Portugal // Lisbon

For some reason we went into this trip totally underestimating Lisbon. It is probably because we were so eager to see real nature, go hiking and swim in the ocean and so we figured that visiting a big city would not be one of the major highlights from our visit to Portugal. Boy oh boy were we wrong.

First, we decided to stay in the Alfama neighborhood of Lisbon which turned out to be an awesome location with lots going on. The Alfama is the oldest district of Lisbon and famous for its Fado music spots. Our little Airbnb faced the Jardim Botto Machado which was a park that on Saturdays would be surrounded by a massive flea market. This meant that on our last day here we were able to wake up, take two steps outside and join what felt like half the city in wandering through the maze of street vendors and rummaging around for random collectibles. Ask Anna about the sweet deal she got on a vintage stamp collection :)

Jardim Botto Machado Flea Market

From our spot in Alfama, we ventured out by walking west into equally epic areas of the city. Our main route took us through the Arco Grande de Cima which is a huge arch with a narrow alley alongside an old and famous church - the Church of Sao Vicente of Fora. From here, there was no straight shot into other neighborhoods, to get anywhere else you had to wander and zigzag through old cobblestone streets with plenty of random alleyways, small shops, and bars along the way. On this side of the city there are also some really sweet viewpoints and overlooks, called Miradouros. Thanks to some local knowledge from friends we tracked down Miradouro da Senhora do Monte and Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner Adresen. The latter had the lesser view but a really cool vibe - when we showed up there was a band of two guitars, an accordion, and a cello playing live music in a outdoor cafe.

Largo das Portas do Sol

Miradouro da Senhora do Monte

One of our favorite things about Lisbon (and Portugal in general) is the clash of modern graffiti and street art with the crumbling, historic tiles and architecture. I loved the colors and patters of the azulejos, and around every corner there was beautiful, unique street art. It gave the entire city a fun, authentic vibe. 

We wandered through the Barrio Alto neighborhood, hit up the Mercado da Ribeira for an afternoon burger and beer, and then grabbed a beer at the infamous PARK rooftop bar. This one-of-a-kind joint is located on the top of a parking structure in Barrio Alto and had a very swanky, outdoor club vibe. While it had an amazing view and delicious beers, it was filled with overly drunk Europeans groups of bachelor and "hen" parties, so we quickly gulped down our beers and got out of there fast. We instead opted for 40's from the corner store (which were half the price of the small beer at PARK) and wander over to Miradouro de Santa Catarina, which was filled with (what seemed like) locals and groups of friends doing the same exact thing that we were. It had a gorgeous view of the sun setting behind their own Golden Gate Bridge (seriously, it's identical to the Bay Area's). There was music playing, an extremely talented flame dancer, a crazy man walking around yelling random things, and clouds of smoke rising above clusters of friends. It felt like we were in Dolores Park and we immediately knew we had found our spot. Sitting crosslegged on the grass, a warm breeze cooling down the hot day, watching the sunset, drinking from our brown paper bag of beer, overhearing snippets of conversations in foreign languages - it's one of our favorite memories from the entire week.

PARK Rooftop Bar

Miradouro de Santa Catarina