We were woken up at approximately 11:30 AM by our tour manager, and told that we had to get out of the bus and bring with us everything we needed for the next two days. After a panic filled packing of our things, we hit the streets of Lisbon in order to find our hostel for the night; Lisbon Stay Cool Hostel. We’re not exactly known to be picky when ordering hotels/hostels, and this time we had booked a six person room in this very small hostel. Of course we don’t have a clue about where the hostel is located, and I’m really dependent on getting aid from my dear iPhone. After walking around for about ten minutes looking for an open wifi connection, I manage plot in the address of the hostel to the GPS on my phone. We walked for five minutes to what was supposed to be the final location, and find out that my usually very reliable iPhone has led me out to nowhere. TorO managed to get hold of a local guy that was able to show us in the direction of the street where the hostel was located. Luckily it was only a two minutes walk away from our current location. And there they were the huge flashing neon light sings from Lisbon Stay Cool Hostel!
Part two: Too much service?
As we hadn’t had the chance to get something to eat, we took the metro to the core of Lisbon city center to find a descent restaurant. We ended up being tricked into a restaurant near the harbor, but it seemed nice enough when we got the time to look at the menu. The food itself was quite good, but it was very annoying that two of the waiters were standing really close to us looking at us while we were eating. For those who knows a bit about norwegian intimate boundaries (and our general need to be by ourself), they will know exactly how much we disliked this situation.
Part three: The bus trip of our lives
After yesterdays successful tourist train trip through Porto, we wanted to repeat the success by jumping on a tourist bus to explore Lisbon on the fastest and laziest way possible. Expectant and excited we board the bus, and walk strait up to the upper deck to grab a seat with a good view. After sitting on the bus of approximately fifty minutes, I realize that I might have seen 2-3 monuments worth mentioning. The bus decided to drive as long out of the city center as possible, and we get to see a building maybe every fifteen minutes. This would of course have been OK if the temperature was comfortable, but it was extremely cold. I usually enjoy these kind of tourist bus trips, but we all agreed (except Rein that found it very interesting and comfortable) that this might have been the single most boring thing we’ve done on the tour so far!
Part four: Music Burger
When the bus trip finally ended, we went straight to Starbucks to get something hot to drink. After sitting there for a while, we go home to the hostel for some rest. Not much worth mentioning happened while relaxing at the hostel, except that we plagued the hostel room with the smell of our stage clothes. Time for something to eat again, and this time we choose a nearby restaurant where there is a lot of people (yes, we have learned) called Music Burger. Do not be fooled by the simple name, because this place was really great! Reasonable great food (also vegetarian) served by a very jovial waitress. Even though this was a nice day, we all agree that we’re not that fond off days. We could have done the whole tour without them, seriously!
All the best,
Einar
So.. you managed to be in Portugal, the country with the most traditional coffee shops per square meter and you got into a starbucks!? You could have had so much better (not mentioning cheaper)! Next time just query any local for a good bakery :)
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