Lisbon - a beautiful pleasant surprise - day 1

I'll be honest, Lisbon didn't rank very high up on my list of Southern European cities to visit but I was in love with it in less than 12 hours! I don't know why it hasn't gotten the fame some of the other Southern European cities have received but for me it now ranks very highly.

It's got it all - great food, cheap yet good wine, decent nightlight, beautiful old colourful buildings, the lovely old toy like trams, and beautiful beaches all within an hour from Lisbon along the west and south coast! With the sun shining, bright colours everywhere and €1.50 wine, how can one not be happy in this place.

Trying to make the most of the 4 (3.5) days we had, we decided to dedicate 2 on exploring the city, 1 full beach day (its a must to retain all the vitamin D that's missing in London) and 1 day for some more of the surrounding areas that I'd read up on.

So the first spot in the city and one conveniently located near our Airnbnb apartment was Castelo de S. Jorge. Now having just finished reading Kate Mosse's Labyrinth I had the Castle's of Carcassonne fresh on my mind and when we managed to walk up the hill to see its entrance, I was completely reminded of the book and its description. Apart from natural grandness and sort of romanticised nostalgia a castle brings, the added benefit for a visit to this one is its stunning view. Strategically located at the top of one of Lisbon's hills, your entrance to the Castle is into a massive veranda which clearly overlooks the entire town and harbour. A perfect spot to take in the beautiful coloured walls and brown rooftops of Lisbon.

We spent a good hour and half of walking the perimeter of the castle and taking in some more stunning views of the city and the Vasco Da Gama bridge (the longest bridge in Europe spanning 17.2 Kms). Satisfied with our time spent there we walk along the winding, narrow cobble stone streets, appreciating the views of some amazing tiled buildings while making our way to Parca do Comercio. There is a slight detour I'd recommend, to see the facade of the amazing Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição Velha, its intricate Manueline style design is gorgeous.

Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição Velha

Reaching Praça do Comércio, in the scorching heat, we need a quick stop for refreshments and the largest square in Lisbon is perfect for this. Located on the waterfront with 3 massive buildings all coloured in Lisbon's iconic yellow and flanked with the large arc in the middle, it surely is a beautiful square and I could totally picture everyone gathered here the weekend before celebrating in to the wee hours after Portugal won the European World Cup.

Refreshed and ready for another walk, we make our way along the waterfront towards Time Out's Mercado da Ribeira, a touristy but great spot for some lovely variety of Portuguese staples. Now it was a hard choice but some delicious Tuna Tartar and Chilli Garlic prawns were the winners along with a cold beer. Very satisfied with my meal I genuinely felt I was full, until I see my friend return with this ridiculously amazing looking melting cheese and bread tray and I just cant help myself. So off I go and return with not just the cheese and bread but with some yummy ham as well and somehow I manage to find space for this and a glass of green wine or Vinho Verde (it doesn't look green nor is it a grape variety but it is a term used for 'young wine' and is quite typical to the historic Minho province).

Naturally moving after this is a big challenge and so we are very slow to follow and realise we've spent almost 2.5 hours enjoying our delicious lunch. Stuffed and well lazy we simply decide to window shop while we make our way to yet another food destination (yes i know but there are so many lovely things to eat in this city). So in the true girls weekend style we shop along the streets of Lisbon and slowly but surely head in the direction of the best Pastel de Nata's of the city. Manteigaria fábrica de pastéis de nata is a small shop that literally only serves this famous delicious egg tart pastry which is definitely the #1 desert to have in Portugal.

Once again stuffed and having walked a fair bit we take a tuk tuk back to our apartment and rest before deciding where to go out for our Saturday night, dinner pretty much being out of the question thanks to the amount of food consumed during the day. Two hours of rest and we are all dressed and ready to hit the town, walking towards Bario Alto, the district to go out at night, we stop along the way at this restaurant for a bar snack and some Porto since we hadn't had it yet and we realise its a port wine restaurant called Sandeman Chiado, a famous Portugues winery. A delicious salad / sandwich and some delicious 10 year old white port and 40 year old red port wine later, served to us by a very hot waiter, we hit the bars and well there's dancing and shots and more dancing and by 3 - 4 am we are in bed after a lovely first day in this beautiful and fun city.