Lisboa, Portugal: The perfect first stop in Europe.
…and literally the first geographically … we rock our nerdy here!
Disclaimer and trigger warning: several references to drinking alcohol. Please don’t read if alcohol consumption is a trigger for you.
I am seriously in love with Portugal!
day 1
Before we came home, we were researching how to move there.
I didn’t grow up with money. We didn’t vacation growing up and even though I joined the Navy, my husband (then boyfriend) and I spent every dime we had flying to see each other while we were in a 18 month long-distance relationship
* Traveler Tip: remember to get mileage perks for airlines folks. I could kick myself thinking of all the miles I wasted not knowing about frequent flyer programs when we were young.
ADHD moment. What was I saying? Oh yeah.
My first trip to Europe was in 2019, when I was 42 years old. The airplane seat over wasn’t comfortable and the food was meh.
Traveler Tip: bring some eye pads, earplugs or noise cancelling headphones, a nice pillow, moisturizing/cooling mask, and eat a big dinner (maybe a drink or two) before boarding.
We landed in Lisboa (what its called) around 10 am local time. This is where rolling luggage comes in handy. It took us a good 2 hours to deplane, get our luggage, go through customs and immigration. (This was during the summer, so the airport was very busy. This time may be reduced for low season travel.) We arrived at our hotel at around 12:30. Just in time for lunch and a pitcher of sangrias at the Jupiter Lisboa Hotel rooftop pool bar. I highly suggest sangrias for post travel. They usually come in pitchers. Are easy drinking and get you ready for a mid-day nap.
The hotel allowed us to check in early at around 2:30. We had full bellies and a slight buzz. Perfect for taking a nap til 6. When we woke up around 6, we showered and checked Google Maps for a local restaurant within walking distance (**Travel Tip- we can have this researched before you go). Since dinner time is around 9pm in Portugal, we opted to head to downtown via Lyft and walk around. So glad we did! It was perfect. Three words – Iberico Ham! Wine! My friends, I sincerely travel for the food. I joke that I am just “Here for the Food”. But it’s not really a joke, it’s the truth. This was truly the best charcuterie ham I had ever had and you 100% could tell that the wine was made to compliment local ingredients.
After walking around for a few hours and having dessert at a local street café, we headed back to our hotel. Where we watched Stranger Things on Netflix until 2am when everyone was finally tired.
Traveler Tip – nap in the afternoon then stay up late. Get up around 9 am the next morning. No jetlag here.
Look for future posts about the rest of my trip and of course a post or two just about Lisboa food.
City Fact - The Portuguese know how to decorate their city. The statues are beautiful both day and night. Lisboa is one of the oldest cities in Europe after Athens. Unfortunately, in the 1700’s most of the city was burned down due to a horrific fire. Construction done after had strict design codes and make the city look very modern and coordinated.