Portugal Vacation Part 2: Lisbon City

Tuesday PM:
For our time in Lisbon, I decided to rent an apartment in the city center. It was perfect for us and in a great location.

We walked the city a bit after S's nap, had dinner in the Commercial Square, and planned our next few days in the city.

Wednesday:
After breakfast at the apartment, we took the Red Hop On Hop Off tour to Belem. We missed the world famous pastries, but we loved the Belem tower. We climbed all the way to the top and the views were great. S was very proud of being able to run around this 'castle'. We ate lunch near Belem and then took the Red bus the rest of the way around the city to see some additional sites.

After S's nap, we went to the zoo. We love zoos and S has developed a love for zoos and various animals too. The Lisbon zoo is relatively small, but it had lots of great animals. We arrived just in time for their popular dolphin show and it didn't disappoint. After the dolphin show, we took the cable car that gives you an aerial view over the entire zoo including a direct line above the lions and tigers. We then walked through the entire zoo and saw lots of great animals, including a bunch of elephants, very active monkeys and tigers, and a good number of grizzly bears. S loved it - she would call out what each animal was and what it says.

We went back to the city center for dinner and ice cream and then went back to the apartment.

Thursday:
We had breakfast at the apartment again and then headed to the Oceanarium, which was a touch disappointing. We all enjoyed it, but the reviews made it seem like it was fantastic and it was just slightly above average.

After lunch, we went to the mall nearby and all got some new shoes. We found prices in Lisbon to be much less than Geneva so we were quite happy to have the chance to do some shopping. We took the blue hop on hop off bus back and got to see some additional sites.

For dinner, we decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe, S's first. It was nice to have some true American food for all of us.

Friday:
We had breakfast at the apartment and then were off to Sao Jorge Castle. It was about a 1 mile walk from the city center uphill but well worth it. We enjoyed the walk and had a pastry break before going to the castle. The castle itself has amazing views of the city and was quite fun to walk through and around. S really liked looking at the old water well and fire pit. We had lunch at a small cafe before walking back.

We spent the afternoon shopping on the main shopping street in Lisbon and had an early dinner. Our Saturday flight was quite early so we headed back early.

All in all, we enjoyed Portugal. The beaches are gorgeous and the people are nice. Lisbon isn't nearly as well kept up as other European cities, but I am glad we got to experience it.