This morning I woke up early, had a quick breakfast at the hotel and caught a metro to the train station. I took a train to Tunes, then a metro train to Lagos and finally a bus to Sagres. I arrived in Sagres at 3:30 in the afternoon.
A few thoughts on Lisbon
Now that I have left Lisbon, I wanted to share a few thoughts on my experience and general opinion on my three day visit.
- Do not attempt to travel around Lisbon in a rental car. Traffic is a nightmare, parking is hard to find, many roads are narrow, there are road closures everywhere and traffic signs are not always clear.
- I strongly recommend getting a reloadable metro card at the nearest metro station. I bought a 72 hour card for 19.20 Euros that included all local metro trains, the subway, the trollies and funiculars. I travelled all over the city and to Belem using this metro card.
- Lisbon is a great city to visit and I had a wonderful time. However Lisbon does not have an art museum on par with the Louvre in Paris, the Prado in Madrid or the British Gallery in London. Nor do they have grand palaces or castles found in many parts of Europe. The attraction of Lisbon is the culture, architecture, food, history and the people. Lisbon is best enjoyed by exploring the city by foot or in a trolly. If you love to travel, you will love Lisbon.
- Lisbon is not a rich city. It does not have the same infrastructure as many other European capitals. The airport looks tired and it was the first time, in a long time, I exited a plane via mobile steps and walked to the terminal. A large percentage of escalators in and out of the subway stations are not working. Two funiculars were not operational. Traveling by subway is great, but limited.
- Eating in Lisbon offers many options and eating well is not expensive. Not surprising, there are many side walk cafes and restaurants that serve wonderful seafood. However it must be remembered that Portugal was once a global power with colonies around the world. This influence is found in the global cuisine found throughout the city; such as Spanish, Indonesian, Brazilian and African restaurants.
When I arrived in Sagres after a 90 minute bus ride, I settled into my hotel room and had a nice lunch overlooking the water. I am looking forward to exploring Sagres tomorrow.
When do you meet with the realtor?
I am going to wait till 2024 before I meet with a realtor. I will not know how many guest bedrooms I will need until after the election.
Gorgeous view from your balcony! Are you finding any problems with a language barrier or is English very common?
This is a great hotel in Sagres. I got a reasonable rate on the hotel because it is “off” season. There is no language barrier here, almost everyone I have met speaks English. Especially if they work in the hotel or service industry.
Hotel room space this trip seems considerably nicer, Rick Steves is learning, however, we have not seen a fan, so perhaps we are misjudging the rooms, LOL. Views are great, from street patterns on the sidewalk, to the bay, to the cliffs. Thought Portugal had its version of Ceviche? Let us know once you try.
Awesome view from your hotel room! I think I know who I should vote for in ’24 so that you move to Portugal. Reserve a room for me. LOL!