Blog Post

I recently had the pleasure of spending a couple of days in Lisbon, Portugal with my wife and daughter. We were in between a family reunion in Tuscany and some time in London. We couldn’t go directly to London due to some logistical reasons related to our accommodation in London. My daughter has a desire to rack up the number of different countries she has visited, so we chose Portugal over Spain, where she has spent some time.

Where we stayed

We have recently begun to use Airbnb for our accommodation needs while traveling and we found this incredible place in the heart of Lisbon – The Enchantment of Lisbon. The old city has a bit of a run down feel to it, but it is quaint and the people are hospitable and friendly. The great thing about using an Airbnb is that you get to meet the locals and sometimes they can be incredibly helpful. In the case of Teresa, our host, she and he son went out of their way to make our stay pleasant. Her son even gave us a ride to the airport went we left.

Getting around Lisbon

Essentially getting around the “tourist” sites of Lisbon can be achieved using 2 trams: # 15 and #28. The Old City extends from the top of a hill(s) and continues to the waterfront. This route is serviced by tram #28. Tram #15 runs along the coast to the area called Belem which has a number of museums and waterfront attractions.

The cheapest way to ride these trams is to buy a rechargeable card called the Viva Viagem: click for details. If you like walking, you don’t even need to ride tram #28.  The important part of the tram line runs from the Graca station to the station at Rua Augusta. You can also hop onto Tuk Tuk’s.

Photographing Lisbon

I didn’t spend a lot of time shooting and I didn’t go far and wide. My aim was to capture a little of the look and feel of old Lisbon. So I just wandered the streets, exploring the side alleys. This is easy to do and its hard to get lost.  If you have seen any pictures of Lisbon, the one below is typical of such shots. The trams are iconic.