Trip Review: Beautiful Belem and Food in Lisbon
For our last full day in Lisbon, we wanted to see it all! Boy, did we!
Photo Session - Lisboa style!
For my photo session in Lisbon, I knew I had to capture the amazing sunrises on the river! Similar to my Rome sessions, I went solo and even dealt with the crowds.
Praca Luis de Camoes
Because we stayed at Biarro Alto, we were on top of Lisbon. In order to get to the big plaza, I decided to be adventurous and take a JUMP bike. Jump Bikes are fantastic for short rides or even long ones. You can register using your Uber app.
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Camoes
Pro Tip: Even if you don’t like biking, these electric bikes are fantastic and make the commute much shorter!
Flying down the giant hills of Lisboa, I quickly arrived at the riverside. Funnily enough, I was not the only one as I seemed to join the late night partiers still soaking in the evening! Although some made fun of me, I was soaking in the beautiful views of the sunrise. From the river, it was nearly perfect!
As I jumped on and off my JUMP bike (ha - get it?) at various points, the morning glow on the buildings was fantastic! I cruised throughout the riverside and main Lisbon centre aiming for the perfect picture!
The Famous Tram
Nearly every Lisbon advertisement shows one thing - the famous yellow tram - Number 28! As most travel reviews say, they recommend get literally the first one leaving from Campo Ospeltz. Although I didn’t begin my journey there, I hopped on in the centre.
Once on the tram, I instantly fell for the rustic charm and decor. The tram has the same style and machines as the 1960s. I can understand why tourists flock to just be on the tram! Thankfully, I grabbed one of seats near a window and the tram whisked along the empty streets!
Photo and Video GOLD
Along the tram way, I stumbled on photo and video gold! Each picture and video was fantastic! The tram makes so many harrowing twists and turns and I honestly am surprised it doesn’t wreck any cars or people along the way. By far, my favorite video is when the tram narrowly missed a grandma walking on the sidewalk! I could reach out and touch her if I wanted to!
Watch out, Grandma!
Because it was only 7:30am, the streets were extremely quiet. Moreover, there were several locals still using the tram for their transportation. Granted, it was either walk up a steep hill or take this tram! Thankfully, I was able to grab fantastic photos and videos. As they say, a picture is worth 1000 words - so enjoy!
Tram Break
For some odd reason, once the tram reaches the end of the line, the tram operator gets a 5-10 minute break and kicks everyone off the tram! While the Munoz end of the line has a few cafes and restaurants, the Campo Ospeltz end has nothing so bring something to do or get the first spot in line!
Pro Tip: While I had enough cash two rides, I ran out by the time I reached Campo. Therefore, bring plenty of small bills or coins as it would be much easier!
Munoz to Campo Ospeltz
Unlike my first journey to Munoz, this tram was a little bit more busy on the way to Campo! The tourists were ready to board but I somehow got lucky and ended with a window seat! While it was more crowded, the experience was extremely fun! I also was able to see the entire route and have to say this typical tourist trap is well worth it - if you get a seat! Enjoy the pictures!
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!
It’s the Climb - and a race!
Because I ran out of coins and money to afford a trip back to the AirBnB. I resorted to an electric bike via Jump. I thought it would be a fun, relaxing way to experience the tram route plus it would be slightly cheaper… Boy, did I forget about the Lisbon hills!
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Caught the tram!
While I did get great photos of the tram in front of landmarks, I also had to outpace the tram - including on the hills! It was incredibly difficult! Even with the electric supplement, it was a challenge to get through it! Next time, I will try and be more leisurely…
Wake up!
When I came back to the AirBnB, everyone was either in bed or still asleep. I won’t name names… Because I was full of energy after outracing a tram, I wanted to get out and get food! Thus, it was time for everyone to wake up and head to breakfast!
Kelly spotted a very healthy breakfast shop called Go Natural. I am not linking it to this post because it was utterly disappointing. I ordered an açaí bowl while MF had the yogurt bowl. I am not sure which one was worst, but MF’s bowl definitely turned into the more disgusting mess. Safe to say we ordered a croissant as soon as we left this place!
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"Acai Bowl" -
"Yogurt Bowl"
Best Food Market, ever!
In Lisbon, there is one of the most unique food markets in the world - Timeout Market! While I heavily rely on Timeout to provide hip, new restaurants and bars, I did not realize they had their own food markets! This is their first experiment where they own the market and lease stall space to boutique food places. There were over 30 food stalls in the large warehouse and we barely knew what to choose!
For the first 10 minutes, we took a stroll around the outside of the main hall. There was just too many choices! When we sat down, we decided that we would each choose a dish. Quickly, we over-ordered too much food but I don’t think there were many regrets!
So Much Food
First, we obviously ordered dessert. We found a lovely eclair stall and these eclairs looked and tasted magical! While I saved mine for a grand finale, MF immediately ate her strawberry eclair and gave her approval!
Next, for our main appetizer, MF ordered meat croquettes that were exceptional and really tasty while I picked a fresh fresh tuna takaki from the sushi stall. While these dishes were completely different, each one was tasty and provided a great start!
Finally, for our main, I spotted a rare khao soi Thai dish which isn’t typically found outside of Northern Thailand! I was so excited! In the end, I was slightly disappointed because it was sweet and lemon flavored and nothing like the dishes we had in Chiang Mai. However, MF stayed true to her heart and ordered the American burger. Although I was only allowed 1 bite, it ticked all the boxes!
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Khao Soi
Food Coma Walk
After our massive lunch at the TimeOut Market, we literally just stumbled around Lisbon. We had our pastel da nata baking class in the afternoon, but we had some time to kill! Thus, we just wandered around Lisbon.
Unknowingly, we found the most famous Tram and hill in Lisbon! While not a traditional tram like my morning adventure, it is more of a people mover or lift to avoid this one steep hill. Rather than pay, we decided to walk up the hill to take fun pictures! In the morning, I found one of these trams that was covered graffiti and I wondered how they made it perfectly yellow in the tourist pictures. Then, we saw the perfect yellow tram and realized they kept it in a warehouse.
Baking Class
One of our highlights of our entire Portugal trip is the pastel da nata baking class! Read about it in this post!!
Biking to Belem
Because we had the rest of the afternoon, we decided to (electric) bike to Belem!
To the Bridge!
In Kelly’s solo day on Friday, she raved about a peaceful little area underneath the bridge that you just had to bike down the main road and then cross the train tracks and you’ll be there! Easier said than done when there aren’t any crossings for over a few miles from Lisbon downtown…
Heading in direction of Belem, we hopped on electric bikes and scooters and opted to go on the “less” busy road on the other side of the train tracks, away from the river.
While Kelly claimed we could have crossed at any point, I was pretty certain we could cross the train tracks because of the various security reasons! It took until the bridges that connect to the main bridge before we could cross to the wonderful water! Finally, I could relax and not worry about us getting hit by passing cars.
Once we made it to the bridge, we parked our bikes and found a neat little cafe on the docks. We were tired and the water was very peaceful! Now I wish we had booked a sunset sail!
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Chillen on the docks
Pro Tip: On an electric bike or the infamous electric scooters, getting to Belem is much easier than the past! If we had to walk to Belem, we would have been sweating through our clothes and wouldn’t have enjoyed it quite as much!
Beautiful Belem
As we biked towards the famous Belem castle, the sun was setting on the Tagus river. Luckily, we arrived just in time to see it during the day time and then at sunset! Lisbon has one of the most beautiful sunsets with stunning orange, red, and blue streaks in the sky and it really pairs well with the castle!
Around the castle, they have a few more sunset cafes and you can easily see sit back and relax on the waterfront. There are also a few pretty memorials to the Portuguese Colony wars. We enjoyed our extra natas as the sun set over beautiful Belem castle.
Swing and a Miss
Because we were pretty far away at night without jackets, I didn’t want to bike back to downtown Lisbon. Thus, we ordered an uber back to town! Originally, we wanted to eat at Timeout again to try more of their 30 food stalls!
Once we arrived at Timeout, it was jam packed! They opened a dance floor in the middle and the place was full of music and people! Because we were able to find seats, we decided to go to another old restaurant at Meson. However, we missed there too as they had a 45 minute wait.
After two swings and misses, we ended up at the empty Tapas Bar 47. Because I was still full from earlier and I was getting a little tired of tapas at that point, I declined to eat. That is what I get when I eat 3 pastel da natas and more snacks along the way! Even in hindsight, I am glad I didn’t eat! MF thoroughly enjoyed her chorizo and bravas potatoes while Kelly ordered padron peppers and octopus. Each time we order padron peppers, I feel like we are playing spicy roulette and we may end up with a very hot one!!
Either way, the beautiful sunset, amazing food, and a great baking ended our last full day in Lisbon on a high note!
