The Only living Girl in Lisbon
Who knew one city could have so many hills
So, we start this journey in an airport terminal, terminal 2 to be exact. About to embark on my first solo trip abroad. In typical Ryan Air fashion there were a few bumps; phantom gates and a slight dose of panic but nothing to serious, since as you’ve already guessed, I did make the flight to Portugal.
A late night arrival at the cutest surf hostel and I fell asleep kicking my feet for excitement thinking of the weekend to come.
Okay here’s the vibe:
Metro to bus station after Thursday class
Bus to airport
Flight to Lisbon
2 days in Lisbon
wake up at 4 to go back to the airport and do it in reverse
Okay now that you’ve got the timeline lets move on shall we
Friday morning I walk across the way to a grocery store to get some supplies for the weekend. The usual college kid fair (but I guess the European version) pesto and pasta, some bread and cheese, and a massive container of blueberries. Took an embarrassing long time to figure out the electric stove (had to ask a hostelmate) then off to the beach for a surf lesson. The surf was small, but as a first time ocean surfer I was okay with that, plus about 40 minutes into the lesson the surf picked up and I caught 4-5 good waves. I left the lesson thinking about 2 things pastel de nata and that my arms were a little rubbery after all that paddling. Pastel de nata, a Portuguese pastry that my instructor insisted I try. Think a vanilla creme brulee filling with just a touch of cinnamon inside a buttery pastry shell.
So after making some pasta at the hostel and getting a recommendation for a bookstore to visit, I hopped on the train into the city.
Once I got into the city center the first thing I noticed, the water, the second, the hills. Looking at the massive one google maps insisted I climb to find this bookstore I decided a pick me up was absolutely necessary.
A stop at a bakery down the street where I said
“un pastel de nata please”
“no” said the guy behind the counter
“what”
“No, too good for one”
so after standing there confused I said
“oh, then I guess I should get two”
The guy laughed, said “yes” and got me two pasteles de nata to go
Okay, now time to climb the hill, stopping often to take pictures. But eventually I made it up and found the bookshop, the Livraria Bertrand, the oldest in the city. Now I’d planned to get a book but, minus a small section in English, all the books were Portuguese. So I stocked up on postcards instead.
Walked the rest of the way up the hill to explore and then made my way back down to the waters edge. I sat near the docks along with all the other Lisbon goers to watch the sail boats go by and to finally try my pastel de nata ( I gave them a 10/10 on first bite) and the guy at the bakery was right, way to good for just one.
Then after walking a little bit more I bought a 1€ slice of pizza for dinner and made my way back to the airbnb to watch a movie, do some homework (the life of a student), and sleep.
The next morning I picked up a book from the small collection in the hostel made up forgotten guides to Portugal and a few novels. I spent the morning in a hammock reading and then made my way into the city again to go to the Feira da Ladra, a huge open air market held every Saturday and Wednesday. I could have spent all day and a significant amount of money there but after an hour and picking out a few small items I started traveling to my next stop of the day. Now I want to say I mastered the Lisbon public transport, but when I got to the nearest station there were simply too many choices and I didn’t know which was the right one; the option to hop a train, bus, or metro…which I think all took you to different spots…truly I was lost. There were delays from strikes (something that’s very common in Europe and definitely takes getting used to) and the card that was supposed to have one more trip on it was not working. So, I Ubered.
Okay, if you know me you know I love aquariums, and if you didn’t now you do. So my next stop was of course the Lisbon aquarium/oceanarium, where I saw two of my favorites jellyfish and stingrays. After a quick break to eat the pesto pasta I packed I headed into the exhibit. The aquarium is right on the water…actually above it. It kind of gave oil rig vibes but without all the rust and spookyness. In the center there’s a massive tank with sharks, rays, and schools of silvery fish. As you walked you went in circles around this tank, starting at the top and eventually making your way to the bottom. along the way you’d pass smaller tanks filled with different sea creatures, anemones, starfish, kelp, those weird flat fish. And the whole time they played ocean waves or seaish sounds to really bring together the whole vibe.
After I spent about two hours inside I headed out to a grassy patch and read some more of my borrowed book. Then I took the skyline tram that was included in my ticket and truly the perfect way to sightsee. Took a lot of pictures(again) and decided I needed food immediately or I would die. So I began the search for a good spot along the marina and found just what my heart desired, pho. I watched the beginning of the Portugal Turkey futbol match and worked away at the massive bowl of pho.
Time to make way back, I wanted to watch the sunset on the beach and rest. Back at the airbnb I met a uk native living in Ireland at the moment and after chatting for a while decided to chase the sunset together. She used words like supermarket and uni and we talked about our travel plans and she asked me if people really do this of that in the States. After the sun went down and the wind picked up we decided to head back to the hostel. We used my phone as a flashlight to find out way back over the rocks that had been so easy to climb an hour ago in the light, but were now looking a little high and dark. We walked back along the tidepools, along the sea wall and finally back to the sidewalk where we made the 5 minute back to our hostel. I learned that the Brits call eggplant Aubergines and that honestly feels much cooler, besides its a vegetable so the whole egg parts honestly confusing. After packing up my bags and saying goodbye, sad we met on my last night I hopped in my bunk for a quick 3 hours of sleep before leaving for the airport to return.
And there you have it sailboats, surfing, bookstores, markets, the British, and the only living girl in Lisbon.
Fin.
