When Mark, Maya, and I arrived in Lisbon, Portugal, after a bad experience with the airline company TAP Portugal, there was a lot of talk about “the storm” that had hit the southern Iberian Peninsula on the evening before our arrival and which had caused some of our delays. For the first time, we checked the weather. It didn’t look promising.
Welcome to Lisbon, Portugal!
There was more rain — and wind — in the forecast, but we would make the best of our four-day stay, despite already missing out on a free taxi ride promised by Booking.com (because we had to postpone our arrival), moving our accommodation out for two days, having less time on the peninsula, and needing to pick up our rental car earlier than expected.
Maya in front of the Lisbon sign
Since we had a six-hour delay (in addition to the two-day delay because of the blizzard in New England), we had to skip our nap upon arrival after a red-eye flight. All these experiences helped with our need for flexibility and resilience. We were not going to complain. Not even about our tiny and moldy, wet apartment, where nothing dried. Because its location in Alfama was perfect. It was our first time in Portugal. And we had finally arrived in Europe!
(As always, hover over or click on the photos in the galleries to read their captions.)
Day one
Since it was noon by the time we checked in, we hit the cobblestone streets after taking a shower and settling in. We decided to try a typical local lunch of grilled sardines and a white fish. For some reason, I’d forgotten that serving entire fish with all the bones — and sometimes intestines — is a thing in Europe. While the flavors were great, I’m a lazy person when it comes to eating. The less work, the better. 🙂
In the afternoon, we explored the cute and mostly pedestrian Alfama neighborhood, climbing its hills, strolling its cobblestone streets, and eating my first of many pastéis de nata. For someone who loves pastries and pudding, this treat is heaven!
