Author Topic: A Day In Lisbon, Portugal  (Read 5872 times)

Offline davidmal

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A Day In Lisbon, Portugal
« on: December 15, 2016, 05:48:03 PM »
This is a Continuation from My London TR

-Monday-
Portugal is a very small city and a very easy one to pull off in one day. One word, Uber. We cleared immigration by 9:30 but dilly dallied in the airport and didn’t leave until 10:30. Make sure you go to departures as Uber can't pick you up in arrivals. 

We arranged for our driver to take us straight to St George's Castle (8euro). We marveled at the castle grounds and its vistas. I wasn't paying attention and I was charged 17 euro for 2 people when my prior online research told me it should have been under 9 for 2. Maybe I bought some extra gallery entry which we didn't use.

    
Arch in Lisbon                                                                        View from St. George's Castle                                                Canon @ St. George                                           


We asked if the driver would wait for us, he confirmed he would but he ended up bailing on us. We decided to walk through the town down the cobblestone hill. The town is really remarkable and doesn't shy away from its European roots. It would have been nice to jump onto a tram if it could have been arranged.

After a little walking, we decided to take a Tuk Tuk (a 3 wheeled Moped with a backseat carriage to sit on. You can get a cute tour for 20 mins or so for 15 Euro, although you can negotiate down from that) to another famous part of the city called Baixa District and to an area called Chiado. Note, this Tuk Tuk is triple the price of an Uber. Chiado was too modernized for my taste with plenty of luxury shops.

      
Street Window                                                                       Tuk Tuk Taxi                                                                          City Scene                                             


We headed from there to the Commerce Square. I would suggest stopping down the block first at Rua Augusta and then continuing on to Commerce Square Lisbon (Praca do Comercio). We stopped here, went straight the left side which is closest to the water and took a table for two near the Square.  While these seats are ideal for basking in the sun and enjoying the views, the proximity to the pigeons can be quite bothersome as the pigeons are rather brazen (My Seat Guru Review.) This really was truly a magnificent spot to sit. I spent 6.5 euro or so and stayed almost an hour here enjoying the square. If you enjoy beer they serve that as well but I would suggest going to the cafe on the left, furthest from the water as they serve beer in some unique cups and have a museum of beer ($) upstairs. The arches that border the Square remind me of Paris, while the Square reminds me of Venice. This square is the Portugal you should experience if the weather is nice.

   
Tram                                                                                                                                                    Common Square


      
Beer Museum                                                                         Arched Walkway Near Common Square                                   View from the Square


We caught an Uber and had him give us a tour past the president’s house and Belem Tower. I would suggest getting out for a minute, taking a photo, and then heading back towards the airport. (40 mins $23)

If you do decide to buy anything in Lisbon, the VAT desk is after security in terminal 1, on the right-hand side to get it stamped, & on the left-hand side to get it refunded. If you don't care for a cash refund instantly which comes with a fee, skip the line and walk through the duty free past the cash registers, make a left and keep going. Close to the exits there is an orange (2016) mailbox with the tax id that says mail your VAT here, drop your envelope in. You will get a refund on your credit card in a few weeks.

Turn around and walk back through the duty free, go to the shopping plaza and up the escalators towards ANA lounge. Showers, Wi-Fi, and alcohol, BUT NOTE!! This is still before immigration!! So, when you finish with the lounge, you have to wait on line, go through immigration, and then go on to your final Gate.

We boarded TAP Portugal to NY and, while the plane is quite nice, their meals are beyond retched. The outbound flight from NY’s cold portion was quite acceptable, inbound was an assortment of rubbish. Chicken Tanjine with olives, halva, salmon fillets, and some fruit consommé. I thought Dan was joking when he said it was inedible he wasn’t, he was complimenting it. Uber home for free thanks to the Uber airport promotion.

Note: Euro must be used for Tram, Tuk Tuk, or subway.


   
VAT TAX REFUND DROP BOX                                                                                                                  Tap Kosher Meal LIS-JFK



Special thanks to mmgfarb for reviewing it.
« Last Edit: December 15, 2016, 05:59:07 PM by davidmal »
-DMC
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it ~Ferris Bueller"

Offline shulem92

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Re: A Day In Lisbon, Portugal
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2016, 05:53:39 PM »
Great. I didn't know that the TR was gonna continue

Offline davidmal

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Re: A Day In Lisbon, Portugal
« Reply #2 on: December 15, 2016, 05:59:15 PM »
Great. I didn't know that the TR was gonna continue
Thank you!
-DMC
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it ~Ferris Bueller"

Offline Dawie

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Re: A Day In Lisbon, Portugal
« Reply #3 on: December 15, 2016, 06:12:04 PM »
This is a Continuation from My London TR

-Monday-
Portugal is a very small city  
somewhere CR7 is cringing  ::)

Special thanks to mmgfarb for reviewing it.
::)

oh and also retched? (maybe that's what you would have done had you eaten it
« Last Edit: December 15, 2016, 06:33:33 PM by Dawie »

Offline davidmal

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Re: A Day In Lisbon, Portugal
« Reply #4 on: December 15, 2016, 06:24:43 PM »
::)

oh and also retched? (maybe that's what you would have done had you eaten it
Haha I wouldn't be here to write this if I ate it
-DMC
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it ~Ferris Bueller"

Offline mmgfarb

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A Day In Lisbon, Portugal
« Reply #5 on: December 15, 2016, 06:54:35 PM »
oh and also retched? (maybe that's what you would have done had you eaten it
Lol, thankfully David didn't ask me to review that KSML.
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