must say my favorite stop was at a pastry shop, Pasteis de Belem. This is a famous bakery known for delicious egg-based pastries called pasteis de nata. The line out the door made us excited for this treat, and it definitely lived up to the hype. Add a little cinnamon or powdered sugar on top and savor every bite!

A must if you are ever in Lisbon

After a morning in Belem, we took the train back to the marina to board a sailboat for an afternoon cruise around the harbor. For two hours, we enjoyed champagne, smoked salmon, and a private tour of the Portuguese coast. Our skipper, Luis, did a great job navigating the rough seas on a very windy day and the deckhand was catering to our every need (we were spoiled!). This was absolutely my favorite part of the trip. It was so nice to relax, take in the views, and reminisce with wonderful friends.

With Katy and Marti in front of our boat, The Halcyon

Our deckhand, Andre, adjusting the sails

That night we packed up and went to bed at a reasonable time because we all had early flights the next morning. 

Visiting Portugal was something I had been wanting to do for a long time, and getting to experience its culture and beauty with two of my dear friends was so special. This was my last weekend trip, and I could not have picked a better one to end my semester of traveling! 

Portugal is an up-and-coming destination for European travelers and is still relatively inexpensive. Lisbon is a popular place for study abroad students, but I would recommend it to people of all ages and stages in life.

xoxo,

Sarah