One thing that has surprised me is the number of Australians
who vacation to San Sebastian. Apparently it is very common for Australians to
work for a few years, and because everything is so expensive in Australia, they
get paid a lot and are able to quit their job after a few years and take off a
year or so and travel all around Europe. Being a surfing destination, San
Sebastian attracts many of them and I have met countless Australians and always
ask them what their favorite place to visit has been. Almost every single one
has responded, “Portugal.” At first I thought that this was pretty random, but
having been to Lagos, Portugal last summer I knew from what I had experienced
that the Portuguese were very welcoming to travelers, it was warm weather, and
the beaches were very pretty. Looking up reviews online, we found hundreds that
suggested to go to Lisbon and that it was very underrated. Researching ways to
get to Lisbon, we found that there was a direct overnight 13 hour train from
San Sebastian. Figuring that the overnight train would be a good experience we
found a hostel for the five of us and booked a trip. We had researched the
trains online, just to get an idea of if the seats actually looked comfortable
enough to sleep in and the websites showed big, comfy, reclining seats. This
was definitely false advertising. We get on the train late Thursday night and
find ourselves in tiny seats that don’t recline, a very stuffy cabin, and
fluorescent lights that would stay on the entire night. We had planned that
when we got to Lisbon in the morning we would just start sight seeing right
away because we would only be there one full day, and knew that we wouldn’t be
able to go without a nap if we could not sleep at all during the night. So my
friend (the same one who bargained with the taxi driver) somehow convinced one
of the train workers to upgrade us to a sleeper car for a discounted price.
Sleeper car!
Actually
able to sleep for a few hours, our first overnight train experience was not so
bad, although we were all definitely more than ready to get out of the train
when we arrived in Lisbon. When we finally got off the train, we took the
subway to the hotel and were impressed by how clean and futuristic the subways
were. The subway brought us right to where our hostel was and we went to check
in. After seeing the false advertising for the train, we were very hesitant to
how the hostel would be, especially because we each only had to pay $20 for the
night. However, we were all shocked when we saw the inside; huge flat screen
TVs and comfy couches, a large kitchen with all of this free food and coffee,
WIFI that actually worked!, and very updated bathrooms! It took us some serious
willpower not to just crash on the couches and watch a movie. After leaving our
stuff at the hostel, we headed out to explore the city.
One of the living rooms at the hostel
All of Lisbon is connected by yellow wooden trolley cars
that run on cables, and although there are now some buses, the trolley cars
serve as the main source of public transportation for both locals and tourists.
Excited to try them out, we crammed into one that took us across the city and
down by the river to some of the main monuments of the city. Fun at first, our
10 minute ride was more than long enough considering it was close to 100
degrees out (and inside the trolleys) and there were probably 20 more people
than should have actually been riding.
Our first Trolley ride!
Getting out, we could see the huge
Central Mosque of Lisbon in the distance and headed in that direction. On our
way, we passed the President’s Residence, complete with guards standing
outside!
We reached the mosque, shocked by how big the whole thing
was. We went inside the church part, with all of the beautiful stained glass
windows and elaborate sculptures. Although the line to tour the rest of the
mosque was way too long for us to wait in, we learned that this is the main
mosque of the Portuguese Islamic Community. Walking through the gorgeous
gardens that are in front of the mosque, we made our way down to the river and
came across the Padrao dos Descobrimentos which is a tower that was built to honor all of
the famous Portuguese explorers and navigators. We took an elevator to the top
of the tower and could see gorgeous views of the city- one view which
surprisingly resembled San Francisco. It literally looked the same exact as the
Golden Gate bridge!
Padrao dos Descobrimentos (all the statues are of different explorers)
We walked along the river to the Belem Tower which is the most famous
monument in Portugal and is an important site because it played a crucial role
in the ‘Age of Discoveries’. Again, there was a very long line to get in and we
would have had to wait in the direct 100 degree sunlight so we settled for just
taking pictures of the outside.
When we had asked the receptionist at the hostel what we should do she
said that we had to go to Pasteis de Belem to have
pastries and was shocked that we hadn’t heard of it before. Apparently it is
the most famous pastry shop in Belgium and is basically the Georgetown Cupcakes
of Lisbon. She told us to make sure that we walk to the back to sit down
because there are hundreds of tables in the back. When we arrived at the pastry
shop, we knew that we had found the right one because of the massive line that
went out along the sidewalk with people waiting to get to the pastry counter.
Following her advice, we skipped the line and walked inside. We were very
confused by what she meant because we could only see a small sitting area with
only a few, already occupied, tables. However, a waiter saw us standing
clueless and told us to follow him to the back. The shop was a bunch of these
small sitting rooms combined, and seemed to go on and on forever- it was crazy!
I still have no idea how they fit all of those rooms in that small space. We
ordered the traditional Lisbon pastires- little puff pastries with a sweet
cream in the middle and you sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. At first we
didn’t know if we would like them- they really don’t look that appetizing, but
after trying them we ended up ordering a few more orders.
We then got back on the trolley cars and returned to
our hostel to take a very much needed nap. At night, all of the nightlife takes
place in the “Barrio Alto” which is at the top of the city (the whole city is
on a big hill). People cram into the trolley cars to be taken up to the top for
the night, however, fortunately our hostel was in the Barrio Alto so we didn’t
have to travel far to find all of the restaurants and bars. We were surprised
to see how dirty the streets were, because the rest of the city seemed fairly
clean. People were just throwing all of their trash and drinks into the street
and we found that a little annoying, especially compared to San Sebastian where
a street cleaner comes through basically every hour. The rest of the night was
very fun, it was my friend’s birthday so convinced this reggae bar that was playing
at one of the bars we were at to sing Happy Birthday to him and got everyone
else who was at the bar to join in.
The next morning we got back on the trolley cars to
head to the highest point in the city- Saint George’s Castle. Winding through
steep narrow roads, we reached the highest point that the trolley cars run and
got out of the trolleys and continued to walk about 10 more minutes up the tiny
roads the castle entrance. The castle was originally a Moorish castle that was
then captured by the Portugese King who turned it into his residence and was
later dedicated to the Patron Saint of England, Saint George. It survives as
only a monument and tourist attraction today because it gives out the best
views of the city. We took in the views, finding it very interesting to see the
direct contrast between parts of the city. Close to all of the historic monuments
and the river there are small houses, all white with red roofs. There are no
tall or modern looking buildings at all. However when you look to the right and
more inland you can see large skyscrapers and the more industrial parts. We
spent a few hours exploring the castle and taking in the beautiful views, sad
that we were not able to spend at least one more day in the city.
Exploring the castle!
We made our
way back down the hill and walked to the Fashion Museum that we heard was also
a must see in the city. Although the two boys were not exactly thrilled, they
tagged along and were glad they did. It was not so much a clothing fashion
museum but rather they had displays from each decade and showed different
styles of cars, appliances, music, and clothing from all around the world. It
was really interesting and also a good air conditioned break from the sun!
After the museum we had to go back to the hostel to get our stuff then headed
on to the train station. Although we were dreading the 13 hour ride back home,
we all agreed that the total 26 hours on a train were definitely worth the
total 26 hours we were in the city! I would definitely agree with all of the
Australians and reviews- Lisbon is an awesome city and I am really surprised that
I don’t hear about it more!
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