So this January my sister invited me to go to Lisbon with her as she needed a break and I suggested why not go around my birthday? So this is exactly what we did and it was so much fun and relaxing! We only went for a few days but we managed to do a lot.
Day 1: We left Manchester in the evening so we got in Portugal quite late. We travelled by Ryan Air which was so uncomfortable, no wonder why it was so cheap! Coming back we travelled by TAP, a Portuguese company which was much more comfortable. We also got the Uber to the hotel which was much cheaper than a normal taxi or transfer. I would recommend it a lot as it only cost us €9.13!
First impression of the hotel, it was quite cute and comfortable. We stayed at the Hotel Turim Europa, the location was alright considering we were able to have nice long walks to the town square…around 20 – 30 minutes walk or less if we walked fast. There are also different cafes around and a pizza place nearby. The only thing negative that I can say regarding this hotel is that the wifi was so slow that it was impossible to connect to my devices sometimes so overall I would give it a 3 and half stars.
Nearby…
Day 2: It was nice to do some sister bonding, we woke up at a reasonable time, got ready without rushing and by the time we left the hotel it was time for brunch so we decided to eat at a cafe close to the hotel. Although the service was not that good, the food was actually delicious. I say that because we didn’t know what was going on and no one approached us even though we looked lost. We didn’t know whether we could just sit down and order or if we had to go to the till to order. It was such a weird feeling but this time going Portugal made me realise how arrogant and rude some people can be but overall it is a beautiful country.
Then we headed to the town square and just walked around to explore. The weather was not that warm but the sun was definitely shining. We managed to take some pictures but not too many!
After that we headed to Belém to have pasteis de Belém, the funny thing is that when we got there we totally forgot as we were too busy exploring everything else! I also tried castanhas once again but for some reason they did not taste the same.
Day 3: On this day we were planning to go to Pena Palace but unfortunately when we went to the town square all the bus tours there were already finished so we decided to do something else. We got the uber to the Oceanarium situated in Parque das Nações. It was definitely worth the money as there was a lot to see, we went to the aquarium but we also got to see where the old Expo took place.
Day 4: Day four was a day to remember as we headed down to Sintra our home town. The vibes there were so different. To be honest we both felt anxious at first as people kept staring at us making us feel uneasy and they could tell that we were not from there. We noticed that everything had changed and in a way it made us quite sad but excited at the same time.
Day 5: This was the end of our trip really, we woke up so early to get the uber as our flight was pretty early. I spent such a lot of money on a few cakes for my mum! She specifically wanted this type of cake and at 5am the bakeries at the airport were closed. So, we waited for a few hours then off we spent haha! We also had breakfast at Paul bakery, it was soooooo delicious LOL. To be honest I did go to Portugal because of the food.
All I have to say is that I really do cherish those memories that I have built with my little sister. It is something that we can always look back to and it is just a blessing that I have someone to go on many adventures with that will always be up for it. So thank you to one my greatest treasures, my blood sestra ♥.
Thank you guys for reading, please leave a like and follow for more travel blogs. Feel free to ask me about the pricing, tips, places to go, how to travel around there and much more. Also for more pictures follow me @anitaf93 and @inspiring2aspire on Instagram.
xoxox Nini
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