The Chamborres Expedition

Upon our arrival in Lisboa (a.k.a. Lisbon), we were excited to find that our “hostel” was more along the lines of a downtown loft. For the first time in nearly a month, we actually felt like we had a home of our own. While there were other rooms, the place was basically empty, and we were given a room with a balcony and an amazing view overlooking Lisboa’s main pedestrian street, Rua Augusta.

Rua Augusta Arch as seen from our room

As difficult as it is to admit, we were feeling our first spell of travel burnout after leaving Porto, and our luck in accommodations couldn’t have come at a better time. We made it to Lisboa exactly one month after beginning the international portion of our RTW trip, and had already stayed in nine different hotels and visited twelve different cities. All that moving around takes a toll, so we spent a good portion of our time being “normal” (making home-cooked meals, reading, playing cards, riding the trams, and just hanging out).

After a few days of recharging our internal batteries, it was time for Carnaval! Parades, parties, concerts, costumes, fun in the sun. What a fantastic event!

Carnaval Lisboa 2012

Carnaval parade in Lisboa

Expensive Soul playing at Rossio Square during Carnaval Lisboa

Another must mention of our visit to Lisboa, was our day trip to Sintra. Just a short train ride from Rossio station, this town sits between tall green mountains and the sea. It is also home to two amazing monuments, the Castelo dos Mouros and Pena National Palace and Gardens.

Castelo dos Mouros, overlooking the town of Sintra, was constructed by the Moors in the 8th century

Mike atop a tower at Castelo dos Mouros

Pena National Palace

View of gardens from the Queen’s Balcony at Pena National Palace

While we are certain that Lisboa could be a great city for a single-destination vacation, our travel burnout and ironic timing with Carnaval turned our visit into something a bit different. It felt more like a “stay-cation” in a not so familiar place.