We spent our first 3 nights in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. We stayed in historic downtown, just a couple blocks from Praça do Comércio (Lisbon’s riverfront main square). 

The arch was built to commemorate the city’s reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake, which almost completely destroyed Lisbon. It is estimated that nearly one-third of the city’s residents died in the earthquake. 

After the sun set, we fought off jet lag by exploring the city on foot.

The next day, we started things off at a local coffee shop. Always enjoy going out for coffee when we are traveling.

Caffeinated and ready to roll, we rode Tram 28 across the city… up and down the winding, narrow streets.

It was a rainy day, so we decided it was a good day to visit a museum and the aquarium. We visited the Museum of Aljube, which displays the people’s struggle against the dictatorship that governed Portugal from 1926 to 1974. It was eye opening to learn about the country’s recent history and the significance of April 25 (the day Jay & I got married) in Portugal. April 25 is the country’s Freedom Day and commemorates the day the Portuguese military overthrew the dictatorship.

Museum of Aljube

We visited Lisbon’s Oceanário, the second-largest aquarium in Europe. We particularly enjoyed seeing the variety of sharks and stingrays as well as watching the sea otters play.

The next day, we took the 40-minute train ride to Cascais (pronounced “kosh-kay-sh”… lots of shushes in the Portuguese language). We spent the day in Cascais with my friend Tina who now lives here. Tina & I met back in 2007, training together for marathons as part of the Runners Edge of the Rockies group. On those long runs together, I learned about Tina year-long trip around the world with her husband Craig. Hearing about their trip was inspiration to do something similar with Jay after we got married.

Tina showed us around town, took us for a walk along the coast, and for a scenic drive around the area.

I really enjoyed getting to see the place Tina now calls home and hearing about what life is like for them in Portugal.

Now, time to leave the city behind and start our trek along the Fisherman’s Trail.