I had a lovely weekend in Lisbon. I have to admit that I was equally scared as I was excited about going there as I went by myself. I was sitting at work talking to Barbara on Friday and saying this and that it was the first time I'd been anywhere by myself (cuz Brugge didn't really count when it was an organised weekend tour thing) and she said, yes you have Lisa. You came over here. And I went, oh. I forget that and it was the biggest thing I've ever done. How funny. But I was still a little scared about going to a foreign country where they don't speak English as the main language. And I have to admit that it was really quite easy. Left work at 3pm to catch the tube out to Heathrow. It was so nice to be going to Heathrow and not out to somewhere like Stanstead (it's much more expensive and difficult to get there). Checked in and went through to the departure lounge where I spent my time browsing in the shops and having a hot chocolate while I waited to board the plane. The first thing I realised when i got on the plane was that it was so much nicer than the cheap no frills airlines I've been using (Easyjet, ryanair) but the difference is the price... (although it's not that big a difference as the low cost airlines aren't so cheap anymore. And by the time you pay to get out to the other airports... anyway, off topic here). Got dinner on the plane (a nice change since you don't get food on cheap airlines) and landed in Lisbon at 8:30pm. It was a 2.5 hour flight which suprised me but then I realised I had to go quite a bit south. Got through customs and jumped in a taxi to take me to the budget hotel I'd chosen to stay at. The hostels were too far out of the central part of town and not that much cheaper. So I'd picked pretty well. It was only a 2 star but that didn't matter. the room was clean and it was in prime location. Right in the centre of the main square of downtown Lisbon. I watched TV for an hour or so (Smallville in portugese and then some wesley snipes movie which was in English) and then crashed, wanting to be up and out early on Saturday morning. I had breakfast and then headed out about 9:30am the next morning and decided to board the sightseeing bus, just to get a feel for the town. Good move as it took me around the centre part of town and further out to see various sites of interest - and of course the commentary is always good to give you a history and important stories about things. That lasted an hour and a half and then I just walked. Armed with my map, I walked through various districts (Alfama, Bairo Alto etc), all which showed a different side to Lisbon. Lisbon is built on more than 7 hills so it is very hilly as you can imagine. You'll be walking along and then suddenly, there is a tiny little street as steep as you can imagine. It's quite amazing. I can't really describe the city. It wasn't what I was expecting - but I don't know what I was expecting either. It's old mixed with new mixed with developed mixed with underdeveloped... everything all combined into one really. It's not beautiful but it's got it's own charm about it. There are lovely parks though and lots of monuments which provide the beauty when the buildings don't. Right in the central shopping section, there is this elevator built in 1905 by a student of Gustave Eiffel (as in Eiffel Tour) and it bears more than a passing resemblance to it. It looks so funny because it's just right slap bang in the middle of the shops. Naturally, I went on the elevator and it gives you good views of Lisbon. Unfortunately it was overcast and rainy so my pictures won't do it justice. By the time I got back to the shops, they were closing (darn it!) and I just looked in the windows - amazing shoes! But I couldn't try any on as they were closed. I had dinner in a patissere (fish and salad) and then went back to my room to crash from 6 hours of walking around. Watched TV for a while and then fell asleep around 10pm. Sunday morning I had breakfast and then checked out of the hotel around 11am (love the check outs in Europe - it's usually midday so you can sleep in and grab breakfast just before 10am). Went to the shopping streets which were just around the corner but to my horrror, they were all closed - so no shoe shopping for Lisa. Wandered around looking in windows and made it over to the Chiadro district which has all the exclusive shops. Once again, window shopped. So with nothing open, tired of walking and still having 4 hours till I needed to be at the airport, I jumped on another sightseeing tour. This time is was a tram and not an open topped bus (did I mention Lisbon runs on trams and buses?) and got to see another part of the city that I hadn't seen much of the day before. Lots more of the tiny streets, amazing views and the real housing areas. Great to see the different facets of the city. By the time that was over, I'd filled in 2 hours and with nothing else open, jumped on a bus out to the airport where I browsed in the shops (at least some were open!) and read my book before it was time to come home. I arrived back at Heathrow and 9:30pm and was home by 11pm - a nice change to the usual 2am trips. I did have a good weekend as you might have gathered and am very very glad that I got to see Lisbon as I've been wanting to go there for a long time. It would have been a completely different weekend I'm sure if I'd gone with someone but I really enjoyed just walking around by myself and taking in the atmosphere of the place. Photos will be developed shortly (hopefully thought they will turn out ok even with the grey skies.)