Portugal with Julia

Our niece Julia left Seattle around 9:30am, flying to Lisbon via Philadelphia. We headed to the airport at 5pm, checked in with TAP, then headed to the United Polaris Lounge. After chilling for a bit, we switched terminals and boarded our A330-900neo plane for an 11.5-hour flight non-stop to Lisbon.

Arrived at 3:45pm, waited in line for about an hour at passport control, then collected our luggage and took a taxi to the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade hotel in downtown Lisbon.

There was a soccer match happening which closed some streets, so we walked the last 2 blocks to our hotel. Had a nice room on the 7th floor. Showered and changed, then Julia joined us for a walk down the Avenida towards the water. Found an outdoor seafood restaurant overlooking the water.

Walked back up to the hotel where we planned the next day before bed.

Had an 8am breakfast, then walked outside to rent 3 scooters. Rode down towards the water, discovering just how much cobblestone there is in Lisbon! Tried to ride the scooters up to the castle, but there was no place to drop them, so we had to ride down the super bumpy roads to a drop spot.

Walked up the steep hills to the Castelo de São Jorge. Entered the castle and walked around the tops of the walls. Great views of the city all around. Headed down the hill to the water, decided to try scooters again.

Once again, the streets were super bumpy with lots of cobblestone. Rode along the water, under the 25th of April Bridge (which looks very much like the Golden Gate Bridge).

Our destination was the Belém Tower, but there was a marathon ending there, so 300,000 other people were also trying to go there. We pushed in and found that the tower was closed. Made our way back out through the crowd, found a taxi to take us to the Time Out Market where Julia tried lobster for the first time.

Walked back up the Avenida to the hotel for a bit of downtime. Early evening, we took the metro to Baixa-Chiado. Figured out the right (uphill) side of the station to exit, then made our way to Sushi Oriental Friends, a really cute little sushi restaurant with a very friendly waiter and great food.

Walked over to the Elevador da Glória, a funicular down a very steep street. Walked up the hill to the hotel and bed.