Portugal 1 - Lisbon

Portugal is probably one of the least-visited countries in Western Europe.  The economy here is not quite as strong as it is in most of the other Western European nations and it's a little less developed too.  Of course, the flip side of that is that prices are lower so it's a cheaper destination to visit.  I'm going to ruin the surprise here - it's awesome!  Well worth visiting :)

What I did:

• October 1, 2012 - Late flight in from Barcelona
• October 2, 2012 - Explored all of central Lisbon (it's actually kind of a small city, as far as major European cities go), tried (unsuccessfully) to get Champions League tickets for SL Benfica v. FC Barcelona :(
• October 3, 2012 - Took a day trip out to Belem, a suburb (?) of Lisbon
• October 4, 2012 - Wandered around the Alfama area (the oldest part of town), went to see a bullfight (I figured this might be my only chance ever...  sorry!)
• October 5, 2012 - Travel by bus to Faro (because the train workers were on strike, of course)
• October 6, 2012 - Chill out at my hostel in Faro because I was so sick I didn't feel like doing anything :(
• October 7, 2012 - Stupidly early flight out to London Heathrow, followed a few hours later by my flight back home to YVR (I never actually left LHR, and that was a looooong and unpleasant day)

Highlights:

• Food - Did not see this one coming!  Portuguese cuisine is perfect for somebody like me.  So much meat...  Beef and chicken and beef and chicken!  Oh it was so good...  The Portuguese food that I'm used to eating back home is Nando's chicken, but the food here in Lisbon was so much better!  And the Portuguese tarts in Belem are ridiculous, I ate 4 right off the bat!  I ended up sitting inside and ordering more too, lol.
• The views around the city - Lisbon, Belem, and Faro are all gorgeous.  I'll definitely have to come back next time (and hopefully not be sick!).

awwww yiss!!!

Eating a whole chicken like a boss!

Can't Miss:  Portuguese Food!!!

 

Apparently this is the Portuguese way of making a steak - you grill it, drop a fried egg on it, and serve it with fries.  I'm taking notes, this was fantastic!