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29th September 2015
Well for those of you that have me on snapchat would have seen that I have recently been on holiday to Lisbon, Portugal. It was a nice getaway for a week with a group of friends to celebrate one of their 25th birthdays. I had never been to Portugal before so it was another great experience so I thought I would share some of the places, food and experiences that I had there for you all to share with me.
Accomodation
We decided to stay at an apartment that was a central location in Lisbon that is available on airbnb (Click here). Originally it was meant to be a large group of us going but only 5 of us ended up going there which was still okay, there was plenty of room for everyone and our clothes. It is located close to the Rossio Square which has plenty of choice of restaurants, shops and bars to enjoy. It had 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and 1 toilet, living room and a fully equipped kitchen and had free wifi!
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Monday 21st September
It was an early start on the Monday morning, we had to catch the Gatwick express from Victoria station to get our flight that was at 9:50am. At one point I thought we were going to miss the flight because something flagged up in my suitcase and the guy had to unpack THE WHOLE suitcase. When all he was looking for was my foundation in my makeup at the top of the suitcase *sigh*. In the nick of time we made it to the gate, but we didn't get to have our mcdonalds breakfast so the plan was to eat on the plane. Is that why when the trolley eventually got to us there was no more food!? So we were not happy bunnies for the first part of the holiday. However that all changed once we landed in Portugal to the sunshine and warmth.
We got a taxi to our apartment, left our bags to explore the area and stock up on some food and drink and also find somewhere to eat as we hadn't eaten anything ALL day so far.
By the evening we were exhausted from the walking around and the heat that we didn't go out and just played games and chilled in the apartment with our own entertainment.
Tuesday 22nd September
We decided that we were going to be tourists today, so after getting a quick snack from McDonalds we book an open top bus tour for 19euros that lasted for 48 hours and took us on two different routes so we thought that it was very good value. So we travelled all over Lisbon on the red route first of all but it was quite a long tour so we left the blue route for the next day. As it was a hop on and off tour we got off at a particular stop to see the bull ring arena where they do they bull fights. We had a tour around the facilities and they told us what the difference between portuguese and spanish bull fighting was (Portuguese ride horses and don't kill the bull whereas Spanish do it on foot and their aim is to kill the bull) so I definitely learnt something new there. Once that tour was over, after a quick pit stop at the apartment, we decided to take a hike up a hill to the top of Lisbon that overlooked the sea and city, it took a while but we managed it and the view was beautiful. After that funfilled day it was time for dinner, we chose a restaurant that was on the strip leading back up to our area. Before out meal came the waitor brought out some bread, butter, pate and olives, there's us getting all excited like "aww isn't that nice" cause most restaurants in England just bring you bread and that's it. OHHH little did we know that when the bill came we have been charged for EVERY single item....so we learnt our lesson that night - don't eat anything that they put on the table unless you have ordered it or it is free haha!
Once our bellies were full and content it was time for a nap and then our first night out in Lisbon where we ended up partying at a club called Hawaii.
Wednesday 23rd September
As we didn't get to finish our open top bus tour the day before we decided that we would finish it on the Wednesday, not before the birthday girl kindly made us all pancakes which we had with fruit, chocolate spread, honey and sugar - YUM. This set us up for the tour as it seemed longer than the day before and took us on the other side of Lisbon, we did aim to get off at a stop to go the aquarium but unfortunately we didn't have enough time so it was just a cause of a sight seeing tour and taking pictures. We didn't get back to the apartment until the evening so it was just the case of a quick change of clothes and we walked down the road to where we found a Hard Rock Cafe! Their food is expensive but tasty which makes up for it. So filling, so after I was finished I went back to the flat to have a nap before another nigh out at Hawaii.
Thursday 24th September
Thursday was the beach day - my favourite part of the holiday. We went back to the reps that we bought the bus tours from and bought a bus shuttle from them for 10euros which took us there and back to the beach and there were three different time slots. As we wanted to eat and do a bit of shopping beforehand. As most of us have never tried paella before we decided that we would find a restaurant along the strip that served different varieties. For my first time trying it, it was okay - at least I can say that I have tried it now but I don't think I will be rushing out to buy it anytime soon. After lunch we went to the supermarket to get some snacks for the beach and then we made our way. The beach was lovely, sand was nice and warm and the water was freezing cold so I just dipped my toes in and sunbathed on the sun lounges. We brought the cards along with us so we played a few games before we had to head back. It was a short but sweet trip but was glad I got to enjoy the weather.
As it was going to be a our last night in Portugal we decided to get dressed and go out for dinner at a nice restaurant that was outside of our apartment. We ordered a pitcher of sangria and everyone ordered their seperate meals. I decided to have Calzone which was filled with ham, sausage, mushrooms and mozerlla cheese, very tasty and for dessert I had banana split with vanilla and caramel ice-cream - money well spent :)
Once again after a quick nap, we went to a different club called LUX. It was a beautiful venue but not many people were there so the vibe wasn't really there. There were three different floors, the top floor was a roof top terrace, 1st floor were where the dance floor and big alice in wonderland chairs and techno music and the ground floor was a darkened out where a DJ was playing. The music was pretty good there, but we didn't stay for that long as we had an early start the next morning before we had to leave the apartment.
Friday 25th September
Our last day in Portugal :( Our flight wasn't until later on in the evening so we had a bit of time to do some souvenir shopping and eating, there's always time for food. We had to check out of the apartment by 2pm so once we were all packed up and ready to go we went to the shops in the area to do some souvenir shopping. I collect keyrings so that was first on my list and then small bits and pieces for the friends and family.
From I landed in Portugal I had been on the hunt for a Nando's restuarant but there didn't seem to be any around!! So on the last day we decided we would look for a restaurant that sold peri chicken, and luckily enough it was just around the corner from where we had been staying and it was just the right price to finish off my last bit of euros before I head back.
The others wanted to go and have dessert but I was full from the chicken, but we had some time to kill before we got a taxi to the airport and we wanted to get there with plenty of time incase someone decided they wanted to unpack my suitcase again.
All in all it was another great trip away and a good first experience in Portugal! I would definitely come again but probably try a different area. (To see the full spectrum of pictures, check out my facebook page).
Enjoy!
SXFRANKSON xo
*all pictures were taken on my Samsung Galaxy S6 phone*
Next: Valencia 2015
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