In May two months ago, I took a trip to beautiful Lisbon in Portugal for a destination wedding that was oh! —- so romantic! and so beautiful… so breathtaking. I went on this trip with my husband and it was indeed the first time that I saw my husband so relaxed, laid-back and carefree since we got married – almost thirteen years ago! The peace and tranquility that we enjoyed was possible because we vacationed at Lisbon’s wine country – Alenquer. We stayed at Cambeiros Guest House – a lovely place that is surrounded by lush green steep hill farmlands and colorful foliage.
This quiet guest house sitting on a large expanse of land was what we needed to disconnect from the world in order to connect with each other. As though in cohort, the internet connection in the area was so very poor that it allowed us to savor the beauty of this country side and enjoy the cold and warm interchanging wind that the weather provided in this month of May. Our weekend at Alenquer was even more memorable at our friends’ wedding which was nothing short of romantic. They held their wedding ceremony by a lake surrounded by family and friends.
We also had the time to tour a vineyard in the area called Quinta do Monte d’Oiro – another beautiful place with an awesome landscape. We also found out that the vineyard was organic and were excited to learn about the process of wine making. We were able to taste a variety of wine during wine tasting paired with a variety of cheeses and bread.
After our weekend away at Alenquer, we went back to Lisbon and stayed at the Lisbonaire Apartments which is an apartment/hotel – lovely place to stay if you enjoy cooking your own meals and want the feel of home. My stay in Lisbon was awesome because I was fascinated by its architecture, history and culture so much that my husband and I made it a duty to try out different restaurants every day and to try out new things. We and the bridal party practically went round Lisbon on foot eating and drinking. If you are ever in Lisbon, please do visit the Time out food hub. There were dozens of restaurants and bars all under one roof! The human traffic was so high that it was a struggle to find seating. We had gone round the place for more than thirty minutes before we found seats! But the experience, fantastic! The atmosphere and the energy, high and exciting! We met new people, made new friends, tried different foods and drinks – it was a fantastic outing.
Afterwards, we continued on our walk around Lisbon. We went to Praca do comercio which is a commercial nerve center to shop for memorabilia.
At Praca do Comercio, the human traffic was high and because neither of us set out to do much shopping, we took our time to enjoy the scenery and immerse ourselves in the culture. By the time we walked back to the hotel, we had had enough physical exercise for one day!
I guess this was what I loved about Lisbon because being a small city surrounded by beautiful water and steep hill streets, it was easy to move around the city center on foot. We actually did not spend much on transportation. And those steep hill stoned streets with colorful graffiti, they were nothing but beautiful. On our way back to the hotel, we had met the graffiti artists listening to old school rap music that got almost everyone of us dancing the ”running man” and to our surprise, they were actually visitors like us.
So, there goes my adventure in beautiful, colorful and vibrant Lisbon! I sure will go back again.
Cheers!
Enne
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