Lisbon was surprisingly grubby, a shame when the art of Portuguese paving is one of Lisbon’s greatest attractions. It would be well worth a return trip just to walk the paving route. This example, despite being totally flat, was a challenge on our first day.
Sometimes it’s worth paying attention to articles you read, Lisbon is definitely very hilly and June is festival season. For two of our three nights, there was a street party outside our apartment and it was a real taste of residential Lisbon. Locals socialising, drinking and dancing into the night was a real joy to see – until it was too noisy for us to sleep! Perhaps May would be a better choice.
Apart from Sintra, we’d planned to spend all our time in Lisbon which turned into a fantastic base to explore surrounding areas. Sintra and Cascais have more to offer, in fact a few days in Cascais would be a beautiful break – pack a swimming costume.
A lot of time was spent relaxing, chatting and playing cards – the privilege of old friends enjoying each other’s company. Thank you to Liz, Ro and Viv for being you.
braysabroad 