The delightful surprise that was Lisbon, Portugal.

I wrote this post Thursday and haven’t had any time to upload it! Enjoy!

Our trip to Lisbon, Portugal was quite a shock to us. We originally chose Lisbon because, well, why not? We researched it and thought that it would be a cool place to relax and recharge after London. There isn’t much to do in Lisbon, but we were able to fill our days with some really exciting and beautiful sights. We did relax a bit. But, this city really took us by surprise. 

The city of Lisbon is 3,000 years old and is steeped in history (one of my favorite lines from Rick Steves). It is slower paced, generally quiet, and filled with beauty wherever you turn. I will say though, this is a stop-over city, not a 4-7 day vacation spot. If you are going to be traveling elsewhere in Europe and need to kill some time, Lisbon is a great stop. The beauty is different here. Because of that rich history, there are different styles left by past monarchs and conquerers. For example, you will find buildings covered from bottom to top in colorful tiles. This was from the time when the city was ruled by Muslims. So, we had a bit of Istanbul here in Lisbon as well. 

If you look closely, this building is covering in tiles.

We stayed in the downtown area of Lisbon at Pensâo Elegante. The best way I could describe it is that it was like a bed and breakfast, without the breakfast. It was very, very, very clean, and the staff was lovely. Our only complaint; there wasn’t a heat source in any of the rooms. I had read a review that said this and couldn’t believe it. In Lisbon, they don’t get cold weather. The whole time we were here it was in the low to upper 50’s which is great. But, when the buildings are made of cement, that temperature sticks. So the rooms were around the same temperature. Brrrr. The first night I asked for a heater but they didn’t have any more. Luckily, we were warm under our 7 blankets (that’s not an exaggeration). The next night they gave us a heater and it was MUCH better. All part of the experience. I definitely would recommend this hotel for anyone planning on going to Lisbon that doesn't want to break the bank (2 nights were $34).

We decided to try another free walking tour. This time we booked a tour with the highly reputable Sandeman’s company. This is a tour company that can be found all over Europe. Our tour guide’s name was Cuco and he had a big personality and was entertaining to listen to, when he gave us information worth listening to. The tour started out kind of rocky. He gave a lot of information that was more about how to survive as a tourist in Lisbon. Valuable information, but not what we wanted to hear. We wanted to hear about the rich history and wanted to see some of the important sights. For about the first half hour we didn’t get any of that. We were just about ready to walk away from the tour when he said, “Now let’s got to the most boring church in Lisbon.” This intrigued us. 

We arrived at the church and from the outside it was definitely boring. The architectural style is actually called Portuguese Plain Style. But the inside, that was something to see. The most expensive chapel in the church had some of the world’s rarest marbles and woods. The white marble is from the same marble used to sculpt the statue of David. The wood is alabaster, which is the rarest and most expensive wood in the world. All gold and silver was solid, not leafed. Amethyst and lapis lazuli stones were used. And the two paintings in the chapel aren't paintings at all. They are mosaics that look like paintings, but the stones are only 1-2 millimeters, so they are totally undetectable to our eyes. The total worth of the inside of the church? $3 TRILLION. That is $3,000,000,000,000. Lots of zeros! This little chapel is the most expensive chapel in the world!

The altar. 

Alabaster wood.

the 1mm x 1mm mosaic tiles.

After that we went to see several other interesting sights, including a church that has no roof. In fact, it hasn’t had a roof since it caved in during the earthquake of 1755! We saw several of the charming areas that constitute the historic center of Lisbon including Bairro Alto, Baixa, and Rossio. Lastly, Cuco took us to Commercial Square, where the peaceful revolution of 1976 occurred, overthrowing the longest fascist regime in world history. By the end we were very pleased with the tour and the information we were given!

A panorama of Commercial Square 

Following the tour we grabbed a quick lunch and continued on our way to the district called Alfama. Up here we saw St. George’s Castle, several incredible churches, and the Portuguese national pantheon. We walked for several hours just exploring the winding roads of the area and enjoying the peace and quiet from the usual hordes of tourists. It was so wonderful!

This building is now a shopping center and has a Starbucks in it. It is beautiful! 

I called Lisbon "The Land of 1,000 Rainbows." There were rainbows everywhere!

Monastery of Sâo Vincente de Flora 

Church of Santa Engrácia or the National Pantheon

We found Lisbon to be a delightfully charming little city with pleasant people and well-preserved history. We would definitely recommend it as a short trip between bigger cities. It gives the opportunity to relax and recharge while still seeing new and beautiful sights.

Also, we would like to add how excited we are to return home. We have 2 cities left and can’t wait to explore them, but we miss our families. We’re excited to return to the beautiful lives we have awaiting us! 9 days! :)