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I had a great opportunity to make my first trip to Lisbon Portugal recently. I had been to many European countries but not Portugal. Portugal gained a lot of attention lately as one of the cheapest and best place to retire in Europe.
I stayed in a charming little hotel called the Hotel Brown Downtown and the location was just excellent. It is along the main shopping street in the city center and a minute’s walk to the nearest metro station. Also just a short walk to the Praca do Comercio square. Lisbon isn’t such a big city and you can walk about almost anywhere in the city staying in this hotel.
During my stay there, I experienced for the first time an earthquake. The first time in decades Lisbon experienced any earthquakes. Though it was fortunately nothing like the 1755 major devastating earthquake, it was still a 5.3 on the richter scale. That was terrifying enough for a newbie. Not really sure what to do as I wasn’t from an earthquake prone country, I just grabbed my mobile phone, a water bottle and my pants. Water bottle would allowed me to survive for a few days while rescuers were searching for me. Mobile phone to direct the search nearer to me if I could hear the rescue dogs. And of course i preferred to be clothed If they pulled me out of the rubble dead or alive.
This is the famous Portuguese egg tart store just a minute or two away from my hotel. The egg tarts were cheap which cost only about about 2 euros. I bought back about 24 egg tarts on the day of my flight back.
The Elevador de Santa Justa which is just minutes walk away from my hotel. You can have a great view right at the top but I skipped that due to the long queue. You can actually have an even better view without queuing when you read further in the blog.
Once you walk through this arc, it will bring you to the impressive Praça do Comércio. The majesty of the Portugal empire is evident here.
As i just landed in Lisbon, I was really famished so i asked for a quick recommendation from the taxi driver. The people in Portugal were really friendly so is my taxi driver. He gave me a recommendation for a restaurant BaĂa do Peixe – Praça do ComĂ©rcio and it was excellent. I loved octopus and the tentacles were as thick as my toes though not an very appetising reference. Just one such grilled octopus was already enough for me topped by 3 grilled prawns. It was heavenly especially when one is starving.
The Lisbon Cathedral which was originally built in 1147 and restored or modified several times due to the numerous earthquakes including the major one in 1755.
Magnificent view from the Santa Maria Maior.
Sao Jorge Castle dates back to 8th century BC but I never enter as the queue was a pretty long.
This was our tuk tuk tour. Think I was most amazed by the power of this little tuk tuk to be able to climb steep slopes up to 30 degrees with 4-5 full grown adults.
This was the church Igreja de Santiago where Christopher Columbus married his Portuguese wife in 1479. Well, to think that I stepped on the same steps as Christopher Columbus more than 500 years ago gave it some special meaning to this place.
Amazing view from miradouro da senhora do monte.
This apartment actually overlook the city and has the best view or what i called a million dollar view. I wondered how much it cost.
I was instantly enthralled by this street art on one of the building as we went past. Just liked the pastel colour combination which somehow uplifted my mood and it is just beautiful. Piqued by curiosity, i image googled this artwork and found that it was painted by Mario Belem and it is called Saudade. It was created during the first lockdown about how introspection, hope and positivity. My explanation most likely did not do him justice so please read this yourself the full explanation of Saudade.
Church of Santa EngrĂ¡cia is where many famous people are buried from politicians to celebrities.
One interesting place to visit for a meal is the Time Out Market and yes, it is the Time out Magazine. One of the best places to have your meals with traditional Portuguese or modern cuisines by some of the best chefs.
I thoroughly enjoyed my short 3 days stay in Portugal and have already decided I will be back in future. A city with great mix of historical sites, friendly people and cheap and good food. Definitely worth more than one visit.
