Showing posts with label Lisbon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lisbon. Show all posts
26 October 2015
Lisbon Specialty Coffee Guide
Lisbonites love their coffee and it's easy to get a decent bica (a slightly longer version of an espresso) for around €1 all over town. If you're looking for a longer drink, however, third-wave coffee bars are only just starting to arrive in the city and the quality is more variable. Here are a few of my favourites.
22 October 2015
Lisbon Day 4: Sunshine and Azulejos
Tuesday was my last day in Lisbon and finally, the sun came out to play. It was 24 degrees and sunny right up until the time I had to leave for the airport. This was the weather I had hoped for on this trip.
I checked out of my B&B early and went straight to the start point of Tram 28, Lisbon’s most famous tram, at Martim Moniz. It was just after 9 am but there was already a long queue. I had to wait for the second tram — about 25 minutes — before I could get on, and the queue had doubled in length by then. It was quite fun to ride the tram and I managed to get a seat by the window, albeit facing sideways so I ended up with a bit of a stiff neck.
20 October 2015
Lisbon Day 3: Day Trip to Sintra
Many of Lisbon's museums and other attractions are closed on Mondays so I decided to visit the nearby town of Sintra, with its stunning castles, palaces and other architectural delights perhed high in the hills.
19 October 2015
Lisbon Day 2: Belém It on the Boogie
My Lisbon curse struck again on Sunday morning but this time I was ready to fight back. It had rained heavily overnight, but by the time I'd had breakfast, the sun was out again. I wanted to visit the suburb of Belém while the weather was nice and before the crowds arrived, so I walked down to Praça do Comercio to pick up the 15E tram.
18 October 2015
Lisbon Day 1: Tram-spotting and Rain Dodging
I've been in Lisbon for just over 24 hours and I'm really starting to like the city. Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure the feeling is mutual. Before I arrived, I knew that the weather wasn't going to be great — rain every day — but I was expecting intermittent light showers rather than the torrential downpours that plagued Saturday. Still, when I woke up in my Chiado B&B, it wasn't rainy yet and I could see the Castelo São Jorge in the distance.
16 October 2015
What's in My Bag: 4 Days in Lisbon
I'm off adventuring again today, destination: Lisbon. Somehow, I have never been to Portugal and the capital city with its colourful buildings, winding streets and pastéis de nata (custard tarts like you've never had before) was extremely appealing. The comparisons to San Francisco — one of my favourite cities in the world — also caught my eye.
As I am flying out with Easyjet, who only allow one piece of cabin baggage, I decided to bring my Kipling suitcase, which is smaller than my Samsonite cabin case, but which has a slip pocket on the outside where I can keep my laptop and a few other flight essentials, meaning that I don't have to take forever rooting through my case on the plane. I'm flying home with BA, so I can check my suitcase and carry on my large Lonchamp tote if I do end up doing a lot of shopping.
The weather isn't looking too great, unfortunately, but hopefully the sun will come out to play at least for a little while. As ever, I have packed light. Clothing-wise, this means a pair of jeans, four tops, two dresses, a couple of cardis, a black blazer, my black ballet flats and Nike trainers, as well as running kit and a bikini (just in case the weather is nice enough for the beach). Then I have my usual collection of gadgetry (MacBook Air, iPad Mini, DSLR with this Sigma lens, Bose headphones, selfie stick and the necessary chargers) and other necessities (sleep mask, sunglasses, brolly, Moleskine notebook, purse and passport).
October has been very hectic and I have had only limited time to research my trip, although I have identified a couple of promising coffee bars, and various friends have provided some great food and drink recommendations. Nonetheless, I am happy to trust my Lonely Planet Pocket Lisbon guide. I always try to buy Lonely Planet guides when I'm travelling — the recommendations are great and there is the right balance of information and images. The Pocket series is particularly good for long weekends: there is a handy Day Planner section that offers suggestions for how to spend four days in the city, and then each area in the city is covered in detail, with sight-seeing, food, drink, shopping and entertainment suggestions. The new edition of the Lisbon guide is out now and Lonely Planet kindly sent me a review copy. I've already been using it to start to plan my trip and it will accompany me all weekend.
Disclaimer: Lonely Planet sent me a review copy of their new Pocket Lisbon guide. All opinions are my own.