Travel Diary // Lisbon City

Last week on Sunday we got up at 2am and headed to Geneva Airport. After 2 and something hours we arrived – still a little tired but very excited - in Lisbon, Portugal. My friend and I spent 7 days in Lisbon and stayed at the Lost Inn Lisbon hostel the whole time. I seriously have never been in a cuter or cleaner hostel! Breakfast was included and we also took advantage of the free walking tour. As I am a huge fan of the tour guide thing I am giving you one myself today. Though this is a virtual tour, I am sure you will enjoy Lisbon as much as I did!

Praça do Comercio

Surrounded by beautiful architecture and with sight of the Arca da Rua Augusta we enjoyed our first breakfast at a little restaurant on the left side of the place (face the Arc).

 

From Praça do Comercio we headed up the shopping street and already peaked into the stores. Bershka, Pull & Bear, Mango, Zara, Stradivarius etc. did line up between cute little restaurants and kiosks.

On the left side of the shopping street you got the neighborhood Baixa Chiado. On the right side Alfama is stretching up the hill. If you didn’t know this yet, Lisbon is a “up & down” city. You are constantly walking either up or down a hill and definitely work that butt and tights a lot ;) The highest elevation is about 200m I think.

 

Chiado & Bairro Alto

Chiado is the place to go, if you love literature! We went in this beautiful and magical book shop (I actually don’t think it was a store, maybe more of a library?) on R. Garrett Street. At first I thought it was all little and stuff but when I passed the first book shelves I saw long hallways stuffed with books right to the ceiling. It felt like a Harry Potter kind of thing where the corridor would never end.

Also Chiado and Bairro Alto offers many places to eat and I not once was disappointed in my dish! My recommendations:

·         Café Tati (Rua da Ribeira Nova 36)

·         Taberna da Rua das Flores (Rua das Flores 103)

·         Royale Cafe (Lg. Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro 29)

·         Lost In – Esplanada Bar (R. D. Pedro V 56D)

·         Ginjinha sem Rival (Rua das Portas de Santo Antoão 7)

·         Mercado da Ribeira / Timeout Market (Av. 24 de Julho 49)

 

Tip: if you see Ginja on the drinks menu, try it! It’s a cherry liquor and sooo yum!

Don’t let you fool and go on the Elevador de Santa Justa which is labeled as a scenic lookout. The ticket to go up is way too expensive and you can get the same amazing view by walking up the hill (which you are going to do anyway to get to other attractions and shops). Some people are saying that Mr. Eiffel – yes, the one the Eiffel Tower is named after – built the Elevator but don’t let them fool you because that’s not true.

 

 
 

Alfama

Heading east you’ll get in the Alfama neighborhood. I love this part of the city as there are lots of street art and historic sights such as Catedral Sé Patriarcal, Miradouro de Santa Luzia, Portas Do Sol, Menino Deus and Castelo de São Jorge.

If you got sent a postcard from Lisbon then there might was a yellow tram on it. The Tram 28 is pretty famous and if you get the chance, take a picture of it! They are pretty fast, so make sure to check your camera settings for a good one.

On Tuesdays and Saturdays there is also a flea market right behind the São Vincente de Fora. People are selling all kind of stuff there; cutlery, books, paintings, electronics, jewelry and the famous tiles. If you are thinking of buying some tiles, please check the back for a signature. They are selling lots of tiles which they actually stole from a building somewhere in the neighborhood!

Sunday Hike // Mount Rigi

When I was a teenager I used to spent my Sundays sleeping in, relaxing, binge watching TV and eating junk food all day. Now that I’m a little older I love to spend Sundays with my family. Since my mom and brother mostly have to work on Sundays my dad, Sisco (our dog) and I would meet up at my place and decide on where we would like to go for a hike or a walk.

This past Sunday the weather was phenomenal! We drove approximately 2 hours from Berne to Vitznau where we took the rack railroad up to the top. After visiting the peak of mount Rigi (1'798 meters above sea level) aka “queen of the mountains” as the locals like to call it, we walked down to the mid-station of the rack railroad. My dad's recently undergone surgery so we wouldn’t be able to hike as much as we normally would but we had lots of fun and enjoyed the panoramic views.

“Rigi is like a peninsula, located on the edge of the Prealps between Lake Lucerne, Lake Zug and Lake Lauerz”  - www.rigi.ch/Home-en

Best shot ever, haha ;) PS: he is NOT pooping, k? ^^

 

 

The B O M B (E R)

They are coming. They are coming fast.
Bomber jackets are all over social media and the online shopping sites. They look chic, cool and very "I'm a cool kid", if you know what I mean. I like my clothes not only stylish but also comfy. Don't they look comfy to you? Well they do to me. Especially the velvet looking one (5) seems extra cozy. The great thing about bombers is that they are light weighted but still quite wind resistant which is a huge plus if you experience spring in Switzerland or Middle Europe. AND they also come in longline which is great for people like me with a longer upper body.

I acutally was looking for a floral one for the extra spring-yness but I couldn't find one. Hit me up, if you stumble upon one, ok?

1 New Look // 2 Topshop // 3 Forever21 // 4 Urban Outfitters // 5 Asos

Stormy Sundays

It's pretty stormy in Switzerland these days, which is why Sundays mostly are for late breakfast and binge watching tv shows. I personally don't mind as relaxing is what my body needs after long working days. 

When I was a kid my mom would always tell me to not play with my food, but I'm a grown up now...

Wanderlust

Travelling has been my passion for as along as I’m on this beautiful planet we call earth. I consider myself privileged as my parents took me on my first vacation when I couldn’t even walk properly.

Growing up, while all the other kids went on vacation in summer, we had to help our parents, both farmers, on the fields. They told us that each of us has to earn the money for our up coming vacation. We didn’t really mind because the destination never failed to impress. I loved the fact that we fled the cold for a few weeks each winter, when the earth was frozen and no vegetable would grow. We mostly were drawn to exotic places such as the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Thailand and such.

Now that I’m grown up – at least you could think so from the look at my birth date – I would go on a big vacation (one month) once a year and keep myself busy with short trips to closer places (aka Europe) in between.  I’m not rich nor am I sponsored. I’m saving my earnings and I’m mostly travelling on a budget. I love to stay with airbnb or in hostels.

When I’m travelling I try to get to know as much as possible about the country I’m staying in. I love trying new food, talking to locals and just getting into the lifestyle in general. It’s fascinating how different people all over the world seem but in the end we are all the same. It’s not the country we are from that says who and how we are, it’s each person for themselves, deciding every day who and how we want to be.

 

I already planned out 2016 (Lisbon, Copenhagen & New York) and most of 2017 (Brazil and Capetown)but if you wanna tell me your favorite places to vacation, please go for it. I'd love to hear about them.

 

I'm ready for all the adventures waiting out there and if you want to join me feel free to add me on Instagram and stay tuned for the next travel related blog post.