Lisbon

When the idea came up to take a group trip in February we quickly realized we needed only three criterion for choosing our destination: there must be sun, it needed to be a place none of us had been to, and there must be sun. Certainly, there are many places we have not all been to, but in order to guarantee blue skies, sunshine, and warm weather we needed to look far south. A little bit of research led us to Lisbon, Portugal. This capital city had a Wiki page that promised us the climate we were all hoping for. That, along with it's reputation for being an upcoming fashion and design hub that remains C-H-E-A-P, was enough to get us six sun-deprived Hamburgers to book six seats to Lisbon. 

Because we couldnt fit into one cab to our hotel the girls went in one and the guys in the next. Kate, Mary, and I got a good laugh out of the condition of the guys' ancient cab, but the laughing changed direction when we all unloaded at the hotel and we discovered we'd been charged more than double what the guys had paid. We must not look as smart as we are. :)




On our first full day in the city we relied on a teensy old Tram 28 to show us the must-sees. 





And I thought the Hamburg Starbuck's were pretty! 









Lisbon is situated on seven super steep hills, creating many, many windy, hilly streets.



Convenience mart? Oh no, it just looks like it. Believe it or not, this is a fresh produce market.



Sure, maybe this building and all those around it could use a bath, but they sure make for intriguing photo opps. 





After some confusion with the tram, we opted to stroll. It led us to a castle with a spectacular view: 











 









We played around for awhile. Yep, that's Mary up there. 








Walking and playing around a castle made us hungry. Luckily, we stumbled upon an unassuming hidden gem of a lunch-ery. From the street it looked like nothing. Nevertheless, our hunger led us in. Just a few stairs later and we were greeted with a perfect ocean view and some darn good eats. Kind of.























I used the poquinho Portuguese I have left to converse with our friendly waitress. When this cod arrived we were all excited. A bite of this fierce dish tasted like taking a swig from a salt shaker, so I quickly offered Reggie my half. When the waitress saw our left overs she wouldn't accept my untruthful, "It's okay, it's just a little too salty for me." "If it's too salty it's not okay!" she scolded and stomped away. What just happened? Needless to say Her stomping caused lots of laughing. But she quickly found a way to smooth things over--when she finally appeared back at our table she did so with a smile and two magic words: Free dessert!





Ah yes. Cinnamon and vanilla gelato. Double score. I am a fan of salty and sweet, after all. 





Shopping helped us work off our salt and sugar. Lisbon is known for it's ceramic and tile. Instead of our usual piece of art, Reg and I came home with two pretty tiles to remind us of our sunny trip.






Our second day led us to more stunning sites: 




Jeronimos Monastery




















I bet this place would make a great spot for a wedding...





Look! It's BK and Deano!











The Tower of Belem symbolizes the age of discovery for the people of Portugal. Not only that--it offers some awesome views...




























We had read about Lisbon's famous pastries and knew that THEE place to get them is at Pasteis de Belem, a landmark Lisbon bakery. We found it with ease, but faced a line longer than one would ever guess would exist at a place that sells baked goods. 




Lucky for us, this intimidating line moved fast. (And it's a good thing, too, because Mary, Reg, and I stood in it twice.) 








And took us quickly into this adorable shop (the security guard was not adorable, but I guess he was just doing his job.) 








And we got ourselves lots of these flan-like cups of deliciousness. Even those of us without a sweet tooth (silly Reg) liked them. 

 







To work off the multiple pastries we ate and Super Bock's we drank, we hit the Portuguese dance floor in our matching Lisbon uniforms.   
 
 
 
 

Lisbon made for a fabulous weekend. As great as it was, it's the friends I'm most grateful for. Life in Hamburg wouldn't be nearly as fun as it is without them. Cheers to many more fun weekends together...we may as well, we've already got the outfits!