Our journey began with a 10:30 P.M. flight from Washington Dulles Airport on Thursday, the 5th of September. The flight saw us travel across the Atlantic at night and arrive in Lisbon at around 11 A.M. on the 6th. Upon arrival, we headed to the Metro station and caught the train to Alfama, the oldest district in the city. As soon as we got out of the station two things occurred to us. The first thing was that the heat was sensational in the just-past-midday sun, and the second was that to get to our rented room, we would have to climb one of the steepest hills either of us had ever encountered.

Thankfully, our apartment was not far up the hill, and took a mere five or so minutes to get to. We later learned that our room was around the corner from Panteão Nacional, a burial site for famous Lisbon-born celebrities, including legendary footballer Eusebio, whose name perked up Henry’s ears more than mine.

After stopping for the obligatory drink on the way up to the room (I can’t stress enough how steep the hill was) we changed out of our traveling clothes and headed back down the hill in search of something to eat. We settled on a Brazilian restaurant and had risotto served with cheese and pickle, which was lovely. Henry had a traditional Portuguese steak, which consisted of a thin steak covered in Portuguese ham and a fried egg. He said it was delicious.

On our first full day in Lisbon, we set out for the Castelo de São Jorge, which outlined the walls of the old city. The castle, like many old castles, was on top of a hill overlooking the rest of Lisbon. The walls still had cannons on them, and we took some great pictures from there. The towers were also open to walk up, so we got some phenomenal shots of the surrounding area from those as well. From above the city, all you can see in one direction is red roofs, and in the other you can see the river Tagus. It really was something.

On our second full day in Lisbon, we ventured into the city center. We took the metro, but quickly discovered it was only slightly further away from the room than the castle, meaning we could walk back in the cool evening air. We explored the city and found the market, which was just closing by the time we arrived. We wandered further down the street to the city center, which consisted of a large square with a huge statue of King Joseph I in the middle. We walked through the archway to the shopping district and had a look through the shops before heading back for some food.

Day 3, and our can-do attitude when it came to walking got the better of us. I decided that the LX Factory, which was essentially a big market over by the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge on the other side of the city, was within walking distance. The walk took well over an hour, and in the sun of Lisbon, it wasn’t overly fun. Once there, however, it was clear that the walk was worth it! There was a great bookstore where a man showed us his inventions and talked with great passion about what he had made, and had a nice walk around to see what was there. The whole place was both rustic and quirky, with multiple specialty restaurants including a quaint Mexican restaurant at which we ended up eating. Some chicken tacos and a steak and quinoa burrito later, we decided to get an Uber back to the room.

The next day, we ventured even further. We went past the bridge to the Belém Tower, an old tower that was once used to protect the city from enemy ships. It was destroyed at one point, but was rebuilt in the same style some years later. It still had the old base with holes for the cannons to point through though. We began to walk back towards the bridge and found another monument, Padrão dos Descobrimentos. This is a large stone monument created in honor of Henry, the Navigator and Portuguese maritime exploration. It features a large stone tower, and at the base of the tower, lots of famous Portuguese explorers including Vasco de Gama and Ferdinand Magellan. Crossing the street from the impressive monument, we took a tour of the old monastery, which was stunning. The church displayed intricate patterns and designs in both the artwork and architecture, and the courtyard looked like something out of an old Shakespearean play.

Our final full day in Lisbon saw us take a sailboat trip up and down the river. The captain, Tiago, was very knowledgeable about the city and its history, and told us about parts we hadn’t seen yet, as well as a lot more about the bits we had seen, which gave context to the places we’d been. According to Tiago, in 1755 the city was hit by a big earthquake and tsunami, which wiped out the Belém Tower, along with the palace. Apparently, the Belém Tower had a sister tower across the river so that no ship was out of range. That tower was never rebuilt. The palace was rebuilt at the top of the hill, clearly visible from the boat, but not from anywhere we had been previously. King Joseph I built his new palace atop a hill, but refused to sleep in it for fear of another earthquake bringing it down on top of him. He had a tent erected outside in which he would sleep. What was left of the palace became the square in the city center, with a statue of the King in the middle. After the boat trip, we did some more shopping and headed to the Time Out Market for dinner. The food hall of the market was like a big food court, with food from different parts of the world on show. We ate dinner, then walked back to the room.

Tomorrow is our last day in Lisbon, and we are finally getting around to looking at the Panteão Nacional, which was right around the corner from us the entire time. We looked at some pictures online, and it looks spectacular. From there, we will take the short walk to the train station and head up to Porto. We’ll let you know how it goes!