We awoke, after a terrible night of coach sleep, driving across a bridge that mirrors the one in San Fran with Christ the King to our right: we’d woken up in Lisbon. Our first stop was in Belém, a fairly sleepy town about 20 minutes outside of central Lisbon, to see the Jerónimos Monastery and the Tower of Belém which sits on the Tagus River.

We couldn’t go to Belém and not try the iconic Pastéis de Belém. The originators of the traditional Pastel de Nata, I was very excited to try for the first time. The outside is sort of crunchy and the inside is soft, sweet custard. Honestly, my words cannot explain how delicious these are. It was exactly what we needed after an 8 hour coach journey from Madrid.

// Nos despertamos en Lisboa. Pudimos ver el Cristo Rey de Lisboa y el punte que parece como lo de San Francisco. La primera parada fue en Belém, un pueblo 20 minutos del centro de Lisboa, para ver el Monasterio de los Jerónimos y la Torre de Belém que esta ubicado en el Rio Tajo.

No pudimos visitar Belém sin probando los Pasteles de Belém. Los creadores de la Pastel de Nata, tuve ganas de probar este dulce. El exterior es bastante duro y el interior es natilla dulce y suave. Es verdaderamente delicioso. (Según mi amigo, Mercadona vende pasteles similares!)

After a much needed freshen up at the hostel, we headed out on a walking tour. Our tour guide was a Brazilian guy called Sylvio. He spoke Portuguese (obviously), Spanish, Italian and English with a very intense cockney accent. (He literally sounded like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins). He was super engaging, funny and gave us loads of information about the city. He was also FIT. Honestly, I saw more good looking guys during my 2 days in Lisbon than I have in my 7 months in Spain.

Lisbon is the oldest inhabited city in Europe and is situated on the River Tagus which is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsular. The Christ the King statue was erected in Lisbon as a blessing for not having actively participated in the World Wars. The Plaza de Comercio is the widest in Europe. In 1755, there was a deadly earthquake which almost completely destroyed the city of Lisbon. It was one of the worst earthquakes in history, but it lead to Portugal becoming the innovators of the seismic system and earthquake resistant architecture.

// Después de refrescarse, hicimos un walking tour. Nuestra guía guapo se llama Sylvio. Habló Portugués, Español, Italiano y Ingles con un acento cockney muy intenso. Sylivo fue muy gracioso, interesante y nos dio mucha información sobre la ciudad.

Lisbon es la ciudad habitada la más antigua en Europa y esta ubicado en el Rio Tajo que es el rio lo más largo en la Peninsular Iberica. Cristo el Rey de Lisboa fue erigió porque Portugal no jugó un papel activo en las Guerras Mundiales. La Plaza de Comercio es la más ancha en Europa. En 1755, hubo un terremoto fatal que casi destruyó la ciudad. Fue uno los peores terremotos en historia. A causa de esto, Portugal se hizo los inovadores del sistema sísmico y arquitectura que resista a los terremotos. 

The others thought the place a bit ‘run down’, but I quite liked Lisbon. It reminded me of Budapest. The buildings aren’t pristine but I like that, to me it means they have character. My friends enjoyed the nightlife though. The best places for drinks are in Pink Street, (former ‘red light district’, which is now pink), and Barrio Alto. I didn’t manage to go out. I went to one very busy bar, (first time since January), burst into tears and had to leave. I’m clearly not ready for that yet, but happy I gave it a go.

I would love go back to Lisbon. I only had one day to explore the city so I feel like I need to experience it a bit more. From what I did see I really liked. I found it a very intriguing city. The main central hub seems huge, buzzing with people and spanning across many, (in my opinion), pretty streets. It’s a perfect weekend city break!

// Mis amigas pensaban que Lisboa estaba venido a menos, sin embargo me lo gustó. Parece como Budapest. Los edificios no son inmaculados, pero para mi esto significa carácter. Mis amigas disfrutaron de la vida nocturna. La Calle Rosa y Barrio Alto son los lugares mejores para beber y bailar. 

Me gustaría volver a Lisboa. Solo tuve un día para explorar y quiero experimentar más de la ciudad.