Our first two days in Portugal were quiet, as they had been earmarked for rest. We had read that it's important to schedule R&R days into the itinerary to avoid travel burnout, so though we were itching to explore Portugal, we took some time to catch up on sleep, do laundry, and book future hotel stays.
We stayed in a fun, brightly colored hostel in the sleepy, historic Lisbon suburb of Belem. We think it's unfortunate that hostels have a reputation for being loud and cramped, because from our experience, they can be great places to sleep and socialize and almost always offer private, non-dormitory style rooms.
This was our first hostel stay of our trip, and we are fine with sleeping in hostels moving forward, provided they are well reviewed on forums like hostelbookers.com and we're able to secure our own room.
Our favorite Belem memories:
- Happening upon the lovely alley restaurant, Enoteca de Belem, where we ate a fine meal that included fresh bread with goat butter. After dinner we lingered for hours, drinking wine, smoking cubans, and chatting politics with the locals.
- Visiting the famous bakery, Pasteis de Belem, where we waited in line to sample the sweet egg tarts made by Portuguese nuns for the past 150 years. Dave loved the treats so much that he went back the next day for a second helping.
- Feeling the futbol frenzy - catching the France vs. Spain match of the Eurocup at the local community center which had been temporarily converted to a spectating area complete with a bar, big screen and bleachers.
Next stop: Porto, Portugal
We stayed in a fun, brightly colored hostel in the sleepy, historic Lisbon suburb of Belem. We think it's unfortunate that hostels have a reputation for being loud and cramped, because from our experience, they can be great places to sleep and socialize and almost always offer private, non-dormitory style rooms.
This was our first hostel stay of our trip, and we are fine with sleeping in hostels moving forward, provided they are well reviewed on forums like hostelbookers.com and we're able to secure our own room.
Our favorite Belem memories:
- Happening upon the lovely alley restaurant, Enoteca de Belem, where we ate a fine meal that included fresh bread with goat butter. After dinner we lingered for hours, drinking wine, smoking cubans, and chatting politics with the locals.
- Visiting the famous bakery, Pasteis de Belem, where we waited in line to sample the sweet egg tarts made by Portuguese nuns for the past 150 years. Dave loved the treats so much that he went back the next day for a second helping.
- Feeling the futbol frenzy - catching the France vs. Spain match of the Eurocup at the local community center which had been temporarily converted to a spectating area complete with a bar, big screen and bleachers.
Next stop: Porto, Portugal
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