Lisbon or San Francisco?If you would've told me one year ago, that on a random week in the end of September I would find myself wandering the streets of Lisbon, Portugal I would've looked at you in disbelief. I never considered Portugal a place I desired to visit during my semester abroad but it was an excellent spur of the moment decision. Lisbon reminded me so much of my wonderful city across the bay, San Francisco. With the trolly cars and hilly streets, I felt as if I was in ancient and far more dirty version of the city on the bay. We stayed at Yes! Lisbon Hostel where the welcoming, youthful atomosphere gave us positive vibes the entire trip. Although a little apprehensive to be sharing a room with four strangers, it ended up being the best decision we made. Not only did all of our bunk mates speak English (hallelujah) two of them were Australians who we spent a majority of the trip with. For the first time on our ventures abroad, Nina and I spent time in museums including: the History of Medicine and Pharmacy, the Modern Art Center, the History of Money, and the Freedom and Resistance Museum. Unfortunately, not all of them had English descriptions so we let our eyes do the talking and interpreting. The best part was that they were all free and we love free things. We began each night with large beers and card games in the lobby of our hostel where we made new friends and had some great laughs. From bar crawls to parking lot bars, Lisbon showed us a good time. The bar crawl was disorganized and need not be mentioned so I'll move along. As for the roof top bar called Park, it had an amazing view and very chic atmosphere. The brothel turned bar was unreal. Notoriously known as Pensao Amor it has walls covered in pictures of naked women and plush, colorful chairs. Our night at Pensao Amor marks the highlight of my trip. I made many friends and landed myself and my crew tons of free drinks. The most significant part of that evening was that I met the love of my life: tall, handsome and incredibly good at making drinks, Muito obrigado! Sintra or Fairyland?The third day of our stay, we ventured to a quaint town 30 minutes outside of Lisbon called Sintra. The hostel staff told us the town looked like it was out of a Disney princess movie and we would fall in love. Fall in love is what we did. It was magical. We visited two castles both with their unique and spectacular beauty. The first was a summer home know as the Quinta Da Regaleria with wells, caves and looking towers. I could've spent hours walking around. The second was a monestery turned palace known as Pena Palace. Painted in three different colors, with grounds spanning over 200 hectares, it was unimaginable. I felt like I was in Rivendale from Lord of the Rings (so naturally I was in heaven). It was nice to be surrounded in greenery since Paris lacks forests and the sounds of birds chirpping. Aside from almost freezing to death by the end of the day, since the fog came rolling in, we enjoyed our simple day in Sintra. I only wish that I was a princess and lived in a palace but alas I'm just a girl living in Paris. (No complaints here!) Fast Food or Gourmet Take-Out?The food in Lisbon was something else. Aside from the fabulous drinks my portugeuse bartender made me (a rose flavored cocktail; you tell me something better), the variety and freshness was worth mentioning. Nina found a gourmet food court called Time Out Mercado da Ribeira that offered everything: burgers, sea food, salads, fresh pressed juices, and cheese and meat platters. Naturally, our first meal choice was a burgers followed by some ice cream from Santini (featured below). Nina believes Santini ice cream to be the best she's had in her life and although I agree it was amazing, I will say I've had better. (Have you tried Curbside Creamery in Oakland? If not, you should check it out.) Another food worth mentioning was a small hole in the wall store that sold homemade candy called Papabubble. They had specially designed hard candies that looked like sushi or dolls. It tasted yummy but Nina and I were stuffed from lunch and our ice cream so we kindly declined buying any. To my delight, we found a tapas bar called Maruto that served salad (finally green foods). It was a goat cheese, walnut and tomato salad (mom you would've loved it). The portions were generous and the flavors were perfectly mixed; definitely recommend if you're headed in Lisbon's direction! Bottom line I"ll be back one day to explore more of Portugal, maybe see the lomf again and eat some great food. We thrived, explored some miraculous sights and accomplished a lot in four short days. The two of us are back in Paris, ready for school to start and currently experiencing Paris Fashion Week: Ready to Wear.
Love you. Mean it. |
Kelsey DolbyMay we experience it all: the extraordinary and the ordinary Chronicles
January 2016
Experiences
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