Lisboa - October 22

 I don’t write stories  , novels or fiction …. I write travel diaries :) so here I am with my Lisbon Solo !

28 Oct 2022

So….finally I managed to sneak out on quick trip to Lisbon …. My 45th country ( Portugal ) and 2nd Solo for 2022 ! It could be sheer coincidence but this is again next to Atlantic :) I was so close to Portugal in July 22 although in different continent !

So … Journey started with Qatar Airways flight QR147 departed on time @01:20 am to Madrid ! Pleasant journey as I got lucky with upgrade to Premium cabin ! 

With glass of Bordeaux wine and soup , restricted myself to light late dining ( usually difficult for foodie like me to not try variety of available chefs specials on board ) but this time ….. I managed and slept for 4 hours straight !  

Flight landed ahead of time around 7:45 am ! with quick , hassle free immigration, I was out of T4 by 0830 with just a bag pack , got into terminal transfer from T4 to T2 to take on next leg of my trip TAP Portugal airlines flight to Lisbon @ 1105 

Spend some time at Madrid airport , hunger didn’t bother me so had small coffee and boarded the flight ( delayed almost by 40 min but that’s expected ! World is getting back to normal too quickly from two full years of covid-19 struggle ! Happy to see airports are lovely and lively again with full of travellers , kids . I still remember my November 2020 trip to India , no vaccine so lot of formalities , travel after 9 months break and very few passengers at Airports …. Disheartening scene two years back ! Alas … we made it through it …. And back with bang ….. same excitement , same fun …. 

Last few years always planned Lisbon but for some reason never happened ! Covered most of Europe in last few years but Portugal has to be 23rd Country in Europe for me … so one can imagine how long it took me to step on Portuguese soil ! 

Historically , even Portuguese ruled on some parts of India ( small but still ) and you can always get to see the influence , cultural mix with india in my favourite indian state “Goa”

From food , language , names and houses in Goa … they all have significant influence of Portuguese culture and rightly so …. 

So on 28Oct22 , I made my first appearance to city of Lisboa …. Country of great Vasco da Gama and for my kids today country of Great Ronaldo CR 7 :) 

Looking forward for exciting two days ! After long time I have chosen to stay like a wanderer , going to be in hostel , staying in Dorm …. Trying to relive some youthful life and try out meeting friends and family too ! 

Flight landed around 1215 and here I am out :) waiting to catch up with someone before heading to hostel ! Uber costs 10 Euros but I am on my budget solo … so will explore metro !

Quick lunch meet with Joachim Lobo …. Just worked as days matched ! Always nice to catch up and meet with people when you travel …. And my ex boss treated me with lunch and beer too 😊

Now off to my hostel , Lisbon Destination near Rossio metro station , central Lisboa !

Catch 0.50 EUR and ticket single journey 1.5 EUR  

Red line Aerporto to sebastio station for change to blue line and reach Rossio 

…… Hostel inside Rossio station … what a wise gamble to book this one ..and paid off !

Professional checking to clarity at this Lisbon Destination Hostel …. Pictures say it all ! Clean , safe and what a feeling :) back in 20s!

Settled , had bath and then my usual walking tour ….. this energy is something I just love it .,,, I never get tired ….

Lisbon walk started with famous Ginjinha two shots for 1.45 EUR each and then walked  all the way to castle of sao jorge ! Another recommended place was Pastel de Bacalhau next to tower where I got “Code fish cake with Serra de Estrella cheese and port wine “ too cheesy but famous Portugese delicacy 

 And now on tower …. Viewpoint Torre de Igreja… with famous Delta Coffee 

Walked all the way down and had another two small shots of Ginjinha severed in chocolate cups ! Had some good time in the evening , walked across corniche ! 

Awesome city so far and very pretty too 😜 and now to meet my youngest sister in town and like meeting after 10 years ….. it’s different when you meet your family , friends after long time and this one is special ! She is much younger but already independent girl working with her husband on career ! Finally we met , was emotional when saw each other in country outside India ! Had nice dinner with her recommended Grilled chicken and Grilled fish …. And no better way to end your day …. Off to bed early today to give body some rest and prepare for long Saturday … at cascais , estorill and Belem ! And then much awaited Saturday night … Halloween party at hostel !

29-Oct-22 

Hostel guy recommended Pão de queijo ( Brazilian cheese bread ) at cafe Ritual next to hostel in Rossio station ! Amazing taste and coffee ( dash of cinnamon ) 

Time to take shower and …. Leave ! Will share the experience tonight ! 

It’s 9:36 … after quick breakfast in hostel , 15 min walk from Rossio to Cais do Sodre  to catch Train to cascais ! Day pass … 6.50 Euro to ensure I make most of it ! Yet another down the line memory as soon as got day pass ! Whenever I travel … Fond memories of me and Baba ( Dad ) travel for many years and his love , excitement in London Underground with day card ! Whatever I am today as avid wanderer … all goes to him … So ….. 29th October and here I am exploring around Lisbon ! So first stop Belem …

9:40 and train departs …. @ 9:40 … of course no one can beat the efficiency of Mumbai Local …. Huge crowd but still always on time !

Got down at Belem , managed to get These Portuguese custard tarts are  that are facsimiles of the true pastéis de Belém. Established in 1837 ! Yummy ones … got two for 2.40 Euro and then walked across Belem ! Went up to Padrao Dos Descobrimentos, ticket for on view point is 6 EUR but worth to have breathtaking views of Belem , Christ the kIng statue from wonderful height ! And rain …… heavy rain … thunderstorm :) expected as per forecast but not like this….. had no choice but to wait , get poncho … 40 min wait time to avoid getting wet completely ! 

Finally boarded train to cascais again .. @ 1128. … hope rain stops in some time ( looks like it won’t but hope is alive )

God has been kind ! No rains in Cascais , has wonderful time walking around , taking pictures , inside town …. On the way back something attracted me …. “The Crafty cellar  for Crafty drinkers” and just went in to see what it is on offer … has tasting of 4 Crafted beers …Pilsoner , PiPA , Tamaki and iron Duke”   and best was the thinn crust small Mexican pizza and tortilla chips with salsa ( girl added super spicy sauce ) 

So that was my rest time before I long walk across the sea which covered almost two stations so instead of coming to cascais metro , I ended up at mount estoril where I have just boarded a train to cais do sodre !

Guess what , unplanned is always well planned …. Didn’t know what to do … it was 3 pm and party starts at hostel around 7 pm … so had choice to rest or do something !! Decision to Rest is something very tough for me when I am traveling 😅 had a look around , and saw there is ferry terminal next to station so ventured … and got 3.20 EUR return ticket to cacillas , in a way this is the place where Christ the king statue is .. but decide to stroll through the area and  as always you find so many hidden things or something google can’t :)

Had two hour walk around riverbank , nice pictures and then found one place where lots of things ( used ) for sale it’s like big old gowdown … and interesting things ! One can relate to Chor Bazaar in Mumbai ! So had a good trip , nice cafe on top overlooking Lisbon and then finally got back by ferry ( takes not more than 5 min ) 

Came to hostel , got freshened up , had to buy one t shirt from place :) and then was ready for Halloween party … but full start or you can say late start ! Paid 10 EUR with one shot or cocktail free ! People started coming in by 8 and by 9:30 dance floor was busy ! Nice to see 20s and 30s guys and gals with super e every , hostel life … cheap … anyone you can speak to and share experiences ! Not necessary to take any details other than name and place and move in to meet new people !

Party had its own zing … had bit too much alcohol but then around 1030 I left to explore Lisbon nightlife at barrio Alto ( recommended by Hugo and others )

Pub life …. I love it ! Music dance , crowd… dance and lots of alcohol 🍷 🍺🥃

Did some pub hopping , sometimes you may need a company to enjoy but seasoned solo travelers can always find way ! And so did I !

Barrio Alto is the place In Lisbon… crazy night life ! 

Got in one quiet bar with may be 4 people around and got some cube libre ( Basically Rum and Coke ) and within 10 min , it just got flooded with young boys and girls …. Music was on ….. I could remember my time “those were the days “  and then I went up for another three or four cocktails and found a other happening pub “Copa Cabana” and spent another one hour and finally I was so drunk :) didn’t realize it was almost 2 am in the morning …. Night was still young but I am getting older 😜 so walked all the way to Rossio ….. there is a night entrance so had to call someone …. Guy who was DJ for Halloween night … he came all the way down to escort me to hostel ! Don’t remember anything after that how I found my bed but around 9 am when I got up , I could see my socks and shoes all over 😬😬😬

30 Oct 22

With hangover I managed somehow and by 1000 i finally managed to have bath as plan was to visit Jai Ambe Mandir in Lisbon but it was bit far so could have missed the time ! So dropped that idea and went to see my sister who turned 25 on 30th Oct ! Amadora is the place where she lives with her husband , got train at Rossio and straight to Amadora Estate station  1.5 EUR and then got Uber to her place for 5EUR … not much time I had as I changed my plan to take morning  flight from Madrid to reach early evening on Monday … what you must know is to take good care of body ! Stretch stretch stretch first half of your trip , slow down later and keep last day for full rest as much as possible ! So thought of taking bus from Lisbon Oriente to Madrid at 1315 , usually costs around 50 EUR and takes up to 9 hours so plan was to reach MAD airport around midnight and then stay at airport for 8.20 ! But somehow I needed more rest so went to some wrong oriente place and then 1315 bus got missed ! I was close to airport so headed directly to LIS airport and checked TAP flight to Madrid … scheduled 14:50 but delayed to 1515… here comes beauty of staff travel :) at 1400 I booked LIS to MAD ticket for QAR 140 , Madrid is expensive and been there twice so decided to just head to hotel and sleep ! 

Madrid - Transit 

Reached Madrid around 1800 , before boarding got booking for one night very close to Airport called Hotel Don Luis ! 345 QAR for a night , basic hotel , very clean and best was location ! You can reach Airport T2/3 by Bus 101 in 1.50 EUR and takes 5-7 min only 

It was dark by the time got to hotel around 7 pm … after two hostel nights , finally it was time for me to stay in private hotel room ! Got some rest and then around 9 pm went in search of nice food ! Nice cafes bar and restaurant next to Hotel Don Luis so after going through menus , i got into place called LA Torino ! Guy recommended me for Lomo stake with some Red Wine …. Awesome food … Ambience ! Worth spending time for “me” relaxed dinner …. Finally after hour and half I got back to room and sometimes being tired is good …. You sleep well 😃 and for me it was important !

Woke up like twice in the middle of night but it was okay ….. finally got up at 6 am … freshened up … got 101 at 6:41 and reached T1 , luckily got immediate transfer to T4 and at 7:05 I was at Qatar Airways counter ! Obliging starts one hour before so had to wait until 7:20 but finally got my boarding pass at 7:30

Efficient security hold at Madrid enabled me to reach the gate S11 in 30 min …including security , immigration … otherwise it takes like 27 minutes after security !  So no duty free , no food ! Just got bottle of water and boarded the plane ….. some group of Spanish sports on board …. Got my seat 41 H and here here I am on my final leg of trip !

6 hour journey , watched couple of movies , “Death on the Nile” for 11h time , Welcome Back for first time and Pino for 4th time ! Young Spanish couple next to me , could remember travel years back !

Overall went as planned , had some nice time , met some good people , and enjoyed food , wine and place !

Time to get back to work …. Next 7 weeks no travel 😅 except my almost 10 days duty travel coming up between 11-19 Nov 😃 

Meanwhile , work , FIFA planning and family time …. And then plan next one early 2023 ☺️

Ciao :)

P S - Don’t forget to see pictures on my Insta / FB 

#mallhaar

Mandar 😊