I’m not a big fan of organized excursions. They are too fast, too messy, too busy. You end up not seeing everything you want, you have little to no time to appreciate the places you go. However, sometimes, out of pure laziness, I yield and I end up in one of those crazy and disturbing excursions.

I had some good experiences, some not that good and some bad experiences.

On the other side of this equation is, IMHO, to walk around the city you are visiting freely. Get lost in the streets (if you have GPS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ), spend as much time as you want to contemplate a nice park or a monument. And this gets even better if you have your own personal local guide a friend who lives in the city you are visiting.

We started the day around 9:00 am and went straight downtown. Lisbon subway system is large enough and fairly spread out throughout the city and even though it’s younger than the Toronto Subway and has fewer stations, it felt like it serves the city way better than the TTC.  The single fare costs 1,45€ and the daypass 6,30€ which includes the Metro and the Carris (which includes buses, streetcars, etc).

So we started our day having a second breakfast (don’t tell anyone, but I’m a Hobbit) at the Mercado Praça da Figueira. We took the Subway and got off at the Lisboa-Rossio Station in the green (Sintra) line. From there we walked to the market.

The place is really nice, like I usually find most markets. It’s clean, has lots of kiosks with foods and drinks, Portuguese music playing and a really nice vibe. It was Monday morning, and still, the place was full.

The kiosks sell from the famous Portuguese chorizo (or Chouriço – is a type of pork sausage. Traditionally, it uses natural casings made from intestines, a method used since Roman times), ham, prosciutto and a variety of charcuteries, honey, bread, all kind of meats, and of course, SANGRIA! Yes, we had sangria at 10:00AM and every other time I had the opportunity to drink.

With our bellies full we walked kind of aimlessly through the streets of Lisbon.

One thing I have to tell you: Lisbon is not for the faint of heart. I’m right now in my worst shape ever and all the ups and downs almost killed me. But here I am. If I survived, so would you. But be prepared.