Our first stop on our year abroad was to the vibrant country of Portugal! We spent just over a week touring two of Portugal’s most travelled-to cities, Lisbon and Lagos. From the colorfully-tiled maze of Lisbon’s streets to the unmistakable sandstone cliffs of the Lagos shore, Kyle and I were both delighted with all that Portugal had to offer.

Disclaimer: At the rate we’re currently traveling, most of our trips are a mad dash with a suitcase in tow. So, while we aren’t experts on any of the places we pass through (I most certainly cannot tell you which restaurant has the BEST Bacalhau à Brás in all of Lisbon), I can happily share what we did and the lessons we learned along the way!

So without further adieu…

Lisbon, Portugal

We arrived in the city of Lisbon (affectionately also known as Lisboa, we think…) bright and early. We had the full day ahead of us and nothing to do but to check-in to our first Air BnB of the year! After doing a little research we made the decision to overnight in the Alfama neighborhood, an older more historic part of the sprawling city.

The flight to Portugal was actually pretty quick- only 6 hours or so- but either way, our bodies were running off of fumes. And what we didn’t anticipate were the amount of hills we were about to encounter when we hopped off the metro stop in the charming, but steep, Alfama.

Sounds of tuk-tuk’s humming by teeming with tourists from all over the globe and the smell of fresh baked Pastel de Natas wafting into the tile covered lanes met us as we made our journey up Rua da Regueira.

We dropped by one of the first cafes we saw for a quick bite and to relieve a little bit of the hangriness that lingered between us. Not our favorite place, but it got the job done. And in a moment of weakness (or jet lag), I convinced Kyle to take, what’s been our largest expense of our trip so far (excluding flights & accommodations), a tuk-tuk tour of the city.

I can’t help but laugh at it now because it was probably hands down the most use-less tour we’ve ever taken. The driver, fresh out of Bangladesh, knew very little about the city and could speak some English, but it could have been his native language as far as we were concerned. 80,00 euros and one hour later, we were told our room was cleaned and available for check-in. If anything, we got our bearings of the city.

Moments like that are going to be moments I’ll never forget. When we didn’t get it just right. And I know the next three hundred and some odd days will be full of them.

For the next few days, we explored and soaked up as much of Lisbon’s culture as we could. Every morning we’d start our day with a fresh baked pastel de nata from Pastelaria Alfama Doce. It was a treat to walk in and be greeted by the same baristas each day- while their favorite Totally 80’s playlist sang softly in the background.

We used our guide book to tour several neighborhoods on foot. We trolleyed to the top of the Barrio Alto and window-shopped along the Chiado. Lunched in the Baxia and snapped photos of the Alfama.

We tried local delicacies (including sardines) and sipped wine from our balcony as the fado music drifted up to our window from the restaurants below. All-in-all Lisbon is a city that we’d both love to revisit and spend more time in. I think it was quite honestly the perfect spot to start this crazy journey of ours, and we both walked away from Lisbon excited for what else was to come!

EXPERIENCE LISBON

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EXPERIENCE LISBON 〰️

Lisbon Top 5:

The rich flavor of a Bacalhau à Brás followed by a chilled glass of vino- We really enjoyed Casa de Tia Helena- great prices and even better food!
Touring the Alfama- the sweet smell of laundry being hung out to dry and making the early morning climb to the Santa Luzia lookout is a must!
Grabbing a beer from the oldest brewery in Lisbon at Cervejaria da Trindade (which was once a monastery)- You can tour the restaurant and garden.
Experiencing your first bite of Pastel de Nata- Fair warning. These little custard tarts are extremely addicting.
Day-tripping to Belém to see the Monasterio de los Jerónimos- You can see our full day trip on our YouTube Page.