Cool graffiti in Saldanha - a business district in Lisbon

Os Gemeos - twin street artists from Brazil painted this one, and they made a similar one in Boston that we saw last year.

This one, above, is called Oil Mogul, by Blu.

Above you can see on the left side an image of a man created by Sam 3 and on the right an alligator by Ericailcane.  The government actually sponsored these "Art Buildings" to avoid these abandoned buildings from simply becoming an eye sore.  Now there are graffiti tours in this area. 

Indoor food markets in Lisbon

We went for lunch at a couple of fancy indoor food courts and markets.  This is the Time Out Mercado da Ribeira near the Cais do Sodré train station.  Above you can see the food court side and below is an image of the market.

Another day we went to Mercado de Campo de Ourique not far from Jardim da Estrela.  There was lots of local and international food options.  Mike tried some empanadas, see below, and Ryan had a hamburger at both markets. 

See the cloudy sky... It has been really rainy here for the last few days.

Tiles, tiles, tiles

Many of the buildings around Lisbon are covered with beautiful tiles like these...

We are staying on a street called Rua dos Prazeres, "Street of Pleasures", but the door to our tiny apartment is off a narrow alley where there are about 40 other small residences.  There is still some decorative tiles as you enter.  All of the sidewalks in Lisbon are made of little slippery square stones, some use black and white stones to create patterns.

I got a photo of some construction workers laying down the tiny limestone bricks.

Day trip to Sintra, a town northwest of Lisbon

We took a 40 minute train ride to a town outside of Lisbon where you feel you've stepped back in time to the 19th century.  It has a picturesque landscape with mountains, forests, castles, palaces and incredible gardens.  Of course, it is a popular destination for tourists.  There is a small town center and an area with intricate streets where you can eat and buy endless souvenirs.  There is so much to do in Sintra so we went with the plan to explore an estate called Quinta da Regaleira.

This is the main residence on the property.  We were allowed to explore inside where there were decorative wooden ceilings and lots of windows to look out to the gardens.  We didn't eat at the restaurant that is now attached to the back of the building.

As you walk through the property, there were tiny steep stone pathways that lead you to all sorts of impressive structures, like this tower with winding stone stairs.  

There were also two wells or 'subterranean towers' that go 27m into the earth.  This is a picture of the finished well, but there is another that seems incomplete and not as refined.  There was a spiral stone staircase that connected to some very dark tunnels.  

This is a picture as you exit one of the tunnels where you had to cross these tiny steps in the water.  Check out the images page for more photos of Sintra!

Visiting Parque das Nações, a modern section of Lisbon

Parque das Nações, or Park of Nations, is an area on the waterfront that was rebuilt in 1998 for Lisbon's World Fair and it is noticeably more modern than the rest of the city we have seen so far.  There is an aquarium, shopping centers, casino, and a cable car that takes you toward the Vasco da Gama Bridge, Europe's longest bridge (11 miles)

Here you can see the Oceanarium, again, Europe's largest indoor aquarium as well as the cable cars behind it.  The Oceanarium has tanks specific to life in each of the major oceans and it is known for having a large sunfish, apparently hard to care for in captivity.  

This is a photo as the cable car was about to land.  You can see the bridge and a strange hotel with a 360 degree lookout tower.  We only took the cable car one way, so it was a long walk in the sun to get back to the subway.  Is it sad that we were excited for a falafel wrap at the mall foodcourt?  It was certainly better than the peanut butter sandwiches we brought to Sintra.

University of Lisbon Botanical Garden

We were planning to go to the Natural History Museum, but it happened to be Labor Day here so it was closed.  We lucked out though because the Botanical Garden was free that day and right behind the museum.

The Garden has lots of little paths at different elevations so you can spend a long time in there.  We saw everything from cactus to bamboo growing there, plus there is a small butterfly garden.

Day trip to Belém, a small town west of Lisbon

We took a train to the small town Belém where there are lots of attractions - Jeronimos Monastery, The Discoveries Monument, The Belém Tower and the Berardo Contemporary Art Museum, and the pink palace where the President of Portugal resides.

Doorway to Jeronimos Monastery

The Discoveries Monument commemorating early explorers

The Belém Tower - built as a fortress to guard the entrance to Lisbon's harbor and served as the starting point for voyages

This contemporary art museum is FREE! Check out the images page to see more...

Two fun bars in our neighborhood, Príncipe Real

Foxtrot is a unique 1920's themed bar that felt really exclusive because you had to ring a doorbell to be invited inside.  We went on the earlier side so it wasn't too busy.  We order some beers and they gave us some free snacks - bonus!  But, since we weren't expecting this, we ordered something random off the menu that ended up being a grilled cheese sandwich with ham.

We are trying to live on a budget of roughly $22 per day, so our bar hopping is a special treat.  We are not big drinkers anyway, unless it is a 2 Euro bottle of wine from the corner store.  The other night we went to a bar called Lost In that overlooks the city.  We went to see the sunset and to enjoy some sangria. 

Lost In

Maybe you can't tell from the photos, but it was freezing at this bar with the wind blowing.  We were the only fools in short sleeve shirts, everyone else had a sweater or leather jacket on.  The hostess gave everyone else but us a blanket to wrap themselves up.  

Walking through Alfama - the old part of Lisbon

São Vicente de Fora Monastery in the distance...

We took a walk through the medieval section of Lisbon called Alfama.  This is a view from a lookout point where we stopped to get some sangria from a kiosk.

Because it was built over solid bedrock, it has remained the same for centuries, even surviving the 1755 earthquake which destroyed other surrounding areas.  Alfama is known for its narrow maze-like streets so we had a great time wandering around and getting lost in its charm.

Graffiti is everywhere in Lisbon...

Day trip to Caiscas, 30 min west of Lisbon

We took a day trip to a beach resort town called Caiscas, about 30 min west of Lisbon by train.  The train runs along the coast and you can use your metro card to board these trains too.

Once you get off the train, you walk through a small touristy town full of nice restaurants and shops.  There were a few small beaches and a walkway along the coast overlooking incredible rocky cliffs. 

We continued walking to a place called the Mouth of Hell, which is a cave-like rock formation created by the pounding ocean waves, though it was pretty calm when we went. 

Mouth of Hell

There was also a nice park in Caiscas with a round stone tower we climbed to get a view.

We took lots of photos of Caiscas so don't forget to check out the 'images' page to see more!

Visiting CAM - Centro de Arte Moderna da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian

We decided to visit this modern art museum today because it is free on Sundays!  It has an amazing public garden behind it with little paths and benches and a stone amphitheater.

Beautiful parks and gardens

Jardim da Estrela - this a big park in our neighborhood (Principe Real) that has playgrounds and a little cafe where we got some lunch.  Most of the parks have kiosks where you can buy an espresso for about 50 cents.

As former preschool teachers, we found it very interesting to see how parents interact with their children here.  In general, it seems people are not shy about telling other people's children to behave and there are even signs in some stores that basically remind parents what is expected of their children.

Trams for tourists

There are so many tram lines through the city that go down tiny street and crazy turns, but we have yet to try it out for ourselves.  Every time we see one it is jam packed with tourists.

Exploring Lisbon

Praça do Comércio - This is a huge plaza by the Tejo River full of tourists and sketchy dudes offering you hash and weed.

Packing our bags for Lisbon

Empty bags - Our goal was to bring one carry-on backpack each.

But, after these were ready to explode we caved and packed two more small duffle bags with snacks and toiletries.  We also invested in "The Scrubba", see below, so we can wash clothes if we don't have access to a washing machine.