Lisbon Experience

Our departure from Barcelona was bittersweet. We were fortunate to have had a great experience, but were ready for new adventure. The train from Barcelona to Madrid was a breeze. With a short lay over we were again prepared for another night train experience. Upon being shown our sleeping compartment, we were delighted to find we only had to share with one other guy, who spoke enlish, was 20, and from Seattle. The trip wasn´t too bad, besides the beds being too short (they always are) and the hot temperature of the cabin (this seems to be a re-occuring theme on trains) and we made it to Lisbon the next morning.

We had all sorts of time to dispose of as our apartment would not be ready until noon. We strolled around with our packs in the central square (see above), got some eats and proceeded to find our place. The first few hours in a new city, trying to figure out things, always prove to be the most stressful. We were supposed to meet our landlord at noon and found the place, after a fast paced hike in the warm Portugal weather, sometime around 13:00 -- not bad if you ask me. The problem was, we could have shown up at 15:00 and been fine. They were still trying to get things in order from the last resident. It is custom for the renters to have a look at the place before the deal is done. As they were cleaning, we set our packs down, stuck our heads in and though it looked fine. So we went to a cafe with a spectacular view of Lisbon, had a coffee, and returned to settle in.

Let me describe the apartment. It was something around 100 sq. ft. of living space. We had assumed when we looked in that there would be another room around the corner from the kitchen, or something like that... not the case. Have a look (the 'bed' is where the shot is taken):

We couldn´t be upset, when you backpack europe on a tight budget, you cannot be picky. We had a futon with separating cushions, a bathroom you could almost turn around in, a kitchen for one person, and the best part -- a wash machine. So thus we resided for four days.

The sites of Lisbon were worth seeing, however we had our fill of this city during our time there. We stayed in a historic part of town, the only place that the huge earthquake in the 1700´s didnt level. The apartment was below the castle of Sao Jorges, built in the 6th Century, and an impressive site at the end of the day with the last rays of sunlight.

We decided to hike to the Tower of Belem, the symbol of Lisbon and another historic site. On a map without direction or scale, this distance looks small from our apartment. When you make it to Lisbon and get your tourist map, remember, from the Castle of Sao Jorges to the Tower of Belem and back we figured to be 10-12 miles. Still worth it however, because the Monastery of Jerónimos is right across the street along with the Portugal Mariner Statue.

This hike also includes a great view of the Lisbon Bridge and Statue of Jesus, both worth seeing.

One other highlight of Lisbon was a bakery near us, which produced the most wonderful smells, not to mention great tasting sandwiches and pasteries. If you could only scratch and sniff this picture!

Well, that is a lot, and enough of Lisbon. The people here are as nice as you can expect from a 2 million+ people city. We had enough of the big city and were ready to head south to the smaller towns of the Algarave.