If you are living in Sweden, by March it’s obvious to feel an intense need to see the sun and absorb its warmth. So when it comes to planning an Easter trip, it’s a no-brainer, just head south to a place with 20+ degrees of temperature. Although, when everyone is thinking the same way, you can expect the high ticket prices. But I somehow managed to travel to Lisbon for 3 days, I know it’s against my “no short trips” rule. But doing a thesis makes you helpless and you have to break some rules.
This trip also gave me a chance to visit Stockholm as I was flying out from there. I didn’t miss this chance to go and see the cherry blossoms.
Lisbon
So I traveled from –3°C to 27°C, you have no idea how much happiness this 30°C temperature change gave me. So I headed straight to spend some time by the water. I went on exploring the streets, without a map, I just followed the wind, and when I passed through some streets, the wind was mixed with momentary whiffs of food from the restaurants along the way.
Finally, I ended up at this place, nice place to sit by the river, a pleasant breeze, and all this was adorned with a couple of street performers who were playing really soothing music.
I spent some more hours exploring the area around this place and it became even more beautiful as it became dark. All the sidewalks and old streets in Lisbon are paved with distinct glossy small stones as compared to the rugged cobblestones in the rest of Europe. In the evening, when the lights are turned on, these stones reflect all the lights and make the ambiance even more beautiful. I couldn’t resist savory smell coming from the pizzerias and ended up dining at one of the Pizzerias.
The Walking Tour
Just another thing that I like to do in every city I go to, to go for a Free walking tour. The walking tour I went to (Lisbon Chillout Tour) exceeded my expectations and was really good. I won’t shy away from saying that it was a three-hour journey through the history of Lisbon which culminated at this great view.
Art town
I couldn’t help to notice the extraordinary public art all around Lisbon. This was not any random graffiti, but it was evident that artists have poured their heart out to present the best pieces of art one can see.
Belém
After spending a day in the center of lisbon, I started moving west towards the sea. On my way, I spent some time in Belem which turned out to be a nice tourist attraction with a some really nice places.
The area around Belém is really nice, Santa maria church is very near to Padrão dos Descobrimentos and as we keep walking by the river, we end up at Belém tower. But the most famous thing in Belém are not these monuments. It’s Pastéis de Belém, an ancient recipe from the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. The bakery is so famous among tourists and locals that it robs off all the potential customers from McDonalds and Starbucks next to it.
The Estoril Coastline and Cascais
The Portuguese coast has some really unique beaches with rocky terrain, I spent a whole day going to different beaches on this coastline. If you are in Lisbon, Cascais is a highly recommended day trip. This town has unique breathtaking views and I’m sure it’s a swimmer’s paradise. Don’t believe me? See for yourselves:
These are some pictures from my short trip, I hope to go there again and stay for a bit longer.
The map of all the places I visited, and some more places that I wanted to visit:
Flight, Camera, Action 