Day 1 - Monday, May 9th Lisbon
Got off the airport early in the morning, waited in the immigration line for a long time (more than one hour) to clear immigration and collected bags. Doing a lot of research prior to arriving, it was indicated that there is an airport shuttle that will take us really close to the AirBNB location and hoping to catch the airport shuttle once we came out. Upon enquiring, the airport shuttle was not running anymore, starting our first surprise. Got some cash out in the local ATM in the airport, even though that was not a recommended option. Needed some cash for both Taxi and/or bus that we may have to take. After enquiring some more, we took a local bus to the Restauradores and Rossio, our AirBnb was near rossio square. The bus is not equipped for big luggages, so had a hard time to find a place to put the luggage. We bought the tickets inside the bus, I think it was approx 3 Euros per person. The ride was approximately 30 minutes. We walked to the AirBnb, it was around 1130 AM. Our check in was not until 2PM, but the host had agreed to keep the luggage. We left the luggage and grabbed lunch in the Locanda italiana restaurant just across the airbnb. The food was ok. The apartment was ready by the time we finished lunch and we settled down. The wifi worked great, we just logged in and started our work day. Stepped out in the evening to get a sim card and found a vodafone store nearby. Got €20 for 30 days with data and voice. Went for a walk in a crowded street and ended up in the Praca de comercio/Ruo augusta. The view of the water and the architecture around the square was beautiful. Walked past Santa justa elevator on the way. It worked well during most of our trip in Portugal and Spain. Visited a super market to get some basic supplies like milk, eggs, breakfast items and rice and yogurt. We had taken some ready to mix indian spices that can be mixed and eaten with rice. Retired early since we were tired. It was noisy until the wee hours of the morning.
Day 2 - Tuesday, May 10th Lisbon
We took the famous tram 28 after a long wait to go to the mirador. We got off the tram and walked a while to the view point Miradouro de Senhora do Monte. It was a beautiful day and the view was beautiful. Of all the miradouro's we have been to in Lisbon, this was the best. The probably the most underrated view point of all. We then grabbed some sweets for breakfast and walked to St Vincent church and the Panteao nacional, it was closed on that day. We just roamed around and took pictures on the outside. As it was a working day, we had to head back to log in by 3PM.
Day 3 - Wednesday, May 11th Lisbon
Left around 9am to visit Belem tower, took a cab to Belem tower. Took around an hour to visit Belem tower. Went to Padroa dos Descobrimentos after that which was a monument on the river. Went to Jeronimos monastery, after waiting in the line for an hour we realized our tickets was for the next day and sent back. We went to Rossio square around 9PM and hang out there for a while. The place was very nice in the night and there was enough crowd so we didnt feel unsafe.
Day 4 - Thursday, May 12th Lisbon
Went to Jeronimos early in the morning. Took an hour or so to visit the monastery. The architecture was very nice and unique. Took the cab and visited the Castelo De Sao Jorge, it was an ok place. Nothing great, it had some great views and other than that it was just ruins. A hyped up visit, IMO. It was a hot day, we tried walking back to AirBnb, but abandoned and took a cab back. Went to a palace like place very close to our AirBnb for lunch. Lunch was ok. Started working again. Walked up to Bairro Alito neighborhood, which requires walking up the steep stairs. Had dinner in a restaurant, the food was decent.
Day 5 - Friday, May 13th
Left early to go to Lisbon Oriente to take the train to Porto. The train was superfast and nice. We didnt check out of the Lisbon AirBnb, and hence travelled with a backpack for just one night stay at Porto. We reached porto around 1130 AM, took a 3 day travel pass for €7, but it ended up not being fully utilized. We came to the city centre by a local train. The place was filled with tourists. After grabbing a relaxed breakfast just opposite to the station, we walked to Porto Cathedral. We walked through the narrow lanes to reach the Palace de Bolsa, a commercial building. It was a guided tour and had to wait for more than an hour to get english tour. Visited a church that was just next to the palace. Walked to our hotel called Riberia Cinema Apartments (interesting name). The apartment was just few feet from the Dom Luis Bridge. The view from the apartment was spectacular. After settling down, we walked to the Clergios tower, which was a long walk. But it was closed for visitors by the time we went there around 7PM. After walking around for a bit, we came back to the river front and picked a restaurant and had dinner. We were tired by 9pm and sitting around the bridge for the lights to come on. Once the sun had gone down, the lights on the bridge was a nice view. The parties had started and we went back to room and slept. It was a long day.
Day 6 - Saturday, May 14th
We woke up and went for a walk and a coffee. 9am was too early for Porto, most of the shops were not open, a nice lady was kind enough to offer us coffee while the shop is still getting setup for opening. We checked out around 10am and started walking to the other side of the river, where there were wineries and wine tours.The day was beautiful and views was amazing. We hung around the river side got some porto wine and crab cake. The views from the other side of the river was simply great. There was a parade of expensive luxury and sports cars. We saw a lot of ferrari;s, mclarens, lambos and much more. It was time to leave to the train station. We grabbed lunch near the river and headed back to the station. Overall Porto was beautiful but there was not a lot of activities to do and things to see for more than a day for us. Reached Lisbon Oriente around 8pm and took a local train back to rossio square and came back to our AirBnb.
Day 7 - Sunday, May 15th
We left early to go to Sintra, took the train from Rossio square directly to Sintra. It was about an hour ride and once we got down, there were buses to take us to the Sintra palace. We had bought online tickets to the palace. The bus tickets were kind of expensive €16 per person for the Sintra palace and to Cascais and the surroundings. Sintra palace was not crowded when we reached. It was a cooler and rainy day. We went around the palace at our set time and spent time outside the palace as well. We then walked to the Moorish Castle, and walked up the castle to catch a good view of the Pena palace. It was a steep walk up the stairs but there were plenty of places to sit during the hike. We then took the bus back to Sintra and grabbed lunch and took bus 403 from Sintra to Cascais via the western most point of Europe Cabo da Roca. We got off the bus at this point to take a view of the Atlantic. The water is not easily reachable unless you go walk quite a bit. We took the same bus in about an hour heading to Cascais. Spent some time in the cascais beach, the water was cold. Headed back to Lisbon from Cascais via Train and took a local train to Airbnb.
Day 8 - Monday, May 16th
Another day off from work, we took the day pass and took the Tram 28 from Martem Moniz to the other terminal. We visited Basilica Estrella Church, which was unexpectedly beautiful. A relaxed day, we walked to the Ruo Augusta after dark to view the place in the night. It was beautful.
Day 9 - Tuesday, May 17th
The last day in Lisbon, we went to the Miraduoro Alcantra, for the final glimpses of the Lisbon's beautiful red buildings. We took the Elevator/Tram to visit the view point. We had lunch in the Asian market place in Martim Monez. Headed back to Airbnb, as it was a working day. Stepped out in the evening to spend the last night in Rossio square. Overall it was a beautiful stay, lisbon was impressive, the location around Rossio square was nice and lively. We didnt know how great it would be when we booked the apartment.
Day 10 - Wednesday, May 18th
We left early to go to the airport to leave for Madrid. Spain is our next destination.
