Love At First Sight! 5 Reasons Why You’ll Immediately Fall For Portugal.

People

Everyone is extremely kind and generous here. I couldn’t have wished for a better host family. I really feel like they’ve made me a part of their family! The teachers I work with are accommodating, helpful, laidback and SO nice! Even strangers are warm and willing to help, in my experience. Coming from the States, the land of the personal bubble, there’s no such thing here. You’ll be kissing a lot of cheeks when you meet people :)

Food

Not the most flavorful, explosive cuisine, but I’m a fan. It’s really simple food, salads, meat and potatoes, fish, lots of bread and cheese, and casserole type dishes. Of course here in Lisbon you can find a pretty good variety of restaurants and grocery stores to do your own thing. I think Korean food is the only thing I haven’t seen and the only thing I’ve been craving. Also the Portuguese are all about their pastries! I’m sure you’ve read plenty about the must try ones already, but they are fantastic! 

Sites

Castles galore. Beautiful tiled buildings are found in every neighborhood. There’s a lot of graffiti and street art, which I was surprised to see. Walking around never gets old, there are endless quaint alleyways and hidden gems to discover as well as a long list of touristy must-dos. There are also plenty of opportunities to get out in nature. Lots of beautiful parks, from gardens to multi day hikes not too far from the city, and so many beaches!

Travel

Ok you’re in Europe sooo that means, with good planning and luck, you can hop around on the weekends for insanely cheap. I just booked round trip tickets to Ireland for $100 and there’s even cheaper options! Get a metro card at a subway station and use it for the bus and trains seamlessly. I usually like to walk if I can, especially if it’s a new city, so mind your shoe choices it’s as hilly and cobblestoney as they say.

Weather

Besides one rainy week this spring, the weather has been absolutely sublime. I came in March and only brought like two sweaters- wish I brought just a few more for the cool nights. It gets pretty hot during the day (80 ish degrees Fahrenheit), but not humid thank god, and the sun is pretty strong so definitely consider some SPF.