Portugal - Porto & Lisbon



 Towards the end of July we were able to travel to Portugal with our friends, Marissa and Tom. They both live here in Munich and have become great friends :) Marissa is from Utah and Tom is from the UK! Our first stop was to Porto which I had never been to. We had a blast during our four days in Porto!

The first night we got there we checked into our AirBnb and took in the stunning views from our porch (see below!) and then headed out for our first Portuguese dinner. We all got the very famous Porto dish: Francesinha- a sandwich made with 3-4 different types of meat, covered in melted cheese, topped with a tomato type sauce. You could also add a fried egg on top (I opted out of the egg LOL). The boys loved this dish but I really didn't prefer it. 




The next day we had a tour with my favorite tour company: We Hate Tourism Tours! During my study abroad days, I visited Lisbon and did a tour with them and completely loved it. I loved it so much I took my sister back that same year. I was super excited to do the Porto tour and then get to do the same Lisbon tour with Drew. Here is a look at our full day tour of Porto:



Luís I Bridge- This bridge was designed by Gustave Eiffel in the late 1800s. (Yes, the same guy who designed the Eiffel tower!)
Our awesome tour guide for the day!

On our second full day in Porto we walked around the city to see some highlights and have some more delicious food. Our final full day in Porto we spent doing a full day tour of the Douro Valley, this is the oldest wine region in the world. The views were just breathtaking and we even did a little cruise down the Douro river. For our lunch during the tour we ate a full, classic Portuguese lunch complete with chicken, rice, vegetable soup, potatoes, and dessert. It was wonderful and I completely forgot to take any pictures! 

I just love the blue and white tiles everywhere around the city!



Douro Valley!

After four nights in Porto we said goodbye to our friends and Drew and I hopped on a train to Lisbon. I was SO excited to go back to Lisbon but to be honest, I really loved Porto even more than Lisbon. Our first full day in Lisbon we did a We Hate Tourism tour and it was so much fun, especially since it was a private tour. It was really cool because we had the same tour guide that I had back in 2011. We even have pictures on Facebook to prove it :) Here are some photos from our tour of Lisbon and the surrounding areas:

With our tour guide, Marta!

Quinta da Regaleira (a palace) in Sintra




Cabo de Roca - the western most point in mainland Europe! One of my favorite spots in Portugal!



Belem Tower (built in the 14th century!)

Padrão dos Descobrimentos

After the tour we made our way to get the famous Pastel de Nata (an egg tart pastry). We ate SO many of these little pastries in Porto and Lisbon that we lost count. They are absolutely delicious! I'm thinking I need to learn how to bake these. After the pastries we went to the LX Factory which is a huge industrial complex with tons of fun stores and restaurants. 


A really cool Portuguese bookstore within the LX Factory!

On our last full day in Lisbon we rode the famous tram 28 around the city to see some more of the city without having to walk up and down the huge hills. It was a cool way to see the city and different viewpoints. We also went on the Santa Justa Lift. This is an elevator that was built in 1902 and has beautiful views of the city from the top. 


Santa Justa Lift





Portugal truly is a gorgeous country with so much to see and do! Do you want to visit Portugal one day? 


Comments

  1. Sarah ScottAugust 29, 2020 at 7:57 AM

    I LOVED our Lisbon tour!!! Beautiful pics as always. Such an amazing country!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Big Move

Image
Well, we did it! We moved to Germany! When Tex and I finally arrived, Drew had already been in Germany about 3 weeks. We have been staying in a hotel until our stuff gets here and our lease starts at the apartment. Let me tell you about our journey from Texas to Germany! The Journey to Munich Tex did absolutely amazing on the plane ride both to Austin and from Dallas. I was very worried but he did so good going through security, boarding the plane, and even going through customs. Everyone in the airport and airplane were so nice and they just loved Tex, especially with his bowtie on! There were several things I had to do in order to make sure Tex could go into Germany. The biggest thing was a veterinarian needed to give him a physical exam and make sure he had a rabies shot and has a microchip. Then, I had to take that paperwork from the vet to the United States Department of Agriculture in downtown Austin, Texas. They had to then approve the paperwork, which they did! Here ar
Read more

Sisters Take Malta!

Image
My sister and I were long overdue for a sister trip so we knew we couldn't pass up an opportunity to travel together! Why Malta, you ask? Well, my sister has been to almost 100 countries (that is her goal!) and she wanted to go somewhere new. We have a slight difference in traveling taste (lol) so it was a little difficult trying to choose a spot. Honestly, when Sarah mentioned Malta, I had never even heard of it. A quick google search led me to beautiful, bright blue waters and beaches. I was in!! Along with the beaches, Malta has a ton of history and lots to do. I was very surprised at how "big" this super small country was. We stayed in the St. Julian's Bay area, which I highly recommend. Do you see how small Malta is? You can barely see it on the map! The view of the city from our hotel rooftop! Our first full day in Malta we spent on a 3 island boat tour. It was SO much fun and really cool to see the 3 different islands that make up the country of
Read more

Out and About

Image
I can't believe we have been in Germany for a few weeks now. We are starting to pick up a few words and phrases and we are learning to figure out the public transportation system. I've been doing lots of research for our upcoming trip to Italy. I can't wait to share that with all of you! We will be going to Florence, Rome, and Venice. Are any of these cities on your bucket list? Below are some pictures from around the city. We take Tex pretty much everywhere because dogs are welcome at almost any place in the city (besides grocery stores and bakeries). Tex found a stick on our walk! I can't believe he is a German hund (that's German for dog!) Our Sunday walks look (and feel) a little different these days compared to Arizona!  St. Luke's Church is very close to where we live. I haven't been inside but I think the outside is beautiful. Below is a video of the bells of the church ringing at noon.  Everything is SO green here!  Th
Read more