Portugal: Lisbon - Winter 2015
After visiting Madrid, my friend and I went to Lisbon. We took the midnight train from Madrid to Lisbon. We paid 24.20 Euros each. So it was not expensive. The train I took was an old train, and the seats can change direction. The thing is, since it was so old, the seat shock during the ride. Or the person behind us would kick and you can definitely feel it. I can usually sleep on public transportation pretty well, but I couldn't sleep well on this train. The time on the overnight train is pretty significant. From 21:50 until 7:20 the next day. There was also no real announcements (or it could be due to the age of the train I couldn't hear). So we basically had to know the timing of the expected arrival to get off. Another thing about the train is, you can smell the toilet from the cart. I just think it was an older train and these are discount rides.
We arrived in Lisbon and took the train to the station where we were staying. We were staying close to the main Lisbon tourist area where we could see all the sights.
Hotels
Our hotel was part of another apartment and we would buzz in to open the main entrance. Our hotel occupied a few floors in the building. The main difference I noticed between Barcelona/Madrid and Lisbon is the moisture in the hotel room. Lisbon is close to the Atlantic ocean. I asked my coworker who has family in Portugal, and she said it is humid. The type where, in your room, the water moisture can get to your bones. I noticed that my sheets and blanket were also moist. In December it is also very cold since there is no central heating. At first, my friend and I just dealt with it. We stayed in our room for three nights. After the first night, we finally asked if there was a heater. We were provided with one, but you can't leave the portal heater on overnight. So, my suggestion is, in any lower price range hotel to ask for a heater. The heater helps with the moisture in the room. Even if it's on for a bit, it still helps. I can not comment for hotels that have more star ratings, but just keep it in mind.
Lisbon Free Walking Tour
I joined the Sandemans tour for Madrid, and my friend and I decided we would also join the one for Lisbon. The stories told during the tour was fantastic (I haven't had a bad experience with these walking tours to be honest). The tour was three hours long. The tour guide took us to many sites within the 3hrs. Lisbon is very hilly. There is public transportation (I bought a day pass for about 9 or 10 Euros), but if you're going to walk, please keep that in mind. I would wear comfortable walking shoes.
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| Found a spot in Alfama to oversee Lisbon |
We arrived in Lisbon and took the train to the station where we were staying. We were staying close to the main Lisbon tourist area where we could see all the sights.
Hotels
Our hotel was part of another apartment and we would buzz in to open the main entrance. Our hotel occupied a few floors in the building. The main difference I noticed between Barcelona/Madrid and Lisbon is the moisture in the hotel room. Lisbon is close to the Atlantic ocean. I asked my coworker who has family in Portugal, and she said it is humid. The type where, in your room, the water moisture can get to your bones. I noticed that my sheets and blanket were also moist. In December it is also very cold since there is no central heating. At first, my friend and I just dealt with it. We stayed in our room for three nights. After the first night, we finally asked if there was a heater. We were provided with one, but you can't leave the portal heater on overnight. So, my suggestion is, in any lower price range hotel to ask for a heater. The heater helps with the moisture in the room. Even if it's on for a bit, it still helps. I can not comment for hotels that have more star ratings, but just keep it in mind.
Lisbon Free Walking Tour
I joined the Sandemans tour for Madrid, and my friend and I decided we would also join the one for Lisbon. The stories told during the tour was fantastic (I haven't had a bad experience with these walking tours to be honest). The tour was three hours long. The tour guide took us to many sites within the 3hrs. Lisbon is very hilly. There is public transportation (I bought a day pass for about 9 or 10 Euros), but if you're going to walk, please keep that in mind. I would wear comfortable walking shoes.
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| display of all the pastries |
Other things to see
Alfama - There is a separate walking tour for this section, it is part of a hill and was not destroyed by the great earthquake. The good thing about this section is, you can see how narrow the roads are compared to lower Lisbon. Lisbon was mainly destroyed by an earthquake and everything had to be rebuilt. The rebuilt streets are wider. The buildings are built with earthquakes in mind. There are great views of the rest of Lisbon from here.
Castelo de S. Jorge is also in the area of Alfama.
Rua Áurea - main tourist street. There are so many restaurants and pastry shops here
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| a whole fish. I finished the entire thing. It was so delicious |
Fish - Variety of fish is very fresh in Lisbon
Pasteis de nata - custard tart. We found a lot for 6 tarts for 5.50 Euro. The best is the Pasteis in Belem. Belem is about 50 minutes by bus away from Lisbon on the West side. Great for a mini-day trip.
Tipping
In Lisbon/Portugal, we did tip waiters. It was suggested online, and it seems that they will definitely accept it. My friend and I went to Belem for a mini day trip. We had breakfast and lunch in the same place because of the pasteis de Belem. Lunch was significantly more busy. They didn't change our table and left the previous people's items there for a very long time. It was cleared after we ordered. Somehow, the waiter asked for a large tip. So we ended up tipping 6 Euro for a 12 Euro meal. Which is a lot of money.
Final Thoughts
Lisbon was the last leg of our Spain/Portugal trip in December. My friend and I did a lot of walking. While December is cold in Toronto, it was also cold in Lisbon. More so than Barcelona/Madrid (Madrid was also colder than Barcelona). People were very friendly. It was interesting to see a little bit of similarities between Portugal and Spain. Mainly their love for football (aka soccer) and hams. Another restaurant was closed because there was a football game on. Also we ended up going to a restaurant where there were football games for both nights in a row. So, while I'm sure the waiter cared about serving us, he also cared about watching the game. Another similarity would be when people ate. It seemed like a lot of people ate a lot longer.
Also, I can not read or speak Portuguese, but I found people to be very friendly. The Rua Aurea is apparently very touristy and my Sandeman tour guide did suggest we avoid eating there. The reason is that it would be over priced. My friend and I found a great ma and pa restaurant (named Moura Saluqia if you are interested), but it was a bit of a walk from our hotel. We went there two nights in a row, and the food was so delicious. The fish was so fresh. It did take a while for the food to be prepared, but that was alright with me. The last night, we did eat around our hotel, and (I felt) the food was awful. The pricing was the same.
In Lisbon/Portugal, we did tip waiters. It was suggested online, and it seems that they will definitely accept it. My friend and I went to Belem for a mini day trip. We had breakfast and lunch in the same place because of the pasteis de Belem. Lunch was significantly more busy. They didn't change our table and left the previous people's items there for a very long time. It was cleared after we ordered. Somehow, the waiter asked for a large tip. So we ended up tipping 6 Euro for a 12 Euro meal. Which is a lot of money.
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| The second night's dinner, which was salmon |
Lisbon was the last leg of our Spain/Portugal trip in December. My friend and I did a lot of walking. While December is cold in Toronto, it was also cold in Lisbon. More so than Barcelona/Madrid (Madrid was also colder than Barcelona). People were very friendly. It was interesting to see a little bit of similarities between Portugal and Spain. Mainly their love for football (aka soccer) and hams. Another restaurant was closed because there was a football game on. Also we ended up going to a restaurant where there were football games for both nights in a row. So, while I'm sure the waiter cared about serving us, he also cared about watching the game. Another similarity would be when people ate. It seemed like a lot of people ate a lot longer.
Also, I can not read or speak Portuguese, but I found people to be very friendly. The Rua Aurea is apparently very touristy and my Sandeman tour guide did suggest we avoid eating there. The reason is that it would be over priced. My friend and I found a great ma and pa restaurant (named Moura Saluqia if you are interested), but it was a bit of a walk from our hotel. We went there two nights in a row, and the food was so delicious. The fish was so fresh. It did take a while for the food to be prepared, but that was alright with me. The last night, we did eat around our hotel, and (I felt) the food was awful. The pricing was the same.
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