I recently went on a week-long trip to Portugal, where I and two friends flew from Newark, New Jersey, to Lisbon, then Madeira, and then back to continental Portugal where we ended our trip in Porto before heading back to the United States. While all of this traveling took a lot of energy, it was worth all of the memories we were left with … so many memories that you can expect to see plenty of Portuguese content flooding my blog over the next couple of weeks.

I went on this trip with two of my best friends from high school, Katie and Ellie. They both live in Manhattan, which worked out well for our departure since we flew TAP Air Portugal, with a hub at Newark Liberty International Airport, accessible to both New York and Philadelphia. We met before the flight, which departed just before midnight and landed in Lisbon around 11:30 a.m. Once arriving in Lisbon, we grabbed lunch before heading to our Airbnb. After we checked in, we rested for a bit before walking around the nearby area. It was overcast and rainy, so we purchased umbrellas and saw some sights before stopping for a drink near the plaza at Largo Portas do Sol.

Around dinner, we decided to find somewhere local to eat. We ended up at Tasquinha Canto do Fado, a small place that had fado musicians and delicious wine. The seafood pasta we had here was one of our favorite meals from the trip. After we ate, we met with some friends who just so happened to be in Lisbon at the same time. One of them lived in Lisbon for some time and brought us to some really fun clubs and bars in the area.

The next afternoon we got up with a bit of a late start. After traveling the day before and staying up late, we were a bit tired. That afternoon, we walked around and went to Castelo São Jorge, a beautiful castle and fort with stunning views and gardens. We stopped at a café for some espresso and Aperol Spritz before getting ready for dinner. Similar to the night before, we stopped at a local restaurant for dinner; however, we headed back to the Airbnb after dinner because we were traveling the following day to Madeira and needed to rest for the flight. While I wish we had an extra day or two in Lisbon, we were lucky to be able to see much of the area and check off a good amount of things on our list while there.

— Aly Evans, administrative assistant