Lisbon. June 12

This morning we had some tasty breakfast at home and then headed out to wander the streets of Lisbon. We decided to play a game whereby at each corner we would alternate choosing which way to go, so we got lost in Lisbon and it turned out great. We saw so many different areas of the city, and the vibe was amazing because everyone was getting excited for the festival tonight. The streets are decorated with colourful streamers and decorations, including fake pots of basil. It turns out that these pots of basil are symbols of affection, as girls who want to find love ask St. Anthony for help, and go out this night of the festival. We were told 'If they can't hook up tonight, they never will', which is pretty harsh! It's then up to the boys to give the girl of their dreams a basil plant with a little poem attached to say that they have chosen them. Kind of sweet, kind of super weird. But it was fun.

This is what we refer to as the small/ 'closer to us' square

mint

Lift to lookout (or do what we did and go up the hill for free)

For lunch we stopped off at a charcoal chicken place we had passed, and that was later also mentioned by our tour guide the day before. It looks super basic but when you go in you have to wait ages for a table and when you sit down, you're given an extensive menu in Portuguese. (By the way, charcoal chicken is very Portuguese and so is the 'piri piri' chicken concept). In the end we just chose the two dishes that included the one word we knew, 'chicken'. And it was SUPER yum.

Chicken time

We kept walking after lunch, and went uphill for a while. We came across some amazing craft markets, which were great to look around. We also found the Natural History Museum, but by now it was 4.50 pm, so we couldn't actually go in. Walking back down and around we passed the huge Parliament building and found ourselves, by chance, within the vicinity of our local grocery store. We weaved our way through the streets and finally found the store where we bought the makings for Ash's chilli.

Plz make way for segway

V. float. Much cool. Wow

The best and weirdest tiling 

Note streamers for partay time

Hanging basils

Best colour combo for home

Looking towards Alfama #seeyatongihtm8

Mint #2

Also, they are very into street art

Parliament?

At home we hung out for a bit and the parties out in the streets started to grow and people started to play music. From right outside our front balcony we could look straight up a residential street, watching the people celebrate and cook and drink and eat.  Eventually we heard a rapping on our communal door downstairs and it was Jasmine bearing gifts of guacamole makings and our first Portuguese tarts!

Jasmine came up and we showed off our apartment which we were super proud of obviously. We took our chilli up onto the roof and had a picnic dinner up there, which was double nice because there was a concert starting in the square beneath us, so we got free music and access to the concert.

Roof chilli time!

Street festivities

After eating nesquik and waiting to hear from our other Canadian pals from the previous day, we set off to meet them in the closer square. After finding them by looking for the go-pro which was pretty much permanently attached to them, we all set off to the centre of town, and then to cross over to Alfama on the other hill. 

Please can we come through?

The vibe was amazing, there were happy people of all ages, talking and eating and singing and it was a pretty great site coming up to the cathedral on the hill. We got some sangria and set off to find some sardines! Walking through Alfama during the biggest festival of the Portuguese year is obviously going to be busy, and at one point we found ourselves in a crowd so thick, and in a intersection so small, that we were literally being lifted off our feet. But this was obviously fantastic, and everyone was having fun. People were looking down on us laughing from their balconies, and finally Elise (who was somewhat in the lead of the group) managed to find a slipstream behind a guy who decided to just push his way through with all his might. So we got out still breathing.

Alfama fun. Where's the sangria?

We got our sardines, or at least, Jasmine and Elise did. They were whole and served on toast, bones and all, so we were super confused about how to eat them, but tried our best. At least we got some good flossing in? (Jasmine was still pulling bones out of her gums the next day). You might wonder how we chose a stall, with the hundreds of sardines being sold all around the city. The opportunity presented itself when we came across an amazing grandmother who was all dressed up, dancing around the barbecue while using a hairdryer to speed up the cooking process. We watched in awe for a while, then Kyle jumped in and they had a dance, so of course, we had to buy her sardines!

mmmmm look at dem sardines

Danced out, and full of bones, we headed further into the mass. We were spat out into a square full of churro sellers, which is obviously a dream come true. We found a great truck, with a jolly man who tossed the churros around in cinnamon sugar, fresh and hot. There were also big, fat churros filled with chocolate, which Jasmine opted for (see below). While we stood, feasting on our churros, Ash noticed a slow moving white mini trying to get through the crowd ahead. With a mouth full of churro, she only managed to point, before the car came thorough, now noticeably containing 4 harmless, very confused blond girls. As she began to warn us of the slowly approaching car, it 'hit' (lightly brushed) our companion, to which he did not react at all well. After checking a few times that he wasn't bleeding to death, we asked if he was okay, to which he replied 'I guess we will see in the morning!'. Our guess is that he made a full and remarkable recovery.

P.S He has a sardine on his head

With a belly full of lols and churros, we decided to head back in the general direction of home, as it was getting quite late/early. We were distracted not long after however, by a square full of dancing locals. P.S, people here dance casually better than anyone we have ever seen ever at home. Ever. So we decided to try and join the fun, although definitely looked super awkward trying to dance to the songs we didn't know (but obviously should have). When 'Single Ladies' came on, we were all like 'Perfect, this is our time to shine', expecting the huge dance floor turn out like you got at any Zonzo wedding at home. Newp. Literally everyone, except the hardcore dancers, used the song as a break to get more drinks, or have a chat. We were thoroughly disappointed. After Kyle had some conga times, and after Ash had been called sexy one too many times from a stranger drunkenly whispering it into her ear, we decided it was definitely time to head home.

The walk home was a lot of fun, as it was clear that the night wasn't going to end for the locals. Everyone eventually peeled off to to to their respective accommodation, and Ash and I found ourselves back outside the little square by our street, that was full of people watching the concert. We walked though and got to our building to the sounds of 'Walking on Sunshine', which in hindsight was pretty appropriate for our mood. We went straight to bed, hoping we wouldn't be too late to wake for our next adventure!

Lots of love, A&E

P.S. We sadly did not receive any basil plants, #4everalone.