The beautiful flea markets of Lisbon are a must see.
Lisboa. The city of seven hills.
Lisbon, as we know it in the English speaking world, is a must for every single itinerary when visiting Europe. The tiny streets are filled with timely antique trams, that criss-cross the city whilst winding up one of the seven large hills that are so famous.
The first impression of Lisbon was of a comical nature. Staying at the impressive
"Yes Hostel" , we formed a league of nations football team to have a kick on the street in front of the hostel. After playing in the basking sunshine for around 40 minutes, a police officer approached and informed us that we had to stop playing in the street. This was his query with us, when less than 15 meters away, two guys were selling "marijuana, hash and coke" (It's usually this guy).
Whilst this cultural difference was interesting to observe, there is not one bad thing that I can say about Lisbon. It truly is a beautiful city, that is deserving of your time and effort.
A definite highlight of this historical city, is the
"Bairro Alto" district (a typical Saturday night).
This area is phenomenal in every sense of the word. Narrow streets converge upon each other, overflowing with small bars who specialise in the most Portuguese of drinks, with 'Caipiroska' and 'Caipirinha' being the standouts. It was in this district that I stumbled upon a bar with some locals. The bar had the locals baffled because they could not work out how to get there. After some quick thinking, we decided to walk behind 'Bairro Alto' and then up a foot bridge which eventually led us to 'Candy Bar'. We walked into an apparent apartment bar, highlighted by dimly lit blue neon lights. Being the only tourist in the bar, I took to the dance floor and grooved to a variety of some of the most diverse genres I have ever heard. A mixture of Latin Jazz, Fusion and African beats filled the bar and my grateful ears.
It was moments like these, that consolidated Lisbon as one of the definite highlights of my itinerary and thus proved that Lisbon is a lively and vibrant capital of fun which is full of culture, friendly people, good food and Bairro Alto!
