[13D10N - Incentive Trip: Spain & Portugal] 3D2N at Lisbon
Before checking out, we took a photo of the morning view from our room! We woke up early to have our breakfast at the hotel.
The entire structure was enormous, which meant a lot of walking and even more photographs. There were towers, tiled alcoves, and stunning bridges, and overall I was greatly impressed by the place.
Next, we reached the stunning Seville Cathedral. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, and a Spanish national monument.
The Seville Cathedral is the final resting place of Christopher Columbus, one of the most famous explorers in history.
If you’re visiting Seville Cathedral, make sure to climb the Giralda Tower, and this was what we did! The Giralda Tower is the most iconic feature of the Seville Cathedral, and at 97 meters (318 feet) tall, it’s the tallest tower in Spain. The panoramic views from the top were incredible, and you can see for miles over the city.
However,
be warned, the climb isn’t a walk in the park. It has no steps/stairs just 35
ramps with varying inclined steepness, so it is definitely a bit of a workout.
That said, it’s definitely worth the effort, the views over the city were magnificent!
The local tour guide booked a few tables for all of us at Restaurante Mateos for our self-paid lunch. This restaurant was walking distance from the Seville Cathedral.
We also ordered the Spanish Spinach & Chickpeas (Espinacas con Garbanzos), as this traditional dish is popular in Seville, Spain. It is served in all the local tapas bars.
After our self-paid lunch, we walked around the most desirable area of Seville, - Barrio Santa Cruz, which is also known as the medieval Jewish Quarter and is actually the real heart of Seville. It was a typical Spanish old town with a maze of winding cobbled streets and picturesque squares. It's a great place to find local tapas bars, as Tapas-hopping is the primary social event in Seville’s oldest quarter – Barrio Santa Cruz.
The old Jewish quarter’s narrow streets had many shops selling souvenirs, handicrafts, and ceramics. We picked up some souvenirs from Seville before heading back to our bus to continue our journey to Portugal. To conclude my thoughts for Seville, it's a popular European city to visit, and it is well placed to easily tour around!
After approximately 4.5 hours of being on the road, we finally arrived at Lisbon, Portugal. The bus brought us to our dinner place before bringing us to our hotel. We were treated to a 3-course Piri Piri Portuguese dinner set which was part of the package tour. The dinner place was Restaurante Piri Piri.
The dinner set started off with Vegetable Soup which tasted abit like pumpkin soup, followed by a large portion of Salad.
We took many random photos at the station platform area. Their trains were clean and efficient, but most importantly the stations lines were easy to navigate.
I was happy that we took the public transport in Portugal. These are one of the normal routines we do when we are on holiday.
After our breakfast, we boarded the bus, and our city tour began with the charming Portuguese town - Sintra.
We visited Palacio Nacional de Sintra (Sintra National Palace). The entrance of this palace was not part of the tour, so we didn’t go in but we only took photos outside against the building. I think I will ear-mark this place, as if I do come back to Lisbon again, I would like to visit the palace.
We purchased 2 Portuguese egg tarts from Pastel del Nata. We really enjoyed the Portuguese staple.
We thereafter walked around the Sintra Local Market - I felt that it was like stepping back in time. There were many narrow, steep, cobblestoned streets with many shops and restaurants. The shops were mainly selling handcrafted and manufactured items, and somewhat kitschy ‘souvenir’ merchandise, but overall the items were interesting and were unique to these shops.
We picked up some artwork of Sintra from Toranja - an art store in Sintra. We loved the fun artworks of Portugal that were offered in the shop. We felt that it was a great art shop, as it was getting harder and harder to find unique locally made souvenirs besides the usual magnets and mugs and what-not.
We left Sintra, and headed over to the next attraction - Cabo da Roca which was about 30-45 minutes bus ride away.
Views from roads along the Atlantic Coast
As we got off the bus, we headed towards the edge of the cliff, where everyone else was. The views of the ocean smashing against the rocks was one to behold.
I decided to take tons of photos that would as a keepsake and proof that I’ve been to the most western point of Europe!
We headed back into Cascais for lunch(, specifically the Cascais main market of Mercado da Vila.
The local tour guide made a reservation for lunch at Marisco na Praça for our self-paid lunch. It is a large covered market in Cascais that sells a variety of fresh produce and classical handicrafts. A great place to explore local products.
We loved the Fresh Oysters, as they tasted really fresh and delicious!
The freshest produce and seafood that Portugal offered came with a price tag. The lunch damage was significant, but since we were on holiday, we decided to ease up on expenditure!
On the way to our next stop, our bus passed through a tunnel which was full of colorful tiles and murals. It was quite pretty and was simply the best underpass I have ever seen. ‘Amazing’ is the only word to describe the sight!
We continued our tour to Jerónimos Monastery, and it is an UNESCO world heritage that is a must-visit when you’re in Lisbon. The entrance of the Jerónimos Monastery was not part of the tour, so we didn’t go in but only took photos outside against the building. I have also ear-marked this place for a potential future visit if I ever make a re-visit to Portugal!
We were surprised by the local tour guide, as he got us the Pastéis de Belém (Famous Portugal's Custard Tart) from Antiga Confeitaria de Belém Pastéis de Belém. We got to taste a fresh, warm one out of the oven! It tasted so good, but too bad we could only have one tart each. While on the bus leaving for Belem Tower, we passed by the shop and were shocked to see that the long queue that was actually snaking outside was for these takeaway tarts!
Another attraction without entrance was the Belem Tower. We took many photos outside against the building. Again i have to reiterate that I would like to visit it if I ever made a re-visit to Portugal again, as I read that no Lisbon is complete without some photos of the interior of the iconic Belem Tower.
This monument takes the shape of the prow of a caraval (ship of early explorers), and is carved in limestone.
We took many random photos against the monument.
The bus dropped us off at Rossio Square - Lisbon’s City Centre for a self-tour! We were given the option of returning to the drop off point for taking the bus at 8pm to return to the hotel or having more time to explore on our own but to make our own way back.
We walked to our dinner place after we did our shopping, as we had made a dinner reservation at 6pm at a Traditional Portugese Restaurant called Gambrinus. This restaurant is one of the most famous restaurants in Lisbon
The Steamed Clams with Garlic were terrific, and I think I can finish this dish all by myself.
Stay tuned for my next blogpost, as we explored more of Portugal by heading to Fatima for a visit before departing Portugal, to return to another city of Spain - Salamanca.
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