how to spend 48 hours in lisbon.

So we'll have to excuse the film photos once again - I love them although I appreciate they're not the best quality for use on the internet. But seriously, isn't it nice to have a photo to hold once in a while, instead of hidden away inside your phone? The only issue is that I actually went to Lisbon nearly a year ago but never quite got around to getting them developed - and that really is one of the big problems of having film photos! 

Anyway, on to the matter at hand. Last year (!) I headed off to Lisbon for a little bit of time before heading off to Baleal in Portugal for a surfing trip. I'd been to Lisbon before, with my family, for a very short amount of time, but this was a little longer and this time I was with some friends and was over the legal drinking age which always makes a bit of difference when it comes to holidays I reckon.

48 hours probably isn't enough time to get to grips with all that Lisbon has to offer, but it is a great amount of time to get a taste for what the city has to offer. 

VISIT SAO JORGE CASTLE

We stayed in a little Airbnb pretty close by to the castle and so we made it one of our first stops. You can see it from pretty much anywhere in Lisbon, and it's perfect for walking along the towers and the ramparts to get a wicked view of the rest of Lisbon - and for checking out the view of the 25 de Abril Bridge across the River Tagus. It was quite busy when we arrived, but not overly so, and we paid the 8.50 euro fee to get inside so we could try and take photos of the peacocks which are everywhere inside the castle grounds.

EAT AT GRAPES AND BITES

Hidden away on Rua do Norte, this was one of our favourite places to grab some food while we were in Lisbon - to the point where I still think of it often even now. There was a wide range of petiscos - the Portuguese cousin to Spanish tapas - hot and cold, brilliantly presented and thousands of different wines to choose from too. The food was great, the service brilliant and best of all was that it wasn't too expensive either. 

EXPLORE HILLY STREETS

Even though it nearly killed me and my fat bum, exploring some of Lisbon's back streets was one of my favourite things to do while I was there. I never once managed to get my bearings and considered myself truly lost at most points of time, but you won't get much of a better work out walking up and down the thousands of steps that connect one street to the next. You won't get much better views either, which seem to sneak up on you when you least expect it. 

TAKE A RIDE ON TRAM 28

Most of Lisbon's trams have been replaced by more modern and efficient trains, but one line, the 28, still retains the trams which were commissioned in the 1930s. Not only that, but the route is one of the longest in Lisbon, meaning you get to see a whole lot of the city for a whole lot less than you would were you to pop on a double-decker tour bus. The only downside of doing this is that you have to put up with an absolutely massive queue that you just don't have to with other trams - but you just won't get the same level of charm exploring the city in any other way. When we were in Lisbon and it decided to rain one afternoon, this tram was a lifesaver and kept us dry while we explored for a bit. 

DRINK GINJINHA

I'd never even heard of ginijnha until a friend I was with in Lisbon decided we had to make our way to a little shop to pick up a shot. It's a thick sweet liqueur made from sour cherries, and it's apparently been around in Portugal for over 200 years. We picked ours up from A Ginjinha on Largo de Sao Domingos, where it cost around 1.4 euros. Personally, it's not a drink for me but I'm not one to turn down a shot if I can help it!

SNACK ON PASTEIS DE NATA

I think it's basically the truth that if you don't have at least a million of these little custard tarts when you're in Lisbon, then you have to question if you actually made it to Lisbon at all? You can pretty much get them everywhere, and could probably spend days looking for the best ones. Popular opinion seems to be that the best and most authentic tarts can be found at Pastéis de Belém but it's not too hard to find others to compare them to. 

LOOK OUT FOR TILES

This was seriously one of my favourite things to do in Lisbon, and I came home with more photos of tiles than I did of anything else. I didn't go quite as far as visiting Lisbon's tile museum, but to be honest, I came pretty close. They're a pretty important part of Lisbon's architecture and I was constantly surprised by the sheer range of tiles that there are - every single pattern and colour. It's a pretty big shame that at eye level a lot of the tiles are covered in graffiti - but I suppose that's a reminder to keep looking up!

Also worth a mention is to head to the Jerónimos Monastery. It's not something I personally did, but some of the friends I was with took a visit and really enjoyed it. I'm ashamed to say I passed thanks to a slightly sore head...

So that's my little guide to how to spend 48 hours in Lisbon. Had I had longer, I would have loved to have headed to Sintra, but maybe next time? I'm pretty sure I'll be back.

Have you been to Lisbon? Do you have any more tips?

Annie x

You might also like: a surfing break in baleal

a spring wishlist for people who hate wearing colour.

embroidered dress / sunglasses / tie waist dress / midi skirt / clutch // midi dress // swimming costume / white smock dress / gingham smock dress 

* For when you're still just a little bit goffic. 

One of the main things that makes people around me hate me is that I don't like the summer. I wish I did like the summer, I quite like the warmth and no rain and sitting in pub beer gardens and all of those other things that come with summer but I hate having to dress for summer. 

The thing is, I like everything to do with winter clothes. Jumpers, scarves, long sleeves, black and grey and anything dark. I don't like the extra maintenance that comes with summer: feeling like you have to shave you legs more (which, if you have PCOS like me, you will know becomes an almost daily task), the fake/real tanning, the make up marks that your sunglasses leave, the sweat and the humidity attacking my hair and making me look like something out of the Adams family. 

And that makes shopping for the summer and the spring and all the transitional periods in between next to bloody impossible for me. Every time I wake up and see the sun it actually put me in a bad mood because I can never work out what to wear.

And so, I turn to online shopping. And I hit it hard. 

a surfing break in baleal, portugal.

How amazing are film photos though? It's so nice to get them back from the developers and see what you've taken. It takes me right back to my childhood. We'll just ignore that I've had to crop my thumb out of the majority of these...

Anyway.

On to the matter at hand.

The one problem with taking photos of your holiday on only your film camera is that it will, at least if you're me, take you about a year to get them developed. I went on this holiday in May last year. I went with what can only be described as a ragtag bunch of friends - so much so it would almost be impossible to describe the relationship between us all - my ex-best friends University housemate and his current housemate would be a good start. Isn't it funny who you make friends with as you get older? I'm babbling again, sorry!

millions of mini eggs-cake | a recipe

As I mentioned on Wednesday, one of the brilliant things about Easter is that you can just overindulge on chocolate and use it in baking everywhere and no one will bat an eyelid. After using an absolute overload of creme eggs in my last recipe, it's only fair that I now turn my attention to their cousin the Mini Egg. Because seriously, who doesn't enjoy scoffing themselves silly with mini eggs at Easter? 

I made the inside of this cake bright orange and bright purple too, using Americolor food colourings because it doesn't bake out. You could use whatever colours you want, as long as you know that they're resistant to the high temperatures of your oven.

This cake is so easy to make, that even I managed to do it! 

creme egg rocky road | a recipe.

 

I know it can be quite a controversial topic, but how does everyone like to eat their creme eggs? Personally, I actually quite like them smashed up into a McFlurry, especially if I can dunk my fries into that McFlurry but we're starting to stray into a different topic of conversation, and I'm aware that that's not exactly the usual choice.

So in the interests of being vaguely normal, I thought I'd try my creme eggs a different way this year, and make a pretty wonderful creme egg rocky road instead - after all, one of my favourite things about Easter is that you can go completely over the top when it comes to using chocolate in baking and no one will even bat an eyelid. Yesssssss.  

a little skincare wishlist.

I've been really trying with skincare now for about three months (yeah, I started late in this particular game!). Back in 2016 - y'know, all those months ago, because seriously, how is it already April? - I literally only used a simple face wash and occasionally a trusty Superdrug hot cloth cleanser, which is are the same products I'd been using since about 2012. I know it sounds so thick, but I didn't know what a cleanser was, wasn't clued up on the importance of moisturising and the thought of a serum was completely removed from my life. I've not been blessed in the clear skin department, but hitting the age of 26 and realising that I needed to help myself out and get on with trying to make my skin clear rather than hoping a cheap Superdrug face wash will do it for me has changed the game somewhat. These days I have an actual routine and am while I'm not quite at the clear skin stages yet, my skin has definitely improved and I can now run to Tesco without any makeup on and not want to put my head into a plastic bag. So here's a little wishlist that I'm looking to try to take this journey a little further!