Zippy ZIGZAG Road
Since 2022, I've decided to try to gift myself a birthday trip every year. I went to Vienna, Austria in 2022 and for 2023, I was longing for somewhere warm and sexy, so I picked Portugal.
Greedy as me, I wanted to go to both Lisbon and Porto. I booked my flight to arrive in Lisbon and leave from Porto so that I can fit both cities in. I arrived in Lisbon at around 5 p.m. and took an Uber to the Airbnb from the airport. The Airbnb I booked was located on Rua Augusta, which is quite central. My first stop was Santa Justa Lift, only a two-minute walk from where I stayed. I wasn't planning to take the lift, so I only took a few photos and then went for a stroll around the city centre.
After some random turns at random blocks, it was time for dinner and I set my eyes on Taberna da Rua das Flores, a tapas restaurant I found through internet recommendation. Of course, there was a queue. The waiter came to check on everyone in the queue and she ran back in to clear up a table for one on the side after knowing I was on my own. Lucky me! But here comes the downside of having tapas on your own, you can't order too much. I had sweet potato leaves, veal and a glass of wine. The sweet potato leaves is a very special dish, they rolled peanut crunch inside the leaves, and somehow it taste quite Taiwanese. As for the veal, it was nicely stewed with some crunchy potato on top.
The next morning, I had breakfast at Confeitaria Nacional and headed towards Belem District. I took a detour to get my Lisbon card first, for my Lisbon card I added the ticket to Pena Palace, which included a return ticket to Sintra.
My first mission at Belem District was to get pastel de nata at Casa PastƩis de BelƩm. It didn't take long to get through the queue. I ordered two pastel de nata and an espresso. Here comes an unpopular opinion, KFC in Taiwan made pastel de nata way better than Portuguese. Yes, I know it's weird that KFC in Taiwan has and is famous for pastel de nata, but trust me, it'll be the best you've ever had. My Portuguese friend tried one when she visited Taiwan and she conceded. Taiwan's KFC makes pastel de nata too good.
Almost every tourist spot in Belem had a crazy long queue, so I only stayed outside for photos. The church next to Mosteiro dos JerĆ³nimos was free and had no queue, so I went in to have a look. It was really beautiful inside the church, you can imagine how magnificent it must be for the monastery itself. If you are planning to come to the monastery, remember to book online first. I didn't book it because the Lisbon card included free entry, but I didn't know that you still need to book a timeslot and show your card when you collect the ticket. If I have the chance to go to Lisbon again, I will definitely revisit Mosteiro dos JerĆ³nimos.
Belem Tower also had a long queue. I arrived there around 11:30 am and the sign at the gate showed that the estimated entry time would be 2:30 pm. Without a second thought, I gave up. Once again, remember to book all your tickets before coming to Belem District. Belem Tower was built to defend the harbour and somehow it reminded me of Game of Thrones. I saw some unknown creatures on the beach, supposedly jellyfish, I was shocked to see a dude poke them several times.
I took the tram to go back to Lisbon city centre, but for some reason, the tram stopped halfway. I got off the tram with everyone else and realised that it would take a while for the next tram to arrive. In the end, I took Uber back to PraƧa do ComƩrcio and walked for ten minutes to Lisbon Cathedral. The entry ticket for the Cathedral was around five euros, and it's definitely worth visiting, especially for its rose windows.
I made a deadly decision after the Cathedral. I thought "I may as well just walk to the next stop." I was wrong. I underestimated the hills in Lisbon, I could feel my soul leaving my body when I finally got to Miradouro das Portas do Sol to enjoy the view of Lisbon. I really like the view of red rooftops sticking close to each other and the winding roads in between. However, imagine living here, I am scared to death just thinking of those hills I need to climb,
Guess what's next on the schedule? That's right, more hills. I marched up the hills toward Castelo de SĆ£o Jorge. The ticket to the castle can be booked online as well. I didn't book in advance, but the queue wasn't too bad and I did a last-minute online booking to skip the queue. The castle is at the highest point of the city, so you can see a really good view of Lisbon here. Walking on the city walls, you can imagine being a Portuguese soldier fighting against the Moors. What I remembered the most from the castle was peacocks here. They constantly stared at people with ice cream, longing for some charity, which is quite smart but terrifying in the meantime.
I hung around the castle for a while to get tanned, then took the no.28 tram down the hills. The tram was very crowded so be careful with your phone and pickpocket. The tram ride is worth a try, most people choose to take it to go up hills with a better view and better photos. I went to a tile shop called CortiƧo & Netos afterwards. I spent loads of money here and accidentally became a rich tile owner. I bought some tiles back for decoration. The tiles look great but are quite useless, to be honest. They can be used as coasters but thinking about the possibility of breaking them, I carefully put them back in the cupboard..
I had dinner at Maria Catita, recommended by my friend Alice. I ordered a Cataplana De Marisco and a glass of port and tonic. It was a huge portion, I felt that I couldn't see the bottom of the bowl after devouring it for half an hour. The Cataplana has one lobster, four prawns and lots of clams, it tasted very fresh and not fishy at all.
After dinner, I took no. 28 tram up the hills again to see the night view. Personally, I prefer the day view in Lisbon. I feel that the night takes away the colourfulness and chirpiness of the red rooftop.
During my first two days in Lisbon, I wondered why people were saying "arigado (thank you in Japanese)" to me. It was till the second night that I realised they were saying "Obrigado" which is thank you in Portuguese. Awkward.