Finding a Home in Lisbon

And just like that, month 2 flew by! We spent the first part of the month looking for a longer term place and are now happily settled in a cute apartment in the heart of Lisbon. At our doorstep there are tons of public transportation options, any store you could really think of (and you'll have to go to multiple stores to get everything haha), and all the yummy vegan eats and cafes 😍 When we were signing an apartment lease here it hit me that we are really living the expat life. It feels a bit surreal and exhilarating at the same time. I find that I feel the most alive and true to myself when I'm traveling and experiencing life somewhere different... safe to say we are both loving this adventure. Beautiful Lisbon is starting to feel like home away from home 💛

We've been enjoying our new neighborhood, it's a quick walk to the riverfront which has a nice running path we both have been doing our training runs on. We also joined a weekly meetup run club so we are a short walk from where those start as well. That's been a great way to meet other nomads living in Lisbon, we've loved meeting people from all other Europe.

The new neighborhood

He's still a big kid! haha

Really neat spiky building that has a lot of history

We are now super close to the main square, Praça do Comércio. We walk through this square almost every day as it's right by the river and is the starting point of our runs.

I never tire of these Tejo river views! Each day is a little different - sunny, foggy, moody, or this soft, cloudy sunset.

This month we experienced our first Jacaranda season, where from late May into June the city turns purple 💜 I loved having something purple catch my eye down an alleyway or around a corner. The blooms lasted a few weeks, but slowly faded to green as spring came to an end.

Sintra

This month we took our first trip to Sintra, a town just 40 minutes from Lisbon by train that's nestled in the Sintra mountains.

Sintra is a popular tourist destination with the main attraction being Pena Palace, and the surrounding resort town. Right now it is much quieter than normal, and the day we went it was especially moody with the fog surrounding the Sintra mountains. I think it added to the magestic feeling while there though, and the song "Into the Mystic" kept playing in my head.

We really enjoyed walking through the Palácio Nacional de Sintra (the Sintra National Palace) and it's surrounding gardens. Apparently it is the best preserved medieval residence in Portugal. We found the interior of this building more impressive than Pena Palace. I learned later from a tuk tuk driver that the National Palace used to be popular for tourists as well, but now it is mainly the instagrammable Pena Palace. I would recommend going inside the National Palace though!

From there we took our first tuk tuk ride up to Pena Palace. Our driver drove a bit crazy but we made it to the top! It's 20ish minutes to the top driving I think, or an hour hike past the Castle of the Moors.

At the top of the mountain we reached Pena Palace in all it's glory! I love the look of the castle rising into the clouds.

Can you see me? :)

My view from the turret of Justin and Robbie :)

He was cracking me up 😂
I almost bought that set for my niece but he said
I'm a bad influence giving her a sword?? LOL

 

Lisbon Life

One of our best decisions yet which was taking a segway tour in Lisbon! This was our first time riding segways and it was a blast! We did the medieval Lisbon segway tour which took us through the alleyways of Alfama. Much of where we went we hadn't explored yet so it was fun to learn more about the history of that particular area.

The segway is perfect for getting around these hilly, cobblestoned alleyways.

In one part of Alfama you can see the old city walls, something you wouldn't know to look for from the main street:
 

The guide also showed us these boat emblems, made in tribute / remembrance to the Portuguese sea explorers and fishermen.

Road Trip to Parque da Arrábida

To round out the month we did another fun day trip from Lisbon, to Parque da Arrábida and surrounds. It was a quick 1 hour drive to the southwest of Sesimbra, where we walked around the Cabo Espichel Lighthouse. The views were stunning from the cliffs here, and you could make out the long beach of Costa da Caparica in the distance.

Near the Cabo Espichel Lighthouse

For a beautiful view of Sesimbra I recommend stopping at the Castelo de Sesimbra, the castle was built on a hill overlooking the beach town.

We stopped for lunch in Sesimbra and I soon discovered it is tough driving a rental car through the skinny, hilly streets! But we made it :) Also a challenge to find parking anywhere. The brunch views made up for it!

 

After having lunch in Sesimbra, it was time to drive through the Parque da Arrábida. It's a small national park so easy to see in a short period of time, it was just a little scary trying to park at the viewpoints with all of the cars going in and out! Our original plan was to hang out at one of the beaches here, but finding a park proved too challenging because it was so busy. I was really surprised how crowded it was, but it is a gorgeous area. I want to go back on a week day next time.

This view though 😍

From there we decided to be spontaneous and hop on a ferry to the bigger beach across the way from

Setúbal, Praia Tróia Mar.

From there you can see the national park in the distance, and it was fun to explore a new beach! It was a longgg boardwalk out to the beach, but worth it I think.

Praia Tróia Mar

Sunset from Palmela on the way home

Another month and there still seems to be endless things to see / do around Lisbon so we have barely scratched the surface. I love being able to travel slowly and start to feel more like a local, it's wild to us that we've now spent more time in Lisbon than in Sydney! And our plan for this trip keeps changing, but that's 2021 travel in general. All we know right now is we will be in Lisbon for the next several months with our six month apartment. From there... who knows! That is part of the fun :) We did officially become residents of Portugal, so we can now travel throughout Europe and show our card instead of our passports. But most of our time will be spent in Portugal, the list is still so long of things I want to see here!

A good reminder :)

And to along with last month's trend, another doggie on skype! hehe. Bear joined us for a skype call last month and didn't quite know what was going on 😂

Bear says hi!

💜

Sarah

 

"The more you travel,

the more you see it isn't more things you need...

Instead you need people and their stories.

You might need airplanes and fast trains

but you will also need grace,

that reminds you that you are free to keep exploring,

and you are not out of place."

~ Morgan Harper Nichols