House Sitting Lisbon, Portugal
January 3-February 4, 2013
Our first stop to start off 2013 is the capital city of Lisbon, Portugal! Old and charming, new and improving and situated on the water, its a kaleidoscope of textures, sights and smells thrilling for the senses! Famous for port, fado music, excellent cuisine and wine, breath taking vistas and monuments, and a dessert called "pastel de nata' (custard tart), it sounded like a thrilling place to start the trip. We found a wonderful house sitting assignment in the city of Lisbon caring for an apartment and a friendly, cuddly and lovable cat named Basil. The home owners are extremely friendly, generous and sincere and we feel very grateful for such a unique experience to live among the locals and learn about Portugal.
The Apartment and Pets
We're on the 10th floor of an apartment building in a friendly neighborhood with the metro station literally down the block from us. It takes just 10 minutes to zip into central Lisbon. Its very comfortable with fantastic views over looking the city from a large terrace.
Basil is the most friendly cat ever. He loves to cuddle and loves belly rubs!
Central Lisbon
For Doug's birthday, we hopped on the metro and headed to central Lisbon where we walked the charming neighbourhoods, ate lunch outside among the cobblestone streets and stopped for a latte and pastry before heading home. Great day!
District of Alfama
On this day in Central Lisbon, we checked out a few bakery shops that have been operating since the 1800's and checked out a few pastries too! Next, we boarded Tram 28 for a fun ride through the streets of Lisbon. The area of Alfama is very beautiful...The streets are a maze of old and charming buildings, some so skinny there's only enough room for the tram to get through. There is a lookout point called "Miradouro de Santa Luzia" which has amazing views looking down over the red rooftops of Alfama.
District of Belem
Well...what can we say...we love food. Even though we've stopped for pastries everyday (sometimes 3 times a day!) we had to go to the area of Lisbon called "Belem" to do some exploring and stop at a famous bakery called Pasteis de Belem for some hot pastel de nata (custard tart served piping hot to your table).
Video of Pasel de Nata
Mosteiro dos Jeronimos
A very beautiful church in Belem
Torre de Belem
An old fort tower once used to secure the river
Castle Sao Jorge Views
The Castle of Sao Jorge sits on top of a hilltop looking down over Lisbon. We went to the lookout point called "Miradouro da Senhora do Monte" for views of the city and the castle.