I had to leave my hotel by 8AM to head to the airport this morning, but I was out of bed and up at Miradouro de Santa Catarina for sunrise at 7:20AM. It’s not the prettiest viewpoint, but it was close to my hotel (straight up several flights of stairs) and gave me a chance to spend a few minutes reflecting on my time in Lisbon before heading home.
“This is so cool,” I said to myself over and over (and over and over) again as I spent the morning and early afternoon wandering around the medieval walled town of Óbidos, Portugal. This was possibly the best day of the entire vacation. An hour-long bus ride from Lisbon transports you to an historic town filled with white painted buildings, colorful doors and tiles, and books. Yes, books. Óbidos has been a UNESCO Literary City since 2015 and is home to 14 different bookstores. I mean, where else can you find a converted church where the altar is filled with bookshelves?
Did you know that Lisbon is the place where Vasco de Gama set sail on his voyages of discovery? Lisbon’s maritime history and role in exploration are so significant that there is an iconic monument in the neighborhood of Belém honoring those voyages of discovery. Today I visited Belém to pay my respects to Vasco de Gama, get pooped on by a bird (I kid you not), and eat an original pastel de nata.
Sintra is one of the most popular day trips from Lisbon. Just 15 miles northwest of the city, Sintra is known for the colorful Pena Palace and hauntingly beautiful Quinta de Regalia, both of which were on my agenda for today. Despite the cloudy skies, I was determined to make the best of my day out of Lisbon.
My favorite style of travel (in recent years anyway) is slow travel, where I take the time to savor and enjoy where I am without rushing from place to place checking things off a list. And that’s exactly what I did today. My day started with a pre-dawn walk around Lisbon, included a visit to a castle, a convent, and the remains of a ruined church, and ended with a traditional Portuguese meal of bacalhau com natas.
After a glorious 10 hours of sleep last night, I was ready to take on Lisbon once again. Given that the sunny weather prediction for today turned into clouds (and drizzle) with only a little sun mixed in, I decided to move some of my plans around in hopes of more sun tomorrow.
It’s Valentine’s Day and I’m in love. With Lisbon, Portugal, that is. And if my first day in Lisbon is any indication, I’m only going to fall more in love with this city as the week goes on.
I started my last morning in Charleston with a notification that my flight home had been delayed by a few hours (thank you, snow). And the usual admonition to get to the airport on time in case anything changes. I decided to follow the advice, which meant I had just a few hours to get in some more steps around Charleston before heading to the airport.
Rain, rain, go away… such was the story of the day in Charleston today. But, fear not! I made the best of the day despite the weather.
I’ve been to Charleston, South Carolina many times in the past. The South Carolina Lowcountry has long been one of my favorite vacation destinations, and though I left here just two weeks ago after a visit to Hilton Head Island, I couldn’t resist the temptation to return for a long weekend.
Traveling with Laura 