I’m not even sure where to begin!  I am warning you now…I took almost 500 photos in the last 2.5 days and while I won’t be sharing all of them, you may start to lose your mind with the number of photos that I ammmm sharing.

This trip was, without a doubt, an amazing trip.  When I booked a last-minute, quick trip to Lisbon, Portugal, it was more because I rather be alone and mopey in another city then be alone and mopey in Madrid.  I’m happy to say that I couldn’t have been more wrong!  There was no mopey happening on my trip.

While I did spend a lot of time alone, it was a completely different type of being alone…a chosen loneliness and I spent the 2.5 days with this goofy grin on my face because I was enjoying myself THAT MUCH in Lisboa.  And!  There was sun!  Like 90% of the time!!

Portugal is absolutely incredible, but it is 5000% better with sun, blue skies, and the hustle and bustle of tourists and locals.

In short, if you want a quick getaway for some sun, walking, sites, and water, go to Lisboa.  2.5 days was the perfect amount of time, but I probably could have spent another day sitting by the water with my book.

Trip Run-Down

Dates: March 21- March 23

Flight:  TAP Portugal, 7:45 am and TAP Portugal, 6:00 pm. 160 Euro  (*TAP was great.  They are not a budget airline, but the flight wasn’t bad since it was Semana Santa.  I paid about 160Euros round trip and while it could be significantly cheaper, I didn’t think it was outrageous.  They also gave the passengers sandwiches on both legs of the trip, even though the flight is only one hour!!)

Hostel:  Lisboa Central Hostel.  Great location, easy to access from the airport, super friendly staff, and most importantly- SUPER CLEAN.  This was the nicest hostel I have ever stayed in in terms of cleanliness and value for money.  (14 Euro/ night, included breakfast every day AND the owner made soup and mini sandwiches for guests both nights I was there.  It was like having a hostel mom)

Also, how GREAT are those stairs?!  I had the top bunk and was so happy not to have to climb any ladders.  And the room looks super clean, doesn’t it?!

• Price of Flight: 160
• Price of hostel: 14/ night (28)
• Price of food and other expenses: 40
• TOTAL:  About 240 Euro

So, I guess I should start from the beginning? This post is already wordy and it will probably be incredibly long, so I will split it into two.

I was having a really hard time falling asleep on Sunday night, which was the night before I left for the airport. I had my alarm set for 4:00 am since I thought I should probably be at the airport by 6:00 for a 7:45 flight. I tossed and turned for awhile and eventually fell asleep close to 2:00 am, so you can imagine how happy I was when the alarm went off at 4:00.

I felt like a zombie but I chugged the coffee I had made, grabbed the last of my things and walked down the completely quiet streets of Madrid. Like completely dead quiet and deserted. I almost wished the African and Afghani guys that are usually out were out, but they weren’t. I made it to the 24 hour airport bus fine, but ended up going with a group of other travelers in a taxi because it was the same price as the bus if we all went together…and much faster. Everything went smoothly at the airport. I impressed security with my water chugging skills, haha. Then I waited for my flight and tried to stay awake.

I slept through the entire fight, true to my normal fashion and woke up around 8:00 am- in Lisbon!!

I easily navigated the metros to the area of the hostel, but it took me a good 45 minutes to find the actual hostel. People kept pointing me in different directions and I was cranky!!! And I desperately needed coffee…or a nap…I found it eventually, checked in, then paid for breakfast at the hostel. Breakfast #2. I was in no mood to talk to anybody and actually sat down at a communal table but when some girl sat down next to me, I got up an moved. Haha…#antisocial #forever. I felt better after having a tiny drop of coffee. (Side note: the hostel advertised having free coffee and tea available always. Um, they had free coffee POWDER.. Not the same and absolutely disgusting. I took one sip of that poison and dumped it before I had even swallowed it.)

I left my luggage, grabbed my big camera, and I was out! The benefit of a super early flight is that you have the entire day ahead of you.

I took the map the hostel gave me and then just walked in the direction of the water.  Like a turtle.  I walked and walked and snapped photos along the way, just taking in the sites and the sounds.

I sat down by the river and just stared out into the blue.  I laid back at one point and actually dozed off.  Small miracle that my belongings and I didn’t end up in the water.  Or in someone’s trunk.  Ha, kidding mom.  Relax.

Then I had coffee while I eavesdropped on other people’s conversations since I had no wifi and no book and I can’t just, you know, sit and do nothing.  It was fun! 

With new-found strength pumping through my veins, I walked and walked more.  My only goal was to keep walking UP so that I could get a nice view.  I knew a bad storm was brewing, so I wanted to see as much as I could before it inevitably poured.

Look at those clouds…

The storm held off long enough for me to see San. Jorge Castle.  I was debating whether or not to go in on my first day or save it for another day, but since I was there, I figured why not?  And it was cheap, since I’m a “student” (of life…. 😉 ).  The castle was cool, but the views were incredible!!

You can see where daunting storm clouds met beautifully clear skies.  Fortunately, the rain held off for my whole visit to the castle!

And I snapped approximately 15,000 photos in there.  Most of which I will never look at ever again.  And I took a number of selfies, which should be burned and buried.  4:00 am is not a good wake-up time, let me tell you.

As soon as I left the castle, it started storming (italics are necessary to convey that it was reallllllly storming).  While I waited for it to blow over, I had a “cappuccino” from some hole-in-the-wall place.  It was warm and tasted ok, so win-win.  After about 20 minutes, I asked the bartender for directions back to the hostel and he ranted for about 3 minutes in loud Portugese while I stared at him blankly and then told him I had no idea what he said.  I figured since I had walked up, up, up to get to the castle, then walking down, down, down would get me home.

I was right and within about 45 minutes, I was “home” and completely spent.  I had stopped on the way to the hostel at a small market to get some dinner, which after dropping off my bags, I heated up.  I was planning to eat alone, but another guest sat down with me and we chatted for almost two hours.  Hostels are good for that!  I got invited to join a group of them for drinks, but they left while I was in the shower, so I sat in the kitchen and drank tea with some other guests- one of which ended up being my adventure partner to Sintra the next day!

Since you have most likely stopped reading this post about an hour ago, I’ll write about Sintra in another post.