Lisbon, Portugal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdGDmGXiy74

Portugal is the second part of the video (the first half is Florence Italy)

I spent about 3 days exploring Lisbon in January 2017 and enjoying the nice warm weather after being in Iceland.  Lisbon was a very unique and beautiful city with hills, cable cars and a massive bridge reminiscent of the Golden Gate Bridge. It's like San Francisco, except significantly cheaper!

Accommodation
I stayed at the Traveler's House Hostel right in the heart of Lisbon, I can confidently say that this hostel is one of the best places I have ever stayed at! The hostel was just steps away from the main square and arch, it had incredible free gourmet breakfast made to order every morning, and it organized tons of social events which made it very easy to meet people.  I'd stay here again in a heartbeat!  
http://www.travellershouse.com/th/home.html


Getting Around 
Lisbon isn't the largest city on earth, so it was pretty easy to just walk around.  The main part of the city does sit in a small valley and is flanked by two big hills.  If you're not too keen on walking around there were tons of trams that would take you up the hills, you could purchase tickets on the trains themselves.  

Things to do in Lisbon

1. Do a free walking tour of the city!  I know I say this most places, but Lisbon was a great city to explore in greater detail; there is just so much history to be told and sights to be explained in greater depth.  I did about a 3.5 hour tour with the Lisbon Chill Out Free Tour, which was super comprehensive and very informative!  The tour took you through literally the entire city and finished atop a beautiful lookout spot to watch the sunset.  http://lisbonfreetour.blogspot.com/ 
2. Watch the sunset and enjoy a Super Bock (Portugese Beer) at Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen.  This is a great outdoor terrace with tons of seating and a small little restaurant that serves drinks and snacks.  I hiked up here on my first night and enjoyed a beer and a Pasteis De Nata pastry and had a great time, the view is excellent!  If you've got time, swing on inside the adjacent church.  
3. Climb the Arco De Rua Augusto right in the downtown on the Praca Do Comercio.  It was relatively cheap to climb the arch and while the view is not particularly special or amazing from the top, it was still fun to climb!  After you climb to the top walk around the main plaza and walk to the small little beach area and enjoy the views of the water and the beautiful bridge.  
4. If you'd like to venture a bit farther out to see some cool Portugese monuments, take the tram from right in front of the arch toward Belem.  Get off and enjoy views of the Belem Tower, and the Padrão dos Descobrimentos. The national coach museum and a few others are nearby as well.  Make sure to walk around the old palace before you get back on the tram to head back to the main city center. 
5. Definitely take to check out the area surrounding Carmo Convent, which is a church that shows firsthand the destruction of the 1755 earthquake that ravaged Lisbon and left most of the city in ruin.  Only the churches arches remain and it is quite an interesting sight.  
6. Enjoy some nightlife in the Bairro Alto, which means upper town, west of the city center; at night the area is bustling with many of the city’s best bars.  Because most of the bars are small most everyone ends up grabbing a drink inside and then heading onto the street to socialize and hang out.  I had a great experience doing a pub crawl of sorts with people from my hostel throughout this area.  
7. The Alfama is the old town and is a very unique area.  I went here one night to watch some Fado music, which is unique to Portugal.  Neat area to walk through south of the Castelo De San Jorge; look for pictures / murals of the old time residents as well as different street art.  

Food

1. Pasteis De Nata - These are delicious, flaky pastry that has a nice vanilla egg custard center.  I had quite of few of these while in Lisbon and grew so fond of them that I had to make them when I came home.  Check them out on my baking blog!  portuguese-custard-tarts-pasteis-de-nata.html
2. Time out Market - Although this is not "authentic" Portugese, it was a great upscale market that offered a multitude of different cuisines and wine.  I tried about four different places and really enjoyed the wide open atmosphere inside.  
3. Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen - As I mentioned above, there is a nice little restaurant with snacks and drinks that overlooks the entire city.  Great spot to grab a beer after climbing a big old hill.  ​

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Places visited

sydney, australia