Thank you Lisbon for being so colorful, energetic, inviting and culturally stimulating without overwhelming us in the first 24 hours. We stayed in The Alfama District and loved the people, food and the colorful neighbor ‘hood’. Families living together amongst graffiti covered walls, fascinating personalities, great history and well preserved traditions gave this place charm. It was rough and tough and jovial and inviting. We were so pleased that we chose this area to stay in and our charming airbnb was perfect. We became accustomed to coffee and pasteis de nata (custard in a crust) and happily gave up our eggs, cereal, yogurt, and bacon to gorge ourselves with this sweet stuff every morning. We walked for miles up and down skinny cobble stone streets and found each district of Lisbon to be unique and hip. In Belem, we loved the world heritage site at St Jeromes Monastery. The castle of Sao Jorge in Alfama was worth the hike UP to get the incredible views of the city. We took a city bus tour in the heat of the day, sat on the top deck hooked into our earplugs and thoroughly enjoyed the historical and informative dialogue. 20 years ago, we would have walked the 30 mile tour and guessed at the history. We have loved the Lisbon vibe, but are ready to leave for the northern country side and take up residence in a family run guesthouse on a private farm and vineyard. Obrigado, Lisbon!
Lessons, continued:
Lesson 10: We brought too many clothes. Even if you are packing for a year, keep your clothes to a minimum. We find we are wearing the few same things over and over and haven’t even worn some of our stuff yet. If you are traveling in the summer, know what your weather might be like and plan accordingly. I will try to send clothes home with my daughter and her friends when I see them in a week. Wish I had a few more dresses because they are cool in the heat.
Lesson 11: We are beginners at the Airbnb site, so we have had some glitches. What we have learned is that the price for a place that see you on the web site is the base price. When you put in the dates you are requesting, be sure to watch the price adjust for certain times of the year. We learned this the hard way, but now we know. And, we actually are preferring booking.com right now for accommodations.
Things we did right continued……
4. When the groceries are cheap and you have a kitchen, cook your own meals. We have been cooking the last few nights and love sitting at a table in our room and working on our computers or enjoying the sun sets.
