We arrived in Lisbon mid-day Friday, grabbed a quick snack and then checked in to our airbnb. We stayed in the Alfama neighborhood which is known as Lisbon's historic old town. We quickly learned how historic and old our neighborhood was as our cab driver was unable to drop us off at our accommodations due to the narrowness of the streets.
After dropping our things at the flat, we set-off to stroll through the Baixa neighborhood before joining up with our food tour that we had booked for the afternoon/evening. To get anywhere in Lisbon from the neighborhood in which we were staying, you had to go up and cross over the castle hill. Lisbon is extremely hilly and the Baixa neighborhood is located at the bottom of the hills. The Baixa neighborhood had to be totally rebuilt after the giant earthquake in 1755 which destroyed almost the whole city. When they rebuilt the neighborhood, it was modernized; wide streets. After strolling through the Baixa neighborhood, we met up with our food tour.
Our food tour was our favorite thing about Lisbon - it was a AMAZING! Our tour guide was a local resident who took us through seven different food stops. We learned on our food tour that locals love canned fish and port wine. We thought we would disagree but one of our food stops had sardine bruschetta - it was our favorite! The port wine we did not fancy as much - fun to try but not our favorite.
After the food tour we regrouped a bit at our airbnb before heading out that night to experience some Fado music. Fado means "fate" in Portuguese and is the equivalent of their blues music. When the Portuguese sailors would depart for journeys, their wives would sing Fado in their absence. The neighborhood in which we were staying is known for its Fado, so we were in the best spot to experience the nightlife. The only issue for us was that the Portuguese, similar to the Spanish, don't start their night until 10-11pm ... a bit late for the likes of Shane and I. Lucky for us, we stumbled upon a basement tavern Fado spot that started the music at 9:30pm; a bit more aligned with our time frame.
The next day we set out to explore the Bairro Alto neighborhood which is located on the opposite side of the main city centre. To get to the Bairro Alto neighborhood, we crossed over from Alfama to the Baixa neighborhood and then took a tram up to Bairro Alto. After walking through the neighborhood, we hopped on the famous Tram 28 which travels through the entire city. The tram was great. Really interesting to see the streets that the tram was designed to go through and how narrow they were - at certain times we felt as if we were going to hit buildings!
That evening we grabbed a cocktail at a rooftop bar overlooking Lisbon and then had dinner at a local seafood restaurant. I had read how popular the seafood restaurant was from various reviews online (including from Anthony Bourdain) and luckily Shane made us a booking. Despite us having a booking, we still had to stand in a queue outside! But the wait was worth it, the seafood was amazing!
The next morning, we were off on train to Porto!
After dropping our things at the flat, we set-off to stroll through the Baixa neighborhood before joining up with our food tour that we had booked for the afternoon/evening. To get anywhere in Lisbon from the neighborhood in which we were staying, you had to go up and cross over the castle hill. Lisbon is extremely hilly and the Baixa neighborhood is located at the bottom of the hills. The Baixa neighborhood had to be totally rebuilt after the giant earthquake in 1755 which destroyed almost the whole city. When they rebuilt the neighborhood, it was modernized; wide streets. After strolling through the Baixa neighborhood, we met up with our food tour.
Our food tour was our favorite thing about Lisbon - it was a AMAZING! Our tour guide was a local resident who took us through seven different food stops. We learned on our food tour that locals love canned fish and port wine. We thought we would disagree but one of our food stops had sardine bruschetta - it was our favorite! The port wine we did not fancy as much - fun to try but not our favorite.
After the food tour we regrouped a bit at our airbnb before heading out that night to experience some Fado music. Fado means "fate" in Portuguese and is the equivalent of their blues music. When the Portuguese sailors would depart for journeys, their wives would sing Fado in their absence. The neighborhood in which we were staying is known for its Fado, so we were in the best spot to experience the nightlife. The only issue for us was that the Portuguese, similar to the Spanish, don't start their night until 10-11pm ... a bit late for the likes of Shane and I. Lucky for us, we stumbled upon a basement tavern Fado spot that started the music at 9:30pm; a bit more aligned with our time frame.
The next day we set out to explore the Bairro Alto neighborhood which is located on the opposite side of the main city centre. To get to the Bairro Alto neighborhood, we crossed over from Alfama to the Baixa neighborhood and then took a tram up to Bairro Alto. After walking through the neighborhood, we hopped on the famous Tram 28 which travels through the entire city. The tram was great. Really interesting to see the streets that the tram was designed to go through and how narrow they were - at certain times we felt as if we were going to hit buildings!
That evening we grabbed a cocktail at a rooftop bar overlooking Lisbon and then had dinner at a local seafood restaurant. I had read how popular the seafood restaurant was from various reviews online (including from Anthony Bourdain) and luckily Shane made us a booking. Despite us having a booking, we still had to stand in a queue outside! But the wait was worth it, the seafood was amazing!
The next morning, we were off on train to Porto!
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