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Obrigado Portugal

Writer's picture: Jessica DetwilerJessica Detwiler
Lisbon

I cannot think of a more perfect way to spend some days off than exploring beautiful Portuguese cities and sampling pastel de nata at every corner. A group of us American auxes took advantage of our long weekend with an unforgettable tour of of Lisbon, Sintra and Porto. Three cities were on my bucket list since 2021, and even still they exceeded my expectations.


We began our adventure a mere 27 hours after I returned to Motril from Florence and I spent the bus journey and plane ride getting some rest. I knew that the quick turn around would zap my energy, and I wanted to be ready to go the second we touched down in Lisbon.


Skye, Renne and I took an Uber from the airport to our Airbnb where Katie and Clare (two of their friends from Gonzaga University) were waiting for us with some vinho verde (green wine). Our driver, Diogo, gave us a bunch of Lisbon tips and we had some fun singing karaoke in the car with him.

Clare in our Post-It covered Airbnb

The place we chose to stay in Lisbon had a very unique interior design...all of the walls were covered in colorful Sticky-Notes that people had written and drawn on. We had quite an amusing time looking around and adding our own personal touches.


After getting settled and catching up with Katie and Clare, we made a plan for a day trip to Sintra the next day. Almost everyone I had talked to about going to Portugal had strongly recommended seeing Sintra, and I was very excited to see why it was so special.


Wednesday morning we woke up and headed to brunch at a spot across town that Skye had found. Back in Spain they were celebrating Día de Andalucía (the reason for our long weekend), and we realized that Katie and I were representing the autonomous community we call home! The Andalucían flag is green and white just as our unintentionally matching outfits that day.

Feliz Día de Andalucía!

Along the way we stopped in at a famous pastel de nata place called Manteigaria to have our first of many of the delicious sweet treats. This first one remained at the top of everyones ranking for the entire trip since it was warm and perfectly balanced with cinnamon.

Pastel de nata from Manteigaria

At brunch, Katie and I decided to try two different savoury tapioca options that were on the menu. We both were under the impression that it would resemble savory oatmeal and were quite surprised when a quesadilla looking dish arrived. Mine was filled with scrambled eggs, avocado, balsamic mushrooms and cheese. The texture of the tapioca wrap was quite interesting was overall it was delicious! I think it even made me a mushroom fan...

My brunch meal

Full and ready to explore, we walked to the train station and bought our tickets to Sintra after meeting up with our final group member Lydia. Our squad of six boarded the train and an hour later we arrived.


The attraction of Sintra, and the reason it is now a UNESCO World Hertiage Site, is the many impressive palaces that are scattered throughout the hilly landscape. Despite their beauty, they are not easily accessible and we struggled the entire day to master the bus schedule to get where we wanted to go. Also, the hills in Portugal are no joke! In all three cities we visited we were confronted with some seriously steep terrain.

The main building in Quinta de Regaleira

Our first stop was the Quinta da Regaleira which is one of the most well-known palaces and gardens in Sintra. The whole place has an underlying feeling of mystery with the combination of gothic style architecture, underground tunnels and moss covered fountains.


Two of the highlights of this palace are the Initiation Wells which you can visit via a staircase that spirals along the outside of one of the structures. We descended the entire way down one well and entered a tunnel system that brought us to the second. It was really damp at the bottom and almost all of us stepped in a puddle or got dripped on.


After remerging to ground level, we toured some more of the gardens and ventured inside the main building which is simply called the Palácio da Regaleira. The outside of the building is overwhelmingly beautiful and the octagonal tower in the front was one of my favorite aspects. The rooms inside are also intricately crafted and it was interesting to learn the history of the families that had occupied it.

We stopped by the café to have a quick snack before hopping back on the bus to head to the Palácio da Pena which is further up the hill. This Romanticist palace is absolutely HUGE and is one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. The six of us got our tickets and started the walk up through the park to reach the castle itself.

Part of the Palácio da Pena

The wind was really whipping when we got to the top and we were are struggling to find enough sun to stay warm. However, the sheer size and visually confusing design of the palace was a great distraction from the dropping temperatures. We embarked on the Wall Walk which encircles the entire building and it was so impressive to see it from all angles.

Me, Skye, Clare and Katie at a vista along the Wall Walk

The architecture and design of the castle is typically divided into four parts and it was really interesting to see the stark contrast between them. We all commented that it looked like the result of a group project that had poor teamwork since the pieces didn't seem to quite go together.

Once we had admired the castle in its entirety, we boarded a bus back to the train station feeling very grateful for the heat. We arrived to a small crowd gathered in front of the ticket admittance machines and after a few disorienting seconds, we realized that a man had his head stuck in the machine. Thankfully, there was a group of people pulling the two pieces apart from each other and he was soon free. However, the rest of the trip I thought about this moment whenever we had to go in or out of a station.

Back in Lisbon we walked to a Thai restaurant for dinner and I ate the most delicious, perfectly seasoned tofu curry. I made everyone try a bite and the group consensus was glowing as well. Nothing like comforting, spicy food to warm up after a day of sightseeing.


We rounded out the night with a one drink stop at a rooftop bar near our place that was a recommendation from Diogo. It took us a bit to find it since it was on top of a parking garage but it was a lovely setting. All in all, a perfect first day in Portugal.

Pena Palace

Thursday morning we began our day with a delicious brunch at a small chain called Fauna & Flora. Skye and I both chose an eggs-on-toast situation with a bunch of veggies and it was everything I could ask a brunch meal to be.

My Fauna & Flora toast

The weather was a bit spotty with rain, but we figured out the public transport system and took the tram across town to the famous Torre de Belém. The line to get inside the monument was over two hours long so we just viewed it from afar while listening to a violinist playing pop songs.

Torre de Belém

We met back up with Lydia along the pier and walked to Padrão dos Descobrimentos which we quickly realized is a massive stature celebrating Christopher Colombus and colonialism...they really love that guy over here. Our group took an elevator to the top and were greeted by extreme wind and lovely views of the waterfront area of the city.


Once we had our fill of the Lisbon shoreline, we walked to the most famous pastel de nata factory (Pastéis de Belém) in the country to get a taste of their special desserts. Although they were delicious, we all agreed that we liked our original place slightly better.

Jerónimos Monastery, Belém

Our group did some quick souvenir shopping before hopping back on the tram to go to Time Out Market for lunch. We were all completely overwhelmed by the sheer number and grand variety of food options: there was everything from shrimp burgers to high-end doughnuts. It took us a bit of time to make our selections but I think everyone ended up being very satisfied with their meals.


We climbed another steep hill on the way home and started to get ready for our boat cruise. Somehow it is impossible to avoid going uphill when you are in Lisbon no matter where you are going, or in which direction. It doesn't make sense but we were always climbing up one way or another.

Renne, Lydia, Skye, Katie and Clare! The whole Portugal squad <3

After touching up our makeup and putting on some nicer clothes, we walked back to the coast and boarded our little boat with some other tourists. We had booked this two hour sunset cruise as a nice way to see the city from the water and enjoy some sparkling wine! Everyone we met was so nice and they played some amazing music which was definitely a highlight for the trip.

Skye and me on the boat

On Friday we made our way from Lisbon to Porto after a lazy brunch at our trusted spot Fauna & Flora. The weather held out for us in Lisbon but on the bus ride north, the rain began coming down in droves. However, a bunch of us spotted an incredible rainbow while we were on the road which definitely brightened the dark, cloudy afternoon.


We were all feeling a bit traveled out and tired from the night before so we decided to have a cozy afternoon when we got to the Airbnb. Our apartment overlooked the river and even though it was a bit perilous to get to, the views were amazing! Porto has such a different feel and vibe from Lisbon and it really draws you in.

A misty Porto square at dusk

Saturday we woke up to a downpour but we were all full of determination to see the city despite the inclimate weather. We bundled up and after I was shamed out of bringing my umbrella, (apparently people in Seattle and Spokane don't use umbrellas?) our group trudged to a breakfast place called The Happy Nest. The French couple who owned this joint were so welcoming and it was lovely to be tucked away in a warm corner to enjoy breakfast.


On our way to meet up with Lydia we made a point to walk through Jardim Marques de Oliviera park which was covered in a lovely selection of tulips. If I don't get the chance to make it to Amsterdam Tulip Festival this year, I can rest easier knowing I still got to appreciate the beauty of this flower.


We toured an indoor-outdoor market of raw food and prepared goods but after getting fed up with the rain, we found a trusty pastel de nata cafe and sat down for a coffee and sweet treat. Since the weather wasn't showing any signs of clearing up, we took our time enjoying having a roof above us since we had a few hours to kills before our lunch reservation.

Me, Skye and Katie prepped and ready with our rain gear

Renne, our culinary expert both in and out of the kitchen, had found a popular restaurant in Porto that is famous for slow-cooked Portuguese cuisine. Since we had not properly sampled traditional Portuguese food, it was the perfect day to have a long lunch and experience new dishes.


Our group split three entrees that were recommended to us by our lovely waiter: cod confit with potatoes and greens, slow braised veal with vegetables, and stuffed portobello mushrooms. It was all delicious (the meat eaters loved the veal) and the perfect cold, rainy weather food.

You can just see the top of the Porto sign in this photo

We had a break in the poor weather after lunch and we jumped at the opportunity to explore the city without getting soaked. To kick it off, we took a picture on the "Porto" sign that is currently in front of Câmera Municipal do Porto. We continued walking all over the city admiring the tile that adorns a lot of the walls of the buildings. One particularly well known exhibit of this decoration style is known as the Chapel of Souls and it was absolutely stunning.

The Chapel of Souls

We wandered downhill to the riverbank to see what was happening by the water now that there were people out and about. The layout of the city of Porto on both banks of the Douro river is so unique and the misty weather made it feel like we were in Scotland or England. I think this city is much more similar to some of the nothern Spanish cities, and it was a nice change from our dry, dry Andalucía.


After crossing the bridge and listening to some street performers, we hiked back up the hill to have dinner at an Italian place that Renne also found. My gnocchi pomodoro was yummy but could not compare to the version I had at Za Za's in Florence. We rounded our last night together out with some shared tiramisu and drinks.

Skye, me, Katie, Lydia and Renne hiding from the rain on Saturday

We began Sunday with a delicious brunch at a new place that Lydia had tried out the day before. While we waited for our food, Skye and Katie taught us to play a card game called "Golf" which I still slightly confused about. Although the portions were on the smaller side, we were all happy with our dishes and sad that it was our last breakfast together for the near future.


We found some lockers to store our backpacks and then went to explore the famous Livraria Lello (Lello Library) that has some of the most intricate interior design I have seen. The windy staircase in the middle of the bookstore is its trademark structure, and it is easy to see why it is so popular. However, after being jostled around by the crowd of people, Katie and I decided to wait for the rest of the group outside.

Livraria Lello

Wanting to see some more of Porto's buildings and natural areas, we walked to a park overlooking the river that was filled with a random assortment of fowl. The peacocks definitely stole the show but I think the bantam roosters were my personal favorite.

Peacock and Porto skyline

After a late lunch, we took an Uber to the airport and said our goodbyes before boarding the flight to Málaga. Skye, Renne and I had a pretty tight time window to make our bus back to Motril, so we wanted to say goodbye to Katie, Clare and Lydia without rushing.

Porto

We got back home after midnight on Sunday and I think we all had a pretty exhausted start to the work week. However, our time together in Portugal was one of the most fun and blissful trips I have ever been on. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time and it feels like I have known these wonderful women for my whole life! We are hoping to get the gang together for a beach weekend before we all head back to the States. And, I am so looking forward to that trip.


This upcoming week Skye, Renne and I will be headed to Valencia for a festival and then it is our Spring break! I am so excited to see my parents and have an amazing Italian adventure with them and Megan. The time is going by incredulously quickly but there are a lot of things to look forward to over here before June :)

Katie, me and Skye at Pena Palace

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3 Comments


Guest
Mar 11, 2024

Wow. What a trip. You saw things your grandmother and i never did in the two years we were there with your mom and uncle eric. Good thing you were walking up/down hills a lot to burn all the calories in the food you ate. Looking fwd to talking about this trip with your grandmother in Mystic. Hugs, GR

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Guest
Mar 20, 2024
Replying to

I got your chat Grampa <3 Can't wait to talk about all things Portugal when we see each other next

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Hi, thanks for dropping by the blog!

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