The other day I gave this blog a bit of a revamp, including a name change. I wanted to personalise the blog, as well as making it look a little more professional. So from now on, it will be known as Charlotte's Travel Adventures!
This first post since the revamp is about my recent trip to Lisbon. I'm going to need a couple more posts after this one to cover it all, as there was so much to see there!
I got off
the train from Madrid in a country that was completely new to me,
Portugal. I love going to countries I've never been to before, and I try to visit at least one new one each year. There's something so exciting about crossing a border and entering a part of the world with a different culture to discover and often a different language too. I studied some Portuguese on Duolingo in the run up to my trip, but felt a bit nervous about actually speaking it once I was there! I discovered that I am able to read the language almost fluently thanks to my knowledge of Spanish, but understanding spoken Portuguese is a whole other story. It's like Spanish but pronounced with a Russian accent! Once I've finished the Italian course on Duolingo, I think I'll study some more Portuguese, as I'd love to visit
Brazil in the not-so-distant future and go back to Portugal at some point.
After arriving in Lisbon and dropping off my suitcase at my hostel, I went off to explore the city centre. But first I needed some Starbucks, which I found in this train station which looked like a palace!
Once I was sufficiently caffeinated, I set off towards Praça do Comércio. On my way there, I saw one of the famous old trams of Lisbon. I didn't have time to ride on one of them when I was there, so there's an excuse for me to return!
Praça do Comércio is a really grand and beautiful square right by the Tagus river.
From the square you can see the Cristo Rei statue, which was inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in
Rio de Janeiro, as well as the 25 de Abril bridge.
Next I went to see Palacete Chafariz D'El Rei, a very posh hotel built in an Arabic style. It's a lovely building but staying there would be way over my budget!
My second day in Lisbon was the most busy and I'll be writing about it in my next posts. Skipping ahead to my final day in Lisbon, my plan was to take the Ascensor da Glória (a funicular railway that's been running since the 19th century) up to Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara and the botanical garden. I found the Ascensor on Google Maps and set off there. I did think it was a little strange how many steps I had to climb up to get to it... and I realised why when I got to the top of the hill and saw the Ascensor waiting to go down! So I rode it back down the hill after I'd done my sightseeing. It was only a two-minute ride, but it was cool to use such an old mode of transport.
Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara was a nice place to look out over the city.
However, I would say that
Castelo de São Jorge is the place with the best views. I'll be writing about it soon!
The botanical garden was one of the highlights of my trip. Whereas other parts of the city are filled with tourists, this is a really quiet and peaceful place where you can reconnect with nature. I'm certainly no expert on plants, but it was really nice to see so many varieties of trees and flowers from different parts of the world.
Finally, I want to mention a great vegan café I went to on my last day, called Eight - The Health Lounge. I had tofu tacos there, which were really delicious!
I only had a short amount of time in this beautiful city and I would have liked to stay longer. Although
Madrid didn't make as much of an impression on me as I'd hoped, I really fell in love with Lisbon. I definitely would go back again and visit other places in Portugal too. I'm particularly interested in visiting the town of Sintra, which looks amazing.
In my next post, I'll be writing about
the district of Belém, where you can find some of Lisbon's most famous sights!
