24 cool things I did in Lisbon, Portugal--Part 1

Once I nail down a travel city, I spend a significant amount time reading up on the history and researching the various neighborhoods. Because of this pre-trip research, I am able to recognize places and immediately know the history as I come across them while exploring.

However, Lisbon was a city I did absolutely no research on! I had booked Istanbul (lay over),Barcelona, and Lisbon for my fall 2015 travels, and the Lisbon leg of my trip was supposed to be a solo vacation. But when Tee, a fellow travel enthusiast, decided to join me in Lisbon, I left the entire planning to her. I must admit, my lack of research had me feeling lost through out the entire trip. I felt like I didn't have a good grasp of my surroundings, and I pretty much just went along with whatever Tee had planned.It was not until I was putting the pictures together for this post that I began to truly appreciate the trip and understand the unique stories of some of the places we had visited. 

With its Roman and Moorish influences, Lisbon indeed is a fascinating city. The cobblestone streets immediately transport you to an earlier century, and you cannot help but be charmed by this old city.

Below are some of the cool things I did in Lisbon, Portugal. Enjoy guys!

1. I took a funicular ride

Lisbon is a hilly city with buildings on lower and upper ground levels, and funiculars are an alternative to walking down the steep hills. BTW, how colorful is the funicular!❤

We took the Lavra funicular to Restauradores Square and walked to Rossio Square.

2. Had some amazing pastry at Rossio square ( If you ever visit, Portuguese pastries are a must!)

        Lisbon is famous for its pastry, so I made sure to indulge in some yummy treats

3. People watched at Praça do Comércio, (the Square of Commerce)

Praça do Comércio is the city's entrance from the sea

4. Chilled at the bank of Tagus river 

sea side chilling

When we were done at the river, we  embarked on a short walk to Santa Justa lift. This picture (inside joke) was taken on the way to the lift

5. Rode Elevador de Santa Justa (Santa Justa Lift)

The Santa Justa Lift links the ground level street in Baixa area to the higher level streets

6. Enjoyed a  landscape view of  Lisbonfrom the upper level of Largo do Carmo (Carmo Square) :-)

After the gorgeous view, our next destination was São Jorge Castle

7.I became a guard at  the National Guard  museum for a second

While we were headed to the Castle de Jorge, we came across other cool places like the National Guard Museum

Did a brief stint at the Museum and headed on out

8. Saw the ruins of  Museu Do Teatro Romano which was built in 57AD

The exterior of the Roman Theater Museum 

The ruins of the theater 

Stopped by this cute little store to check out hand made ceramic and tiled knickknacks

9. Spent an afternoon in a medieval castle

Finally made it to Castelo de São Jorge

Unfortunately the sun was coming from a direction that did not allow for great pictures :-(

I spied this colorful little building from Castelo de São Jorge. How cute!

Found this telephone box after we exited the castle

10. I became a tuk tuk driver 

Hey look, I  found a part-time job as a tuk tuk driver

On the tuk tuk ride, we came across the famous tram 28 (it is a tram that runs through the touristy sites in the city center)

11. Got a view of the oldest district in Lisbon from a balcony

We alighted the tuk tuk  at Portas Do Sol to get a view of Alfama district at a balcony called Miradouro das Portas Do Sol

A gorgeous view of Alfama from Portas Dos Sol 

12. Ate the most amazing curried seafood sauce in Lisbon's  oldest district 

Alfama is the oldest district in Lisbon, and we thought we'd do dinner there and have some authentic Portuguese meal

13. Attended mass at Lisbon Cathedral

After dinner in Alfama, we visited the Lisbon Cathedral and briefly attended a mass dedicated to the Paris attack victims :-(

14. I obstructed the city's entrance gate to pose for a picture

Built in 1645, Arco da Conceição (Arch of Conception) once was the city's entrance gate 

15. Posed with these metal sculptures in front of  Lisboa city hall at Municipal Square

Lisbon is just an amazing city. If you don't have this charming city on your bucket list, you need to add it in now! 

I hope this post helps and serves as a guide if you decide to visit. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of my Portuguese adventure. (part 2 coming soon)

Have a great week guys