On my grand Lisbon-Rome-Istanbul sojourn I did something out of the ordinary when I participated in a free tour of Lisbon, and then I did it again, when I paid to have a tour of the Hagia Sophia. Despite both being tours, the two experiences couldn’t have been more distinct from each other. So here… Read More A Tale of Two Tours: Lisbon and Hagia Sophia DEATHMATCH!
If it’s not abundantly clear, Lisbon is great. It’s a tremendous example of a Southern European city– water, palm trees, outdoor living emphasis– while being cheaper and easier to navigate than someplace like, I dunno, Rome. Way fun. So to send off Lisbon in style here are a few more photos, one of which is a bit… Read More Lisbon in (silly) Photos
Apparently I’m a glutton for punishment, because I clearly love dragging my suitcase all over the world and over every paving stone in Lisbon, because while we were there I stayed in three separate types of accommodations: a hostel, an airbnb apartment, and a hotel. Why you might ask? well, as I mentioned in this… Read More Lisbon: A Tale of Three Accommodations
While in Lisbon we stayed for most of our visit in an airbnb apartment in the Medieval Alfama district, which was so lovely, but also not the most convenient because we had to rely on the famous and crowded 28 tram as our only means of getting up the steep hill to our apartment. Now, Rome… Read More Most Non-Triumphant: Three Traffic Stories from Lisbon
Lisbon’s dramatic cathedral (Sé Cathedral) is well-appreciated form the outside, but let’s appreciate it from the inside too! It has some of my favorite things: Roman ruins in the cloister and lady tombs!! The Lady tombs even feature book reading, which as I can tell you (as I wrote my dissertation on lady tombs) is really… Read More Lisbon Cathedral: Ruins and Lady Tombs
The Maritime Museum, though part of the same complex of buildings as the mostly overrated Jerónimos Monastery, is not overrated. Underrated in fact. It’s great, but you should know it’s huge and they approach Portugal’s extensive maritime history from many, many different angles: Age of Exploration, Naval, Commercial, Leisure and on and on ad infinitum. So while… Read More Not Overrated in Lisbon? the Maritime Museum
The pocket travel guide I had bought to carry with me around Lisbon (mostly for the maps, because the guide itself was crap) was breathless over the loveliness of the Jerónimos Monastery in the Belém neighborhood. And it is pretty. It’s an example of late-Gothic Maneuline style architecture–particular to Portugal–and it was quite pretty on the outside. However.… Read More Mostly Overrated in Lisbon: the Jerónimos Monastery
Above the Alfama and the Cathedral, the Castle of São Jorge (St. George) dominates Lisbon’s cityscape. We wandered up that way in the later afternoon to explore and in short: the extensive castle grounds are amazing and well worth a visit. The castle has everything you could want: pretty courtyards with plenty of shady benches from… Read More Dominating the View: Castelo de São Jorge
The Carmo Convent right in the heart of Lisbon is one of the loveliest, most spectacular churches/museums I’ve ever seen. A Medieval Gothic church that was ruined in the 1755 earthquake, the ruins were left up, which means you can see the stunning Gothic skeleton with blue sky above you. And despite it being late May (prime… Read More The Carmo Convent is Spectacular and You Get it Pretty Much to Yourself
Lisbon is superfamous for the elaborate tiles (azulejos) that adorn many of her buildings. The tiles originate in the Moorish tradition and make the city strikingly colorful and distinctive. They’re great! Also great? Lisbon’s Street Art. A unicorn pissing a rainbow cannot be topped: The colors were amazing and there were stunning details to spy everywhere!… Read More Lisbon’s Lovely Tiles Juxtaposed with her Lovelier Street Art
Ruins + Relics 