Summer 2015 Travels Part 2: Beautiful Lisboa Portugal!
My second vacation of the summer took me to Portugal's dynamic and beautiful capital, Lisbon. Being a librarian and all, I went well prepared with notes I had prepared, icluding an itinerary after having read through one of the Society And Recreation Department's (North York Central Library– 3rd floor) travel guides, Fodor's Travel- Portugal.
During my two-week stay there, I had the privilege to alternate between city days and day trips to historic towns and beach resort towns.
Some of the most beautiful ocean cliff views can be seen in Portugal. One happy accident had me taking a ferry ride across the Rio Tejo to a city called Almada, where we had the most delicious seafood rice dish (Arroz de Marisco) and then took a walk to an elevator lift that takes you to a cliff-side bar looking over the ocean and providing an incredible view of Lisbon on the other side.
Portugal is not the typical European destination to visit, but once you visit, it is as if you have discovered a hidden travel secret. For it has pretty much everything I can'think of when imagining a perfect vacation. It has beautiful city life and great shopping (leather sandals and antique jewelry particularly stand out), delicious food (succulent seafood dishes and the traditional pastry, Pastel de nata with espresso), warm weather, beautiful beaches (which can be reached by a very efficient public transportation system in under an hour). In terms of the arts, what really stood out for me was the architecture and jewelry design.
Just on my trip alone, I visited at least a handful of palaces, castles and towers, on day trips to Queluz (National Palace of Queluz), Sintra (which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site) (National Palace of Sintra, Park and Palace of Pena), and Lisbon itself (Castelo de S. Jorge– National Monument) and in Santa Maria de Belém, the Belém Tower, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Some of the great beaches seen were: Guincho (where a James Bond film was filmed in 1969), Cascais, and Estoril.
The city of Lisbon really stands out with its cobblestone and tile- patterned ground, intricate monuments and buildings, and orange-red roofed housetops. Any view of the city is quite impressive, as you see the ocean in the background, a beautiful bride across the Rio Tejo, and the characteristic red- roofed homes.
Lisbon is also great to get lost in its winding streets, full of unique Portuguese shopping and seafood restaurants, and not to mention the countless bakeries and coffee shops as we call them, or Pastelerias, as they are called there.
The public transportation also includes trams, which some say are reminiscent of San Francisco. And even though some days, we would walk till we dropped, exploring Lisbon on foot is really the best way to get close to the action.
European vacations are really close to my heart (not just because I was born there), but because as with any European vacation I have ever had, the usual love for life, and slower-paced intense appreciation for some of the best things in life (art, music, food, cafes, architecture, friends, beauty, city, and nature) were all fully present to the max in Portugal.
Obrigado Lisboa!
Please find books (and ebooks) on Portugal and Lisbon that can be borrowed from the Toronto Public Library below:
2 thoughts on “Summer 2015 Travels Part 2: Beautiful Lisboa Portugal!”
Nice post – perhaps add a “travel” category if you are going to do more travel blog content.
Hmmm, what does the library thinking of patrons taking the travel books on their voyages? so far I have taken TPL travel books to London, Paris, New York, and Hong Kong. They all came back in reasonable shape. Do patrons tend to write in travel books more, or leave trails of their travels in these books, e.g. tickets?
Thank you for the comment. I see you realize that I like to write about travel! The library provides the travel books to be read and taken anywhere you like! I generally find that when I use them myself, they are in pretty good shape. Since we are all sharing them, I think everyone respects them well. Any surprise tickets left behind would only be an interesting find! Sounds like you have been on some great adventures already!