Hey everyone!
Welcome back to my blog, I hope you've had a good week so far. I will be talking all about my solo travels around Lisbon, backtracking to 2017!
If you ever have any questions or want to chat, you can DM me on my Instagram the_runawayredhead! I hope you guys enjoy...
Fast forward to Camp and all my travels around America, I found myself sitting at the airport in Boston waiting for my flight to Lisbon. With some money I had made from camp, I got it exchanged at the airport (I wouldn't recommend doing this, 19 year old me didn't have much of a clue about better exchanges rates and where to get them) I settled for six hundred and fifty euros for two weeks which at the time I hoped would be enough but looking at it now... I think that's so much money for a short amount of time. I’m definitely a lot tighter with my money now!
I arrived in Lisbon early in the morning and got a taxi to where I was staying, I remember the streets being empty and so peaceful. It was difficult to find my Airbnb/hostel at first as it was tucked away and had no clear number. After knocking on some doors of an apartment, a girl finally opened the door, she had long blonde hair and blue eyes and a cool sense of fashion. She welcomed me in and I soon realised she was a fellow Aussie, her name was Ciara. This was really comforting knowing that there was someone from the same country as me solo travelling. Soon, I'd come to learn that Aussie's loved Lisbon and I ended up hearing quite a lot of Aussie accents in my time in Lisbon.
I spent the first week and a half clocking some serious milage. I walked for hours everyday around different parts of the city centre, finding my way and becoming comfortable in my surroundings. Rossio Square started to feel like the norm and I overindulged in some truly delicious foods whether that was at breakfast, lunch or dinner. It was a must to taste the local pastries and of course, an orange San Pellegrino when it was hot during the day. I ate breakfast at this cafe called "Frutaria" quite often as a smoothie bowl was 1.50-2.50 Euros at the time- absolute bargain, and I'd sit there in the morning and read my book. I had a spot near a local park which had awesome views of the city and ocean and I'd sit there and just watch the world go by... I also visited some iconic sites such as the incredible viewpoint Miradouro das Portas do Sol, Belem Tower and Padrao dos Descombrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries), Jeronimo's Monastry, Carmo Convent, one of the famous arches in Lisbon- Arco da Rua Augusta, Praca do Comercio, LX factory, Panteao Nacional and rode on the classic Tram 28. I spent some time with Ciara, we trudged up some of the vertical streets of Lisbon and got some of the best pistachio ice cream I'd ever had in my life and we also took a day trip to Sintra together!
We got a train from Lisbon to Sintra one morning. As soon as we got to Sintra we had a look around the stunning and picturesque town, Sintra looked like it was out of a fairytale book. There were a lot of castles to see and we decided to get tickets for the hop on and off bus which was the cheapest way to get around. We got the bus up to Pena Palace, which was the most breath taking castle I'd ever seen in my life! After exploring and walking around, we jumped back on the bus which took us to the gorgeous castle Quinta da Regulaleria and the famous Initiation Well. I found this castle so fascinating and I was in absolute awe the enitre time. We finally got back on the bus which took us to the coast and to some amazing cliff side views. I remember getting the train back to Lisbon feeling so lucky, delighted and mesmerised by the travelling and sightseeing we had done in Sintra.
I also went surfing with the host of the airbnb, Tin. As well as running the accommodation, he taught surfing lessons too so I decided to why not see some of the coast of Portugal and do some surfing at the same time! I'm so glad I did it, because it was such an awesome day. We ventured out to the Costa de Caparica, an uninterrupted 15km long beach, situated on the Peninsula of Setubal. This was my type of spot and reminded me much of home in Australia. There was a small group of us and we all got our wetsuits on and surfboards ready to hit the waves. I'd already surfed before back at home so it wasn't new to me, but I'd also not done it in a long time so it was so much fun to play around on the waves!
I really enjoyed the time I had by myself, I learnt that solo travelling wasn't as scary as people made it out to be. It was assuring to know that I could be happy, get through challenging times and figure things out in my own company.
Towards the end of my trip, I had my two best friends Aine-Maire and Molly meet me. Molly arrived first and we went to a pub that played live music, we sat, listened, chatted and laughed and finally, Aine-Maire arrived too. Luckily, they were able to stay in the same room as me which was so hilarious and fun as felt like a sleepover party! It was awesome to show them around parts I already knew and visit new places throughout Lisbon.
All three of us also went surfing with Tin on the Costa de Caparica which was a day that we always remember. It was such a lovely day, full of sunshine as we made our way in the van to the coast, no matter where we go or what we're doing, we never take life too seriously and we’re always joking around. After getting suited up with our wetsuits and boards, we headed out to the sea. We all practiced catching the waves and eventually trying to stand up. Molly and I were going really well but we were laughing in fits because Aine preferred to just lay or kneel on the board (which is a perfect thing to do when you’re not 100% comfortable and just starting out) whilst riding the wave, but Tin was imminent for her to stand up. You could hear Tin over enthusiastically and constantly yelling “UP!” at Aine, whilst she rode the wave. Aine was nervously laughing after she’d finish catching the wave, “I don’t wanna stand up, I’m happy just layin’ on the board haha” she said to us. Tin still tried his best to get her to stand up on the board, but eventually gave up when he realise she was’t going to compromise. We joke about the whole situation to this day!
With the three of us being nineteen and twenty at the time, we had to have a night out in Lisbon. It was so fascinating to me at the fact I never had to show my ID at the supermarket when buying cheap alcohol! After getting ready (putting our key in the pocket of my blue flannel) and having pre drinks in our room, we found an Irish pub that we decided to go to and play some card games. After a few rounds of cards and a few wines later, I recall the live music that played in the background. Not realising it had been played, I tipsy, jokingly and in between giggles, went up to the man asking for him to play Wonderwall… he smirked at me at rolled his eyes a little whilst playing his song and nodded his head. A few minutes later we hear him over the microphone “and for the third time tonight, this is Wonderwall,” Aine, Molly and I burst out laughing. After dancing about in the Irish pub and being caught sneaking in alcohol, we left and started walking down to a popular club in Lisbon called MusicBox. This was my first time going in a club that opened at 2am! Growing up in Sydney, I got used to lockout laws that meant after 1:30am, you could not enter another club or pub so this was such a cool experience, at 2am the night was only starting.
The music was awesome in MusicBox and we spent a lot of our time dancing the night away. I took my flannel off and wrapped it around my waist, forgetting about the key I had put in my pocket earlier. I can’t recall how much time passed but I remember feeling in my pocket for the key and realising it had gone. I told Molly and Aine in such a calm way, whilst worry instantly appeared on their faces and they anything but calm. We split up to look for the key. I had my torch on, facing the ground of MusicBox, wading my way through groups of drunk people, completely tunnel vision looking for the key. After some time Aine appeared looking relieved, she’d found the key which had been handed into the entrance of MusicBox. Thank goodness!!!!! Safe to say, I was not trusted with the key after that. Although we didn’t let that ruin our night. We continued to dance the night away and even take shots from syringes on the stage!
We left music box at 5:30am as the sun had started rising. It was the strangest feeling ever to be going home so early in the morning, that was something I’d never done before. It felt like we’d lived a thousand lifetimes in such a short amount of time, there was something comforting about seeing the sunrise whilst still being a little drunk. We trudged along the empty and quiet streets, laughing and chatting about how crazy our night out had been. Finally, getting back to our accommodation, we got in bed at about 6am. We woke back up at 10am, went out for breakfast and explored around Castelo De São Jorge, the very famous, popular and remarkable historical castle that towers over Lisbon.
As out trip came to an end, we spent our last morning in Lisbon walking around some shops and soaking up every last moment together. I felt like I’d learnt so much about myself over the two- three weeks and I didn’t want all my travels to come to an end. I felt so lucky for everything I’d been able to experience and achieve and it felt like it was only just the beginning. I knew that I wanted to continue on solo travelling and as I write this now, this trip definitely planted a seed or a few ideas in me and foreshadowed future travels and dreams I’d been thinking and scrapbooking about at a younger age…
Thanks for reading, stay tuned for my next blog post.
Talk soon!
The Runaway Redhead
