We’ve arrived in Lisbon, our final destination (I imagined that being said by the announcer for Southern Rail ). I liked Coimbra but I was glad to leave the rain behind, and arrive in Portugal’s capital to sunshine and get out of my jeans and back into shorts after checking into the Hostel.

I’d woken up early in Coimbra and went exploring before leaving. I didn’t do much when I got to Lisbon apart from going to the Praça do Municipio where you’ll find Lisbon Town Hall and the Praça do Comércio, grabbed a bite to eat and going through the Baixa district.

I was content with enjoying a chilled happy hour at the Hostel after sorting out a car hire for a day trip. A mistake I use to make, and a common thing I see people do is put pressure on themselves to pack a lot into a day and seeing as much as possible.

I’ve come to appreciate making time to recharge. You don’t necessarily have to be at your accommodation to do this. You can spend time in a bar, park, the coast or a plaza.

It’s important to have a respite, and give yourself a chance to enjoy being abroad, exploring new places, trying new things and everything else that brings happiness to us when we are travelling.

One benefit of giving myself that respite was getting up early and heading to Alfama when it wasn’t busy.

Alfama, Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhood, is a maze of narrow cobbled streets and ancient houses. It’s full of steep hills and it leads to some of the nicest views you will find of Lisbon.

It’s a bit of cliché when people tell you to get lost wondering and exploring, but Alfama is the place to do that in the alleyways and side streets. You will find independent shops, unique cafes, small plazas, and the old school trams you’ve probably seen pictures of.

Originally Alfama was located outside of the city walls. It was associated with poverty where only the poor and disadvantaged lived. The district has grown into a trendy, fashionable, artsy area while retaining its unique heritage and character.

Now on to the best view point of Lisbon. São Jorge Castle is popular place for people to go for a panoramic view of Lisbon. I was told by Rita, a receptionist at our Hostel that it wasn’t worth going to, because entry was €10 and it wasn’t the sort of place you tour. You only go in for the view which didn’t seem worth it.

She recommended a terrace in Graça which is popular with locals to meet. It’s next to Igreja da Graça so you have a reference points when you come here.

Although people call it Graça’s viewpoint, its official name is Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen. Named after the poet who spent her days admiring the city from here. You can see her bust and one of her poems displayed on the wall.

Another viewpoint nearby is the Miradouro da Senhora do Monte (Our Lady of the Hill Viewpoint). You will turn off from the main street in Alfama. It’s located in a churchyard and is the place to get those Instagram pictures of Lisbon behind you.

I liked both viewpoints for different reasons, but if I was pushed to pick which view I preferred I would choose Miradouro da Senhora do Monte. It’s the highest point in the neighbourhood meaning you’ll see more. Although you will likely spend more time at Miradouro da Graça due to its tranquil vibe.

I went for lunch at Rio Coura which is well placed next to Lisbon Cathedral. I had polvo à lagareiro which is grilled octopus with boiled potatoes, vegetables and olive oil.

Ask the locals what authentic food to try, and most of the time they suggest some form of bacalhau or polvo à lagareiro. I was given a list of food to try from a local I met in Porto, unfortunately I didn’t manage to get through the list, but no doubt I will do when I get back to Portugal.

I’ve tried octopus back home several times and it was very chewy. I didn’t mind the taste but it really put my jaw to work with all the chewing. Polvo à lagareiro is much better than anything I’ve tasted as far as octopus goes. There was a nice crunch to it, and it wasn’t chewy. With every traditional dish I was trying, my admiration for Portuguese cuisine was ever growing.

After more tram spotting and exploring of Lisbon’s old town, I went for a few drinks to recharge before ticking off another traditional Portuguese dish off the list.

In case you’re a first time reader, you’ll find out as you read on that I’m a food orientated person, and one of the great things about travel is all the food we get to try and appreciate.

I went to A Obra which is located the in a small side street and could easily be missed. It’s a small place with room for about 20 people. Despite how small the street is, you can sit outside and I believe they have extra seating around the corner.

I had bacalhau à brás which is made with shreds of salted cod, onions, egg and thinly chopped chips. They were so thinly chopped I thought they were crisps when the food arrived. I even double checked and asked the waiter.

A Obra had a good atmosphere, the staff were friendly, the service was good, not to mention the food. It’s easy to see why this place is popular. It looks like a place that would be good for a date night. I can’t believe I turned up when I did and had my pick of tables to choose from. As I left the street was packing out, it seems like the sort of area that comes alive at night.

Having explored one side of Lisbon, I went to the other way to Belém. I hired an electric scooter which I’ve never used before.

I stopped at Belém Tower first, getting there was a pain. When I was riding along the River Tagus, I got caught out a few times because it wasn’t just a case of following the path, there were points where you had to divert around and use the main road and apparently it’s not something Google maps seemed to be familiar with.

Belém Tower is Portugal’s most famous landmark and attracts an estimated half a million visitors each year. While that doesn’t sound a lot compared to other attractions, for Portugal this is a lot and there aren’t many attractions in the country that can handle that many visitors.

Maybe it’s just me and many of you may disagree, I thought the tower looked like someone wanted to originally build a Castle, got halfway through and then couldn’t be bothered to build the other half.

Maybe that was the way it was intended to look.

Not far up the road, with places to stop by on the way to admire the views of the coast and the The 25 de Abril Bridge, is the Padrão dos Descobrimentos monument (Moment of the Discoveries).

The monument was built in 1940 as the centre piece for the world fair taking place in Lisbon. The event was designed to increase trade during the years of the depression, and place Portugal in position of neutrality in a world which at the time had growing tensions…putting it lightly!

The Padrão dos Descobrimentos was originally made from wood and plaster for the purpose of being dismantled after the fair. A permanent monument was constructed from cement and limestone, and was completed in 1960 after a rise in trend for romantic idealisation of Portuguese history.

The most impressive thing is the attention to detail of all 33 figures on either side of the ramp of the monument, and how well maintained the monument itself is 6 decades after construction.

I nearly had an accident on the way back with the electric scooter. I was taking a shortcut (I thought it was a shortcut until I hit a dead end) and it included going along the same route as the tram. I wasn’t riding on the tram lines, I was riding in between on the road. Every so often there was little blocks which kept forcing me to change direction.

Each time slowing down I nearly hit the block. I badly estimated the timing to change direction to go around one block. Luckily I slowed down in time and avoided injury, and somehow I didn’t damage the scooter hitting the block.

Take it from me, those blocks are good deterrents. Don’t do what I tried to do, it won’t end well.

I went back, followed the road to get to where I wanted to go, and dropped the scooter off. It all ended well without too much time loss. I survived even with my poor balance and getting lost on the way to Belém.

I went to Alfama to check out the Feira da Ladra, Lisbon’s flea market. It’s held twice a week on a Tuesday and Saturday.

The traders offer everything you can think of ranging from junk to antics, to hand made goods and coins, there’s all sorts you can find. I was surprised to see old scart leads on display. I haven’t seen those in years since a lot of cables have hdmi connections.

Most traders display their shop on stretched out blankets. I liked it because you can see everything on display without needing to rummage through.

You will see bits of street art which I think I spent as much time admiring as I did actually looking in the market.

In truth I got there too late. The majority of stalls and popular bargains on display had been sold out. I probably should have gone there first and head to Belém after. It’s something to learn for the next visit.

I went for dinner at the Time Out Market food hall which was conveniently across the road from where we were staying. I went with Bram who was from Belgium and Francesca an Italian living in Luxembourg.

We all met at the Hostel through the happy hour. Hostels are generally good for socialising but I can’t think of more than 2 or 3 that were as good for meeting other travellers than the Sunset Destination.

Over the few days I’d been staying, a group of 5 or 6 us had formed and I think naturally we started hanging out. I love meeting people from different backgrounds, with different upbringings and different views on all things in life.

There are Time Out Markets around the world, from London, Dubai and Miami, to New York, Prague and Montreal. The Time Out Market in Lisbon was built in 2014 in place of the old market hall.

The modern interior is a stark contrast to what you would see in old school food markets.

After checking out the food stall options, we got food at the Chef Alexandra Silva stall. I opted for the pork belly confit served with teriyaki sauce, pea puree, potato and pak choi cabbage.

The plate presentation looked good, it tasted even better than it looked on the plate, and the tenderness of the pork is something I won’t forget in a hurry.

We finished off the evening with an ice cream. It was the only time I had an ice cream in Portugal which was unusual for someone who loves ice cream so much that he wouldn’t say no to having one in the North Pole.

Ice cream isn’t a guilty pleasure, it’s just a pleasure.

Now for a day of birthday celebrations where I turned 21 for the 11^th time.

I’ve never been one of those people who fears growing older. My Mum once said that it’s a privilege to grow older each year because not everyone gets the chance to. It stuck with me, and it’s true, many people die young without seeing the best years of their lives. No one has a given right to see a new day so I’m always thankful every morning when I wake up raring to go.

I took the ferry to Cacilhas which is a former parish in the municipality of Almada. The journey is 10 minutes from Cais do Sodre, and ferry departures are every 10 – 20 minutes.

Pronounced Cas-see-as, the main draws for people visiting from Lisbon are the views of the city, and the seafood restaurants which you will find on the main high street Rua Cândido dos Reis and on the waterfront.

I spent most the morning along walking along the waterfront, and had a look around the town for a bit.

I went back to the high street for lunch at Cova Funda. Since I came to Portugal and learnt more and more about Portuguese food, one dish I was eager to try was tamboril which is monkfish.

Monkfish and rice is a traditional dish but it’s not easy finding a place that serves it. I found a place but it was a dish they served for 2 people which I wasn’t going to contemplate again after doing that in Porto with a seafood rice dish.

Cova Funda did monkfish on a stick which also had shrimps and vegetables. When I saw the display, I didn’t think twice about ordering it.

Watching it being cooked and the smell of the food made the wait feel like forever. I questioned my choice to sit where I could see it all being cooked in front of me.

It was well worth the wait. I can’t begin to describe how good it was. As far as seafood dishes goes this was a favourite. I love seafood especially calamari and prawns but monkfish is something else.

The love and appreciation I already had for seafood prior to this trip was on another level.

I went back to Lisbon, and on way to the airport to collect a car rental from Ok Rent A Car. I got in the shuttle sent by them from the airport to area where all the car rental companies are based, got everything out when it was my turn in queue.

And then it hit me, I forgot my passport.

Yes, this idiot right here, who has rented cars on numerous occasions on his travels forgot an essential for hiring a car.

What a complete and utter moron!

After the realisation sunk in, I jumped in the shuttle, straight to the airport and ran to the metro. I probably looked like a mad man to the locals when I was running changing from one line to another. I got back to Cais do Sodre, grabbed my passport, and ran to the metro and back to the airport.

The impressive thing was I managed to make it back in just over an hour for a journey that should have taken an hour and a half.

All of that running, just to collect a little Fiat 500 but it was all fine in the end. The good thing was collecting it later meant I got to park for free by the time I arrived at the car park. If I had the choice I would rather have just taken the car earlier and did without running through Lisbon’s metro system, and saved myself the time.

I really needed a drink after that!

A group of us went out to see some traditional Fado music. This is a must if you want to get an authentic experience in Lisbon.

There was myself, Francesca, Ben from England who is well travelled and lived in Germany, Farshad from London with Iranian heritage, Janine from France and Tim from Croydon. Tim was also celebrating his birthday on the same day as me.

At one point or another when we all met, we mentioned about wanting to see Fado music so what better excuse than a double birthday celebration?

We had a couple of failed attempts at finding a place in the heart of Alfama. Places were only doing Fado music from Thursdays to Sundays rather than everyday due to covid.

We found a place in the beginning of Alfama called Esquina de Alfama. It’s known as a typical Fado restaurant. It’s a cosy place with great energy. I loved the atmosphere of the whole place and this was before we saw any Fado performances.

Fado comprises of mournful solo singers accompanied by a classical guitarist.

Fado originates from the sorrow felt due to the separation of the dangerous sea voyages around the globe. It has roots in Alfama as the district was historically deprived, and it was where the families of the sailors lived.

I can’t put into words what it was like watching Fado. At times it felt a bit like an out of body experience watching the musicians do their thing,  Had I not known what Fado was all about, I would never have guessed the genre was generally depressing.

Fado is known for its expressiveness. Musicians tend to sing about the hard realities of daily life, while having a balance between resignation and hopefulness that a resolution to the hardships of life can be found.

There are two district branches of Fado which evolved. One being Lisbon and the other in Coimbra. The music style is the same but there are differences.

Coimbra Fado is sung by a male singer, usually male students from the University to woo the women of Coimbra. Lisbon Fado is sung by a female singer, and reflects the pain and sorrow of a wife whose husband is possible lost at sea.

Coimbra Fado is more upbeat and cheerful compared to Lisbon Fado which is emotional, mournful and powerful.

In a way it was good that we didn’t understand what the singers were saying. We were immersed in everything, from the music to the singing, and the sound and the feeling of it all. It was simply beautiful.

I have to reiterate that it’s something you must do when you are in Lisbon.

Never did I imagine I would spend my birthday like this, but I’m grateful I did. Thank you to everyong who made it a good one!

And how do you follow on from an awesome evening of Fado, food, cider, wine and beer? (in no particular order)

A day trip!

Me, Farshad, Ben and Francesca went on a day trip to Portinho da Arrábida which is a beach in Arrábida’s Natural Park. Farshad and Ben had checked out but weren’t due to leave Lisbon till later so it was cool that they essentially decided on the spur of moment to spend their final day in Lisbon on a day trip.

Arrábida is 40 minutes from the centre of Lisbon. The majority of the drive was following the road rather than multiple direction changes once we were out of Lisbon, which made it easier along with the help of Ben’s navigational skills.

Driving into Arrábida, you won’t miss the beautiful green landscape and the coastal scenery from the top.

We couldn’t wait to get down to the beach. The great thing is it’s not packed with tourist. It was pretty empty most of the day. There are a few beaches next to each other so you have your pick of beaches to enjoy.

Even though the blue skies were hiding from us it was warm. There were one or two moments where there was spits of rain here and there, otherwise it was hot and dry for the majority.

Originally I planned to hire a car to go cliff diving in the Algarve at Praia do Carvalho. Google maps said it would take two and a half hours which I thought wasn’t too bad. I didn’t factor in a few things which Rita and João (also a receptionist from our Hostel) kindly did for me.

The toll booths in going in that direction are more expensive, I don’t know why, but it would have cost €25 to do a day trip going through toll booths which was basically the same as hiring the car with full cover.

Without toll booths it would have taken more than three and a half hours. It wasn’t worth going to the Algarve because the majority of the day would have been spent on the road. With help from Rita, João and the tourist office, we found Arrábida which looked really good. I liked the idea of cliff diving in nature.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find the spot for cliff diving. Ben, Farshad and Francesca even helped search at one point. Searching kind of turned in exploring. We found an old Fort which I believe is a museum.

We went through the gate next to it (even though we weren’t meant to but who follows rules these days?). I thought the views we saw from here were the best from the many good views we found over the course of the day. There was a hole where you could see the bottom of a cave and the sea splashing on the rocks.

Not being able to cliff dive wasn’t the end of the world. It’s still something I really want to do and on my next trip to Portugal I’ll spend a few days in the Algarve and be better organised in planning.

I’m not complaining, it was a good day with good company, filled with laughter.

On the way back to the beach we went for lunch at O Farol, there are 3 or 4 restaurants next to each other, all with views of the sea, beach and the mountains as the back drop. I think we went there originally because Ben and Francesca wanted a coffee and some ice cream. We looked at the menu and decided to stay for food.

I had carne de porco a alentejana which is pork and clams. It’s one of the most traditional and popular pork dishes in Portugal. Though I did choose it because of the clams as I’d never tried them before, and I liked the idea of pork and seafood together, and throw in potatoes because it wouldn’t be a Portuguese dish without them.

The clams tasted similar to mussels but chewier, not that I’m complaining. The sauce had a nice light spice to it. I doubt I could tell you what was in it. From tasting it I think it included red pepper paste, tomato, coriander and whatever else was used to season this dish. I’ve searched and searched for the recipe and those ingredients are commonly used to marinate before cooking.

We couldn’t believe we paid €15 each for how good the quality of the food was plus wine. Looking at the bill, it felt like we were kind of robbing the restaurant if that’s what they were going to charge us.

We were on our way to go on a nature trail walk we’d been told about. We took the car to go to the beginning of the trail and as we began going uphill, without warning, the car stopped.

I tried to reverse downhill to get as near to the car park as possible, but with the car off, the steering became heavy and it became clear that there wasn’t a chance in hell that I was going to be able to do it.

None of us knew anything about cars. We tried investigating but that was short lived with our lack of knowledge. A car passed by and the driver, who I believe was a mechanic had a look. He said it looked like something to do with the starter ignition.

We called Ok Rent A Car and they said to us they would send a replacement car for us to drive back. I thought this was strange because how would the person who dropped the car off get back?

The area we were in had poor single, there were a few failed attempted calls from Ok Rent A Car and the insurance company who were charged with getting us back.

We waited for 3 hours before the recovery vehicle came. The recovery guy was good to us, he waited until we were able to leave. I don’t know if he was meant to do that but we appreciated it anyway.

A taxi arrived to take us back which confused me because we were told we were having a replacement car sent to us. I initially expected a taxi anyway because how else would we have got back?

The taxi driver was obnoxious for most of the journey. He was a polar opposite to the recovery guy. Anytime Ben or Francesca asked him a question he was rude and a bit confrontational.

We requested to go back to the Hostel instead of Ok Rent A Car because there was no point in going to the car rental place when the rental agreement would have expired. It was also further away and we didn’t see the point in inconveniencing the driver, the journey would have cost Ok Rent A Car more and it would have meant a 45 journey through the metro with Ben and Farshad needing to go to their next destination.

I got a phone call from a lady from the insurance company who was shitty with me for requesting to go back to the Hostel. She said we had to speak to the car rental company but she herself had struggled to get in touch with them so what hope did we have?

The driver said after our initial request that the company agreed to it when he’d spoken to them on the phone so why bitch about it? I explained to her the rationale behind it. She said we might get charged for the journey. I spoke to OK Rent A Car the day after, and they said although we should have gone back to the rental place for insurance purposes, they appreciated the circumstances and were fine with it.

To top it all off I realised the next morning I left a case with a bunch of USB cables for my electronics behind in the taxi. I offered to pay for it to be posted but the company said I had to collect it in person. They were based near Arrábida which isn’t exactly accessible by public transport, and with no car I had no way of getting there.

“You can always get a taxi. It will cost €160 one way”

On what planet is this a logical solution!? I asked the lady on the phone what she would have done in my position and if she felt the taxi firm were being reasonable.

She went silent.

It was disappointing that they weren’t willing to post the stuff after I offered to pay. Everything was easily replaceable but it was the principle.

In the end I found a load of spare USB cables at home which replaced the ones I lost so it’s all good.

When I spoke to the company and explained I had no way of collecting in person, they still wouldn’t relent. Yes it was my own fault for leaving the case behind but they were being unreasonable. They have no use for my stuff and I offered to pay for postage, and at one point I even offered to pay an extra €10 for inconvenience.

As I write this it has been almost a month since the car broke down and they haven’t returned my debit deposit hold. In that time I receive no communication whatsoever from Ok Rent A Car about why the car broke down.

I was initially told the car would be back the day after. When I rung them after returning home, it wasn’t back.

They had my contact details, yet I’d been chasing them up through emails and phone calls, I’ve been pissed about, and even had line cutting out when I’ve got through and given them the contract number. Even their original number for the Lisbon office became unrecognisable.

I found out nearly 2 weeks ago from a customer agent that the wrong fuel had been put in. I’m not sure the agent was suppose to tell me because when I asked more question they were reluctant to answer.

They’re blaming me even though I didn’t fill the car up.

I picked up the car with a full tank and drove a total of 50 – 60 miles.  You’re not going to fill it up after driving a short distance. There was a petrol station around the corner from the car rental place which I planned to use before returning it.

When I finally got the updated contact number for the Lisbon office, and got through to them to explain the situation, I was told it would be up to the supervisor whether I got my deposit hold refunded despite the fact it’s been acknowledged that I hadn’t been responsible for filling the car with the wrong fuel, and I was with 3 people who can vouch for me.

Ok Rent A Car gave me a car with the wrong fuel which is negligence on their part. I’m grateful we broke down as we were leaving Arrábida because most of our journey was on the motorway, and it would have been a lot worse breaking down on a fast road with cars going by at national speed limit. It’s not worth thinking what could have potentially happened.

It’s all part of the learning curve.

I have to thank Ben, Farshad and Francesca big time. I tried to keep cool and calm. I’m not sure I did remotely well with this but you can only do your best. They helped me more than they’ll realise with this experience. They helped massively during the time we were stranded.

Farshad’s phone was working better than mine. I couldn’t get signal and for some reason my phone wouldn’t make the call when I did get signal. He let me use his phone to call for help. His phone was used for point of contact when Ok Rent A Car, the insurance company and the recovery people called us..

Francesca’s quick thinking meant when the insurance company asked for the coordinates of our location, she had them ready. At first we tried telling them the location as best as we could, and with lack of signal it wasn’t easy trying to load the coordinates.

Francesca spoke to the recovery driver when he wanted to know our exact location. To say her work as a translator was a huge help is a big understatement.

Ben is as cool as a cucumber. He’s one of the calmest, chilled person you’ll meet. If you met him you would appreciate his carefree attitude. It rubs off on you. He was constantly offering suggestions on how best to go about getting out of the predicament, and always joking and having a laugh. I didn’t think it was a challenge to keep spirits up because we all got on well with one another.

Even with what happened it didn’t ruin the day. We were 4 people who met a few days prior and we ended up with a great night out enjoying Fado music, and a good day trip to one of nature’s finest places that Portugal has to offer. Throughout our respective time in Lisbon, we all had a blast with each other.

The main thing I was worried about was getting Ben and Farshad back in good time so they didn’t leave Lisbon too late. We got back at 7:30 and said our goodbyes as they departed Lisbon.

On to the last day where I spent the majority of it on a day trip to Sintra with Francesca (there will be a blog post on Sintra in due course).

After arriving back and recharging, we took the ferry to Cacilhas to have dinner at Ponto Final, one of the restaurants on the waterfront. One piece of advice I’ll give you is to book in advance which I didn’t think of doing. Fortunately we were able to get a table outside with a view of Lisbon and the sunset.

I had the red mullet which was grilled with a bit of salt and well seasoned. I’d never heard of red mullet being a thing but apparently it’s a traditional dish. It’s another new dish I’ve eaten that gets the thumbs up. There are so many seafood options I’ve had which were delicious and there was more that I didn’t get the chance to try.

I can’t think of many better ways to end the trip than eating good food and having a view of Lisbon with a glass of wine while watching the sunset.

I can’t end this post without a shout out to Rita and João for their helpful tips and restaurant recommendations which didn’t disappoint.

And a shoutout to all the staff and volunteers at the Sunset Destination Hostel for making it a fun place to stay.

Before I left Rita gave me a postcard featuring her art work as a birthday gift. It is one of the coolest things I’ve been given. Her art work was at an exhibition before the pandemic put an end to it which is a great shame.

Fingers crossed for Rita that she gets the chance to show off her creative talents in the near future.

Lisbon is a good starting or finishing point for a trip to Portugal. It’s historical place with a lot of architecture to admire. The Fado music night was an experience to remember and the food, especially the seafood is amazing.

With that came the end of a much needed 12 day trip which was my first of the year, where usually by now I would have been on at least 4 or 5.

It’s been a strange year for everyone. We’ve all had to adjust to a new way of living, touch wood it won’t last long.

Of course there are risks with going away. Generally I felt safer in Portugal than I did in the UK. People here were better at social distancing and following rules and guidelines.

None of us know what the future will hold. As long as we all stick together and help each other, we will get through whatever the world throws at us.