August 12-13:

On the way back to the United States in between Venice and New York City, we had an overnight layover in Lisbon, Portugal. We deliberately chose the flight that had the longest layover (just about 24 hours) so that we could get out of the airport and stay overnight in the city for a tiny taste of Portugal!

Food in Lisbon

After a quick stop at our hotel, we were excited to get out into the city and check out the local food and drink! Portugal in general is well-known for its seafood – particularly the region where Lisbon is located as it’s so close to the Atlantic ocean. As such, we walked down the street to a restaurant near our hotel and grabbed some seafood!

We were also able to find a breakfast restaurant nearby the next morning that seems to be a favorite with both the locals as well as with the travelers passing through.

Being in Portugal for such a short time, we weren’t able to check out the local sights and sounds as much as we wanted to. We’d love to come back one day and check out more of this beautiful country. Portugal is a hot-spot for American expats these days, and with good reason. It’s beautiful, safe, and relatively cheap! Hoping to one day be able to visit longer!

Sights around Lisbon

A couple of interesting things that stand out in Lisbon: First, the 25 de Abril Bridge. It looks just like the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco! Interestingly, it’s known as the “sister bridge” to the Golden Gate, and was even built by the same company. Check out the picture below to see what I mean. Also in the picture below, notice the statue rising above the trees just to the left of the bridge. It was inspired by the “Christ the Redeemer” statue in Portugese-colonized Brazil. It was built overlooking the city after World War 2 to express gratitude from being spared from any direct impact from the war. Things like this make the city of Lisbon a gem hidden in plain sight.