Our first extended vacation in Portugal was in September. We had finally arranged pet sitting for our unruly furry kids (thanks neighbor Paulo) and there were still a couple of weeks of summer vacation left before Portuguese language school. We headed to Lisboa the day before a scheduled meeting with my cousin Susie and her friend Rachel.

The weather in Olhão was perfect as we walked to the train station. We have made this train trip to Lisboa a few times now so knew exactly what to expect. We had some books, puzzles, and shows ready for the four hour train ride.

This would end up being my first time actually exploring Lisboa and I wasn’t sure what to expect! When we first arrived in Portugal we flew into Lisboa, but didn’t spend any time there. Our plan was to drop our bags at the hotel pre-check in and head to lunch as we waited for our room. We were pleasantly surprised when our room was ready, possibly a sign of good fortune for the rest of the day?

Lunch was at Sauvage, and was lovely. Modern international cuisine prepared exquisitely and presented by an amazingly friendly and attentive staff. The restaurant was a misty 25 walk, but fortunately the true downpour didn’t start until we were already enjoying our meal. Rain visited us almost every time we walked anywhere in Lisboa, which made for a soggy day since we ended up putting almost 12 miles on our pedometers!

We did a wee bit of sightseeing on the way back to the hotel, a few rainshowers would not stop us from enjoying the day!

Remember how I said we walked almost 12 miles? Most of that was in a forest just outside the city. It felt great to get outside in a place that smelled “green”, it’s been too long. Our legs were surprised to learn that we still want them to walk uphill sometimes. We had hoped to stop at three viewpoints including an old watchtower and a shuttered restaurant with a killer vista of the city, but logistically things didn’t work out as planned and the two spots we actually made it to were both temporarily closed.

Our feet weren’t very happy when we got back to the hotel. Thankfully the ramen place we were going for dinner, Ajitama, was only a 30 minute walk away. Yes, it rained on the walk there and back. It was totally worth it!

It was nice to have a relaxing day of hiking before we tear into what is scheduled to be an activity filled week. My first impression of Lisboa was muted. It was a random Sunday in September and we weren’t in a hopping part of town, but it was still disconcerting to be in a major city with almost empty streets. Many of the people we did see had the look of hipster models but no sense of swagger or attitude. It was like seeing a bunch of flat pictures of a super cool place to go, but then realizing they were all just staged shoots. Also, after dinner we wanted to grab a drink (it was only 9:30) and realized that everything had closed down while we ate. Plan B was cocktails in the hotel lobby.

I’m excited to return to the city in a few days, the hotel bartender assured us that we just happened to be in a quiet part of the city. My last comment for now about Lisboa is that, other than some of the architecture, I could have been in almost any medium large city. Nothing about this day really told me “you are in Portugal!” which was kind of a bummer.

As always, thanks to Michelle for planning some amazing adventures. Stay tuned for more 2023 highlights.