Places visited: Miradouro da Senhora do Monte - Alfama - Ménage Strip Club
Miradouro da Senhora do Monte
Even after a solid 5 hour nap with a row of the plane all to myself, I was in a haze when we ended up at Miradouro da Senhora Monte. My main takeaways from this event were: “who let Jay Hartzell paint the rooftops of Lisbon? “ and “why don’t more people stick QR codes everywhere—they could be used for anything from guerilla marketing to guerilla warfare” and, of course, “who the fuck is Henry?”
Alfama
Still tired!! However, I saw an abundance of cute fat pigeons, and we tried egg tarts, or pastel de nata.
Ménage Strip Club
I think we went to a strip club?
It began as a walk through Pink Street—Lisbon’s premiere nightlife locale. Afterwards, Didi found an erotic book store. I said that my eyes were irritated from the smoke, so I needed to go into the book store. Irritated from the smoke or irritated from the lack of pussy, who’s to say ahaha? (I really don’t know how private this journal is.) Anyways, I went inside and there wasn’t anything particularly interesting. Didi went into another building, and Mom and I went after her. As I saw the paintings of naked women on the walls of the stairwell, I realized that this may not be the most Christian establishment. Because it was still 7 pm, it was basically dead inside and we just saw 3 elderly white men on a couch eying an empty pole. But, you know, strip club!
Day 2 Itinerary
Places visited: Mosteiro dos Jerónimos - Padrão dos Descobrimentos - Torre de Belém - Elevador Santa Justa - Livraria Bertrand - Chiado
Mosteiro dos Jerónimos
Mid start to the day tbh. My parents called me weak, which they know is due to my ~clinical tension~, so that was upsetting. But, Didi and I hid behind a barred window and pretended to be prisoners, which was quite fun.
Padrão dos Descobrimentos
We saw the Mayflower!! I was in a better mood because of the Mayflower!! (Since I’ve discovered that there are limited privacy settings on this journal, I’d like to clarify that I did not see the Mayflower!! and Vasco de Gama is entirely unrelated to the Mayflower!!) Also, Didi didn’t know which side of India Sri Lanka was on.
Torre de Belém
We did not get to the top. Instead, my family hid inside one of the small fort towers on the first floor and our view was captured by the attached picture.
Elevador Santa Justa
After we exhausted the lengthy list that Dad and I compiled (we deleted activities from Visit A City’s 3 Day Easygoing Trip itinerary), Didi led us to a string of disjointed squares, markets, and viewpoints. This led to me trying Sangria. It tasted like carbonated fruit juice. Afterwards, we trekked up to stand near a giant elevator but decided that it was too expensive to ride.
Livraria Bertrand - Chiado
Cocagne Bear? ‘Nuff said.
#worldsoldestbookstore
Day 3 Itinerary
Places visited: Nicolau Lisboa
Nicolau Lisboa
Earlier on our last day in Lisbon, I mentioned to Didi that I was craving an açaí bowl. Lo-and-behold, we stumbled upon a super crunchy restaurant with a sophisticated dog mascot. It was a much-needed fun coincidence.
Day 4 Itinerary
Places visited: La Sagrada Familia - Passeig de Gràcia - Plaza de Catalunya
La Sagrada Familia
Our first stop at Barcelona: The Sagrada Familia. The stain-glass windows were super pretty! I want to be able to end entries as abruptly as the audio guide narrator ended her sections.
Passeig de Gràcia
We walked past Five Guys and giant Zara to see Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, Casa Amatller, and Casa Lleo Morera. Almost like home!
Plaza de Catalunya
Pigeons sat on my family’s heads. This is political allegory.
Day 5 Itinerary
Places visited: Park Guell - Mercado de La Boqueria
Park Guell
If only the lizards in Park Güell were real, then it would also be “just like home!”
PS: I’m not trying to sound like I’m losing my mind it’s just happening.
Mercado de La Boqueria
We had empanadas :)