Lisbon ( July 9th 2016)

Our TAP Portugal flight arrived in Lisbon in the afternoon of July 6th and the atmosphere was nothing short of electric. The Euro Cup was going strong and so was the Portuguese team.

It was very simple taking the Metro from the Airport to Picaus Station which was basically right at the HI Lisbon City Centre. That night we ate close to the Hostel and spent most of the night in our room listening to the Portuguese fans celebrate after beating Wales in the semi finals. It was a long noisy night in Lisbon.

The next day we got up, had breakfast, slapped on the sun block and headed out to explore the Portuguese capital.

We made our way down Avenida da Liberdade to check out the little alleys and frozen in time cobblestone lanes in the Baixa area.  We climbed up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge, had lunch and spent a few hours exploring the castle and enjoying the views of Lisbon from the top.

Later we went to the fortress like Sé  Cathedral and by that time were more then ready to hit one of the shaded outdoor cafés for something cool to drink. The France - Germany game kept us entertained as the day turned into night.

The next day we checked out the beach area and hung out in Rossio Plaza. I found similarities to Brazil around every corner and they brought back memories of my time there years ago.  There were moments when I would hear or see something or simply look at the cobblestone designs in the sidewalk and feel like we were walking along Capacabana Beach.

Anyway, we were certainly not in Rio de Janeiro and it may have been the heat making me hallucinate so we decided we'd better stop in the shade for some Sangria, Ginja and Egg Tart. Good call there. We sat and watched the city go by as we listened to a great John Lennon impersonator play to the crowd on the street. Imagine, it's easy if you try...