So I visited Lisbon last Easter (April 2012) and I love Portugal so much! It's like one of my top 3 fav European cities!!! I'm so excited to write abt Lisbon!!! Hee hee!!!
Lisbon is so pretty, absolutely love it! Definitely wanna go back there someday!!! Spent a day roaming arnd the city centre and went over to Belem (another area in Lisbon) another day! If you're flying into Lisbon, I'd recommend that you spend 4 days there (or more) -- 2 days in Lisbon and you can take day trips to other parts of Portugal on the other 2 days! I knw some of my friends rented a car and drove arnd, guess you could do that too! But transport isn't an issue in Portugal so it's okay if you don't drive! The trains are pretty handy and they're not that ex!
Went there in April and the weather was pleasant arnd 15deg? Warm and sunny enough to wear a tank top in the day and just throw on a jacket at night when the temp drops!
Well I stayed in Rossio Hostel in Lisbon (Check out http://www.rossiohostel.com/rh/home.html for more info) And I have to say that I think out of all the hostels I've been to in Europe, this is one of my fav place!!!! It's so clean and the location is superb! And all the staff are so friendly and helpful!!!!
The hostel itself is situated like 1 min away frm Rossio Square, the main square in Lisbon. My friend and I got a twin bed private room and the room was so clean and pretty (pink bedsheets, what's there not to love abt it???) I think most hostels in Lisbon don't offer ensuite so we had to use a shared toilet too but it was fine! Toilet was really clean!
They serve breakfast every morning too! I think you get to pick between 2 options but I can't rmb what the 2 options are (I think one of them involved nutella haha) There are computers in the reception area for you to use and board games for you to play too! Awesome place!!!
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| Only pic I had of our room, lol just my bed but you can sorta imagine how the room looks like??? |
So anywayz some of the places I visited in Lisbon:
Rossio Square
The main square in Lisbon and just across the hostel I stayed in! There are loads of restaurants arnd the area! Do check them out!
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| Rossio Square at night! I took this pic frm my hostel! |
Frm Rossio Square, you can take a little walk arnd the area....
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| Baixa (Downtown) |
Santini
Rua do Carmo, 9
1200 Lisboa
(In Chiado)
One of my friend who visited Lisbon before told me that I HAVE TO try the ice cream here. This place isn't difficult to find at all, it's located along one of the main streets in Lisbon. The queue for ice cream was really long when I got to the shop! The menu was written in Portuguese and I had no idea what some of the stuffs were so I had to ask the staff. FYI, the menu was rather extensive!
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| The road leading to Santini (I think!) |
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| Minjung and I outside the shop with our ice cream cone! |
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| Ahh can't rmb what I ordered but it tasted really good! Sorry I think I took a bite prior to taking a pic of it!!! |
Minjung and I enjoyed our ice cream alot and we went back for more on our last day!!! Be glad to knw that this place closes at 12am everyday!!!
Casa Do Alentejo
58, Rua das Portas de Santo Antao
This Portuguese restaurant was recommended by my hostel! It's not too far off from where I was staying, abt a 10min walk. From the outside, the restaurant looked like a tourist trap but it is actually a lovely place -- the restaurant is located within a 17th century Moorish castle!
My friend and I ordered a pork dish (not quite sure what's the name of the dish) and sad to say, it wasn't as tasty as what I expected. Nevertheless, this place is worth the visit! The architecture is amazing.
Bairro Alto
When you're in Lisbon, do check out Bairro Alto! Basically it's an indie/ alternative kinda area with some small shops and mainly pubs and bars! It gets really busy at night with loads of locals and tourists heading to a bar for a drink! Minjung and I checked out a random bar and got ourselves a mojito each! It was so cheap and good that we went back on our last day too! I think it's only 6 euros for a huge cup!
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| Graffiti everywhere! |
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| You can nvr go wrong with mojito! |
A Tasca Do Chico
39, Rua do Diario de Noticias
A friend of mine told me that if I had the time, I shld definitely check out fado music, which is traditional Portuguese music. So after googling etc, I found out that this place is famous for fado! It's fado night on Mon and Wed at 9pm and it usually gets very VERY crowded, so if you want a seat, be sure to go earlier!
I went there at 9pm and wasn't able to get a seat. The place was filled with people and everyone was standing arnd with a drink in their hands! This was the first time I heard fado and it was truly an experience.
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| All eyes on the performer |
Lastly, when in Portugal, be sure to try this dish, Arroz de marisco! It is Portuguese seafood rice (if you're Asian, it tastes like teochew porridge -- not the porridge Caucasians eat for breakfast) I LOVED it and so did Minjung! We wanted to visit the famous restaurant to try this dish but by the time we arrived at the place, it was closed so we went to another restaurant instead. But still, it was so delicious!!!
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| Yum!!! Would have loved to have real crab meat in our rice instead of crabsticks but poor students like us can't afford it. Maybe another time, after I've graduated haha! |
Okay gonna uploads some of the other pics I took in Lisbon (city centre area) but I can't quite rmb the name of the places/ where they are exactly! Sorry, it's been too long! But do enjoy the pics!
That's all for now! I'll blog abt my trip to Belem and the famous Portuguese egg tarts in the nxt entry! X
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