For the final "getaway" of my time abroad - an actual vacation
- I headed to beautiful Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal. I hope you enjoy
this look back at one of my favourite cities.
Arrival was late (after midnight), so the following day's agenda consisted
of hitting the beach to relax then catching a walking tour of the city. After a
simple and delicious European breakfast we made our way to the coastal town of
Cascais, which is just under an hour out of Lisbon. We decided to journey out
to Cascais, rather than stick with a beach nearby, because it offered the
chance to see a different place (even though it was only a short distance from
Lisbon).
Lisbon's quintessential tiled buildings
On our way to the train station we passed through a tourist favourite,
Praça do Comércio
We definitely made the right choice because, as you'll see, Cascais
offers an all around beach-y atmosphere down to the patterned floor tiles,
cabana-style houses, and rocky features. The beach was crowded in certain areas
but we managed to find a smaller and more secluded area just off of the main
stretches of sand. The water was still pretty cold, but worth having a dip in.
Vogue
So many beautiful flowers
I love how the buildings always look like they're falling apart, or like the paint is peeling, but in the coolest way possible
The beach we chose
The "tourist" beach
After a few hours baking in the sun (resulting in a beautiful shade of
lobster for myself), we jumped back into the train for Lisbon and met up with a
free city walking tour.
Narrow streets to die for
Yes, a cat in a Santa costume
Next time you visit a city in Europe make sure to Google "free
walking tours". Almost every major city offers them and, since the guides
work on tips, you can pay as much or as little as you like after the tour is
over. The guides are always locals and have a lot of insight and tips to offer.
The city was hit hard in 1755 by a massive earthquake. A 9 on the moment magnitude scale
(MMS) that lasted 9 full minutes - which is virtually unheard of. The
average quake lasts less than a single minute, just for reference. To make
things worse, the quake was followed by massive fires (because it was a Catholic
holiday and many candles were lit all around the city), and was then followed
up by a tsunami. Rough day for Lisbon. Carmo Convent is a standing visual of
the quake, with its walls still standing and roof completely gone.
Carmo Convent
São Jorge Castle can be seen in the distance
We then made our way with the tour to Praça do Comércio, which features
a statue of King José I (completed in 1775).
Our tour ended with a walk through an adorably eclectic little
neighbourhood and a beautiful sunset view over Lisbon.
You can see the 25 de Abril Bridge in the distance. The suspension
bridge opened in 1977 and was designed by the same architect as the Golden Gate
Bridge in San Francisco.
On our way back to the Air Bnb we passed by the Lisbon Cathedral.
Dinner that night was of the "treat yoself" variety. We
enjoyed delicious tender pork doused in some kind of magical sauce paired with
roasted potatoes. For dessert I opted for the crème brûlée and we both enjoyed
glasses of vinho verde during the dinner. Vinho verde is a Portuguese wine made
from immature grapes (verde = green); I found it to be really refreshing with a
nice sweet-sour balance.
The next day was dedicated to sightseeing in Belém and Sintra. After
another yummy (and surprisingly cheap) breakfast out, we headed for the
municipality of Belém.
Trams - another staple of Lisbon
Being a hammy tourist in Praça do Comércio
More colourful tiles
Jerónimos Monastery - Gothic world heritage site
Padrão dos Descobrimentos - monument to maritime explorers
Love locks
Belém Tower - medieval defensive tower
And back to Lisbon's centre we went to catch the train to Sintra. Sintra is a resort town in the foothills of Portugal’s Sintra Mountains known
for it's incredible castles.
Santa Justa Lift - an elevator built in 1902 (back in Lisbon on our way to the station)
Of course I had to have a Portuguese tart first
Once in Sintra, our first stop was Pena Palace. Pena's history has
humble beginnings as a chapel and monastery, that was then ruined by both
lighting and finally by the earthquake of 1755. Later, King Ferdinand II set
out to transform the remains into a palace that would act as the royal family's summer
residence. This transformation was the beginning of Pena as it is seen today,
but it is now owned by the state.
From Pena Palace you can see The medieval hilltop Castle of the Moors.
The castle was built by the Moors in the 8th and 9th centuries, and served as
an important strategic point during the Reconquista. We didn't see the
castle up close, due to mixed factors of time and money, but it's worth
mentioning nonetheless.
Palace of Sintra - located in the centre (whereas Pena and Moors were up on the mountains)
The town of Sintra itself is adorable with it's sunset-coloured
buildings and narrow, festive side streets. We stopped for a quick round 2 of
Portuguese tarts and, oh my gosh, let me tell you this tart changed the game
forever. The first one from Lisbon was good, but, oh my. This one from Sintra
was warm, crispy, and flakey; honestly life-changing. Wish I had remembered to
take a photo but I downed it too fast.
A short 15 minute walk from the centre is Quinta da Regaleira. The
property consists of a romantic palace and chapel, and an exquisite park
featuring lakes, caves, wells, fountains, and other incredible constructions.
The land as we see it now has had a long history of multiple wealthy
owners.
Details inside the main palace
A tower on the castle yard
Waterfall and caves among the castle gardens
The only way to accurately describe this is magical
Casually had to walk on stones a few feet deep to cross the water
Behind the waterfall inside the caves
I have no idea what you would call this area, but it was incredible to
be in. I felt like I was on a movie set or something. The surrounding spiral
staircase, moss growing on the stone, and sun shining down all added
to the super unique feel of this structure.
This stop was definitely one of the highlights in Sintra, for me. Also, admission here was super cheap, which is always amazing for a student.
After returning to Lisbon from Sintra we had some time to kill, so we
paid a visit to São Jorge Castle. The views from the castle walls were
definitely the perfect way to end to this trip (also, the lemon-honey-rosemary
gelato that followed was a nice touch).
São Jorge Castle - a Moorish castle dating from the medieval period of Portuguese history
Lisbon was the perfect trip
to end all trips for my time abroad. Although I have since visited other cities
closer to Belgium, this was the last "vacation-type" trip the
involving flying and beach lounging. If there's anything I'll remember about my
time in Portugal it's the incredible castles nestled in the mountains of Sintra
and Lisbon's "falling apart" aesthetic (oh ya, and that life-changing
tart). Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed :)
- Alexandra
