Lovin’ Lisbon

Leaving the beauty of the Algarve region was painful, but the excitement of exploring the vibrant streets of Lisbon helped soothe that pain. We drove 2.5 hours north to the capital of Portugal. Through the chaotic streets of Lisbon (think NYC, but much worse!), we arrived at our apartment directly above Chiado Square.  When we booked the apartment, we knew it was in a good location, but WOW. We are literally in the heart of the city. It was so great to look out our window and feel like we are part of the action.

The apartment we rented from Lisbon’s Best Apartments was pristine.  They didn’t miss a single detail in designing these quintessential city apartments.  From the windows that opened and overlooked the square, to the built in TV in the bathroom mirror, we knew we were in for a treat during our stay in Lisbon!

The largest city in Portugal sits on the side of a hill, creating a picturesque template with plenty of challenges.  The challenges of exploring this capital city are easy to notice in the first few minutes of wandering… steep streets! The steepness of these marble lined streets is an enjoyable, yet rigorous walk throughout the historic city.

The beautiful design of the buildings in Lisbon mostly date back to the late 1700s.  Although Portugal’s history dates back 1,000 years earlier, the devastation of an earthquake in 1755 destroyed 85% of the buildings in Lisbon.  Only 40 minutes after the devastation of the earthquake, a tsunami slammed into the southern half of Portugal flattening much of what did not fall during the earthquake.

Today, the character of these old buildings shine with detailed architecture, and ceramic tiles that line the sides of incredible buildings.  Well, that is without one extremely glaring detail, graffiti!  The history of these graffiti lined streets and buildings goes back decades.  Some believe graffiti was used to cover up crumbling buildings.  Some of the graffiti has been sanctioned by the city, while most of the colorfully lined buildings are just ‘tagged’ by street artist.  Throughout the years, many have embraced the graffiti, while many others have complained and begun political campaigns to have it removed.  For us, we enjoyed seeing some magnificent art, although some of less tasteful work detracted from some elegant history throughout this city.

 

 

When in Algarve we enjoyed the Portugal beer. Now is the time to try their famous wine! Our first night in Lisbon, we made a beeline straight to a quaint wine bar! We are heading to wine country of Douro Valley in the next several days, so we focused on the wines from there. Their Rose is delish!

Our next day was spent exploring the city! Here are a few glimpse into this electric city…

 

 

Great entertainment too, with performers and outdoor music making every turn an adventure.

 

One night we were hanging in our apartment and we could hear a symphony. Turns out their was a whole free concert not even a block from us. The symphony and choir were amazing!

And of course, we have to add this cutie patootie. We saw him exit a store with his rope toy. He was just standing there, so naturally we walked up to go see this cutie. His under bite is soooo adorable. He kept trying to throw his toy  at us. Ugh! Sooo cute!!

 

That’s all for now!! See you in Porto!!!