Lisbon

Hello everyone,

I'll tell you about the Portuguese capital. We looked at these after our trip to Sintra and, with a lot of stress and rush, we arrived just in time for our free walking tour through Alfama, the oldest district of Lisbon. Due to an earthquake, a tsunami and a horrendous fire that destroyed most of the city, this is one of the oldest districts.

The tour started at the Triumphal Arch right on the river.

According to legend, the ship carrying the holy remains of Vincent was guided to Lisbon by 2 ravens and there they were buried in the cathedral. This legend is the city coat of arms of Lisbon and can be found everywhere in the city.

Saint Antonio, in whose book an attempt is made to throw a coin so that the soul mate appears in the life of the tosser by the end of the year. I tried it too and scored on the second attempt too. The coin fell out again but the tour guide said that it probably counted. I'm more proud of my target assets. It was a very funny spectacle.

An absolute insider tip and definitely worth a visit is the delicious and cheapest Ginjinha in Lisbon. The old lady has lived in the Alfama for 80 years and is an absolute veteran here. She sells the sweet sour cherry liqueur in chocolate cups for €1 and it simply tastes like grandma's love.

On the tour, the art of Fado was explained to us in more detail and the feminist part of the greatest Fado singer in Portugal was also explained in more detail. Also how Fado was part of the Fascist regime and was used as propaganda. That was very exciting and unfortunately wasn't explained in detail in the Fado show we saw in Porto.

After many interesting and exciting stories and historical backgrounds, the tour ended and Sophia and I decided to go looking for coffee first, as we were both pretty exhausted from the previous day's hike, the stress of the same morning and so on the tour of the Alfama were. On the way to Starbucks we found a much nicer and tastier alternative and ended up at Crush the donut shop.

In addition to a classic cinnamon & sugar donut, we also had a creme brule donut and another café for Sophia. Afterwards we browsed through the small shops in the city center in a shopping mood and also saw some of the sights.

I found a new pair of pants while shopping and Sophia bought jewelry again. It was a really nice day in the city that ended very comfortably with a delicious meal.

The next morning we spent our last day together visiting the beach and the westernmost point of Europe.

But more on that in the next post.

Until then, feel hugged,
Your Britta