Welcome To Lisbon!
After my study abroad journey in Modena, Italy ended I met my family in Lisbon, Portugal. This included my parents, sister, Aunt Ashley, and Uncle Steve. The six of us make a great travel group. We spent two and a half days covering as much of Lisbon as we could.
The beginning of the trip was spent exploring the city. We started by going to a food hall. Then we walked around Praça do Comércio and Parque Eduardo VII. Lisbon is a very hilly city, so by the time this was over we were very tired so we headed back to the hotel for some downtime.
Day two kicked off by taking the train out to Cascais. Here we enjoyed a lunch with one of the more spectacular views I have ever seen. I mistakenly ordered barnacles for the table because I thought these were complementary, and if you know me you know I will try any type of food. However, these were not free at all so I learned my lesson. Right outside of the1D285D restaurant is an area where the waves crash along the coast, and occasionally when a wave is big enough you may get sprayed while eating.
Then it was into a very tightly squeezed taxi to go to the Belém Tower. We continued to sight see around the area. Then we stopped to get Pastéis de Nata. These little pastries, first created by the Monks in Lisbon, were delicious!
That evening we were in for yet another adventurous dinner. We found ourselves at a seafood restaurant that would carry out live lobsters to your table for you to choose from. Naturally, we picked out the most obscure item on the menu to try: the spiny dye-murex sea snail. Now this looks and tastes exactly as it sounds, nonetheless we all had to give it a try! After dinner, we walked around to go see The Church with No Roof and the Elevator to Nowhere.
Day Three in Lisbon was another busy one! We started off with a TukTuk ride around Lisbon because as I mentioned it is very hilly. We took this all the way up to Sao Jorge a fort in Lisbon, but we made a few stops along the way! This was the day before the Santo António Festival in Lisbon so all of the streets were decorated and everyone was grilling sardines.
After we toured the Fort we went to lunch at Jncquoi. This was one of my top favorite meals ever. From the festive cocktails, to the ambiance, to each dish this entire meal was impeccable.
We took the TukTuk back up the hills to dinner this evening. We ate at an authentic Portuguese restaurant which was delicious. As we ventured back to the hotel we enjoyed the pre-festival actives. Lisbon was such an amazing city with so much to see. Our family truly had a great time here and made some lifelong memories.
-Team Spemmons