Day 1 – Friday (02/09/2016)

Lisbon

We left from Evora around 10am and we delivered the car at noon to the rental company Centaur, which is very close to the airport Lisbon. From there we took a taxi to our hotel, Turin Saldanha, which is in a not very touristy part of the city but is close to the Saldanha metro station. The hotel is very comfortable and modern, but I found it expensive for our current standards (90 euros without breakfast).

Some photos:

We left our things in the rooms and walked to the historic part of the city, where the tourist attractions we visited in the city are located (blue dots) and other attractions in Bethlehem and in Cascais (green dots). I've put it on the map below so you can get a better idea of the distances (our hotel is the dot in red):

We started the tour by passing through a very wide, tree-lined avenue, full of interesting shops, Liberty Avenue.  Very extensive too, especially with the heat…

We passed by Restauradores Square and then by Rossio Square until we reach a super traditional place, the Ginjinha from Santo Antônio Square. We paid 1.20 euros for one shot of ginja liqueur (a fruit similar to cherry) and I found it delicious. It is an almost obligatory stop after reading so many blogs and guides.

We left there and crossed the Rossio Square to the “Elevador Lacerda” in Lisbon, the Santa Justa Elevator (or Carmo Elevator), built at the beginning of the 20th century by an architect who was an apprentice of Alexandre Eiffel (you can imagine what he created, right?). The line was quite long, so we left it to go up later…

We walked along the famous Rua Augusta with its shops, restaurants and street artists, and stopped for lunch on the second floor of the National Confectionery. We opted for a buffet lunch. buffet because it was quick, cheap (9 euros including dessert) and looked good. Tasty too, luckily. 🙂

NOTE: A Portuguese aunt of Celo's recommended the restaurant John of the Grain for a good codfish, but when we went there the kitchen had a problem and we couldn't get in. Here's a tip, huh!

Fed, we walked to the Augusta Street Arch and we crossed to the Commerce Square, which housed the Royal Palace for 400 years. Manuel I transferred the royal residence from the Castle of São Jorge to this location in 1511, as it was closer to the river and more convenient. Due to the earthquake of 1755, the first palace and its library with 70,000 books were completely destroyed, so what you see today was built after that event. Don't miss the marble staircase near the Tagus River: royalty and ambassadors would disembark there to enter the Palace.

We thought about going up the Santa Justa Elevator, but the queue and the heat weighed against us. We thought it best to take the elevator inside the mall Chiado Warehouses and already up there, in the neighborhood of Bairro Alto, we took the opportunity to see the view from the Elevator, without paying anything for it. What a view!

We strolled through the delightful streets of the city's bohemian neighborhood and stopped at the traditional brewery Trinity, which is located in an old 13th century convent and whose restaurant has been open since 1836. People speak very highly of the food there, but we only stopped to have some very cold beers.

We passed in front of the Brazilian style coffee to take the classic photo with the statue of Fernando Pessoa. (Who hasn't?) It was in this place that the great personalities of Portuguese culture met to exchange ideas.

We stopped at the cute store Paez, which sells super comfortable shoes in various prints (I bought one after Celo's aunt spoke so highly of it and I'm loving it!), and we continued walking to the Time Out Market (or Ribeira Market), a wonderful market with many quality restaurants. We went straight to the places that Celo's aunt recommended (she said they are chefs known in Portugal) and we did not regret it. Everything was wonderful, especially the surprise dish 100% Marlene Vieira (That's right! We paid just under 30 euros for her to prepare 7 different tapas, without having any idea what they were. How wonderful the anticipation created by the surprise and the taste of everything!). We drank local wines and tried other foods until we ended the night and took a taxi back to the hotel.

Day 2 – Saturday (09/03/2016)

We had breakfast at the cafeteria in front of our hotel (Frutalmeida) and then we took the subway from Saldanha station to Cais do Sodré train station (we bought the tickets from the machine for 5.70 euros for the 3 of us). Once at the train station, we got in line at the ticket office and bought the train tickets to Cascais with the right to stops along the way (we wanted to get off at Bethlehem) for 14.50 for the 3 of us.

Bethlehem

I thought the train was pretty bad, but thankfully the journey was short. We got off in Belém and went straight to eat the famous and original Pastel de Belem, which has been made with the same recipe since 1837. We bought a box of 6 for 6.30 euros and were delighted!

Then we went to the beautiful Jerónimos Monastery (12 euros per person including a visit to the Belém Tower), which is considered the best of Manueline architecture. It was built in the early 16th century with money from the spice trade and taxes on gold. Some photos of the cloister and the church:

We walked to the Belem Tower along the banks of the Tagus River and when we got there, we had to wait in a huge line to climb it. This tower was built in the 16th century to be a fortress in the middle of the river. It is beautiful on the outside, but the inside is nothing special. The view from the top is also worth it:

We stopped for lunch and refreshments at the bar/restaurant 38 41 and then we took the train to Cascais, a place that enchanted me. <3 (Update: and that is currently where I live with my family.)

Cascais

We took the train and in less than half an hour we arrived at Cascais station, which is very well located. We strolled through the narrow streets of the city center, walked along the waterfront and decided to stop for lunch at a restaurant facing the sea, the Santa Marta Esplanade, which had simple but tasty food and best of all, good prices. We were delighted with the village!

At the end of the day, we went to the Cascais Town Market, which is a great find with lots of food and drink kiosks, as well as restaurants, and we ended the night on a high note.

I want to live in Cascais! (Update: And here I am now, since 2019. ) <3

We returned by train to Lisbon and took a taxi from Cais do Sodré to our hotel.

Day 3 – Sunday (04/09/2016)

Lisbon

We did the checkout from the hotel, we left our bags in our mother-in-law's room (she stayed another day in the city) and took a taxi to Rossio Square. We had breakfast at National Confectionery and then we walked through the historic neighborhood of Alfama, which, despite being quite modest today, was once the most valued neighborhood in the city. Despite the construction work, we made a point of passing in front of the strange building José Saramago Foundation, look:

We continued the tour and climbed the hills to the Lisbon Cathedral, The city's cathedral. Its construction began in 1150, when the city was reconquered from the Moors, but it was devastated several times by earthquakes over the centuries. Thanks to these reconstructions, you can see several architectural styles.

When we got out of it, we thought about getting the oldest tram in the city (number 28) until the St. George's Castle, but it was always full at that point (I think it's better to catch it down there near Praça do Comércio).

We then decided to hire a tuk tuk, which is all the rage in the city now, and we ended up doing a tour around the Castle area before stopping for a visit. We got off at a lookout point with a beautiful view (I don't remember the name) and we also passed in front of some historical buildings. When the half-hour ride was over, we went to pay and I was shocked by the amount of 30 euros that the driver charged us (I understood it was 10 euros for the 3 of us). Anyway... I was pissed off, because I swear I understood that the total would be 10. Pay attention when you set the price! Despite the hassle, I found it fun to ride on this noisy and shaking thing (is that a word?).

We got off the tuk tuk near the castle and had to walk up a hill to get to the ticket office (everyone has to do this). I paid 8.50 euros to get in and although the 12th century castle is in ruins, I thought it was worth it to see the view of the city and walk around it. It was unbearably hot, so I didn't spend much time walking around...but I recommend a visit!

We went to have lunch at the restaurant Moorish fence (good food, but nothing special) and we took a taxi back to the hotel. We rested and took the subway to the airport without stress. I'm already thinking about when I'll be back...