Oh Lisbon, I think I like you...

In Lisbon at 6am, what to do! In no hurry to be anywhere, we followed the other travelers from our bus to the train station. There we braved very, very chilly temps until the metro opened 30 minutes later. It felt like ages, when you are trying to warm on metal chairs. By 7:30 we managed emerge from the comforts of the subway system into the main tourist hub of the city. Not a soul was in sight! As we wandered the streets in search of the reliable Golden Arches - the weight of our backpacks won and we headed to our youth hostel, with no egg and bacon mc muffin! :(.

Kindly we were allowed to leave our luggage, as we spent the next 6 hours filling in time before check in. Pia had found a leaflet about a Sunday market, west of where we were staying, so with no agenda planned, we headed in that direction. Roaming the streets we came across a huge array of streetart, particularly stencils. Hawkeyes Pia was in her element, snapping away at walls and all. In our early morning stroll we bumped into an older American lady, also filling in time before checkin. Always interesting the people you meet. She was fulfilling a dream of completing her pilgrim across Europe in aims of reaching her finishing line in Tel Aviv.

Onward bound we went down streets, up streets, down stairs, up stairs! All n all it was a glorious, crisp winter morning and it was a pleasure being able to walk the streets. A treat we rarely get in Dubai. By midday we arrived at the LX markets. Unfortunately a lot of the stores and art gallery's were closed due to the Xmas season, but what we did get to see was a treat - Pia was in heaven, whilst it was a breathe of fresh air and just what I needed to inspire me to finish some art projects I needed to get around tooo! Bookstores, riddled with art - clothes stores, housing funky jewelry and retro textiles- cafes, riddled with sculptures and mouthwatering, fresh food. What more did our senses need!

With close to 36 hours without a bed, once checked in we crashed out for the afternoon... This could only mean one thing - exploring Lisbon by night. First to fill our bellies with food in the area known as Bairro Alto. It was in a side street, eating outdoors with green blankets that we met our 2 new friends for the night - Carol the Dentist, from Kenya living in Germany and Shane the entrepreneur, Hebrew speaking Englishman. We headed to the Bali bar where, previously a Rastafarian band were playing - hence Pia's request to go there. Uncanningly, we bumped into Carol and Shane again and from there the random night began! Grooving on the mini dance floor, whilst chuckling about the horrendously bad female tambouriners singing - hubby was definitely the musician of the duo. At the strike of midnight the bar closed and we headed around the corner to the Cuba bar, where salsa dancing was in full force. All the close bodies squished together was making me claustrophobic so to the street I went...There I met my new Lisboanite friends, Miguel and Miguel. Now as an entourage of 6 we headed down the street to another bar, since Pia had been highly embarrassed by Shane, insisting she dance with the shirtless bar owner. At the next location I met the French lads who were getting away from home for the festive season. From there we ended up at an old club decked out into two section. The nowadays chic club style to the vintage section, decked in antique furniture and framed pictures. Such a funky place! By the early hours of the morning we had worn out the soles of our feet and to the comforts of our hostel we headed.

Strolling the street of Sevilla

Today we had to check out since the only room available was twice the price! As much as we liked the luxury for the last couple of nights, our decision was made - Midnight bus to Lisbon! With our luggage in storage for the day we headed to the city centre. First pitstop, a quaint cafe where we drained our glasses of hot chocolate and munched on toasted cheese and ham sandwiches. Yummo! Next we joined the queue of people lining up to enter the cathedral. Fifteen minutes later and trying to fend off a one legged (well dressed) beggar we made it inside of the cathedral. The length of the interior was 126 metres and the height in the centre area reached 36 metres. It would have been absolutely freezing in the middle of winter. It wasn't until we read the information booklet that we discovered the cathedral of Seville is the most extensive gothic cathedral in the world - explained the many dark, eerie corners. Within the cathedral we headed up the Giralda bell tower. At the top of the 98 metre tall tower we admired the panoramic views of Seville. As we winded down the 35 levels of the tower - the need for some sunshine was required so we headed to the Orange Tree Courtyard, where we had some chuckles mucking around with our camera settings. As the rain clouds rolled in we got lost wandering through the streets which headed in the direction of the bus station. Here we wandering through the alleys - Pia spotting streetart whilst I tried not to trip over my own feet on the cobblestones for the umpteenth time.

Once our bus tickets were purchased we headed along the riverfront and through Constitucion avenue back to the market stalls. Around the corner was a local supermarket where we stocked up on our little picnic supplies. Even with the impending rain on the horizon we still purchased a little bottle of red, chorizo and crackers. Next stop the French market stall for some mulled wine - Pia had been craving some festive goodness. So as we nursed our mulled wine under the shelter of the French stall, whilst watching generous portions of chocolate crepes being served and a nearby busker entertain the next generation with his skills at making gigantic bubbles. A good chuckle when a large bubble would stray out of the children's grasp into an unsuspecting pedestrian - POP!

With our bellies warmedand plastic cups in hand we headed to the foreshore to take up the local tradition. Unfortunately it wasn't a glorious afternoon like the previous day, but bearable! After a mini mission to get the bottle open - thanks Swiss Army knife! We watched the sky change shades, evening walkers stroll the park and cheeky youth entertain themselves and us with their firecracker shenanigans.

Now officially frozen to the bone, from spending 10 hours on the streets of Sevilla - we headed to the safety of our hotel to abuse the free wifi, whilst we waited for midnight to roll around, so we could catch our much anticipated bus ride. ;)


Backpacks strapped, we made our way to the station, where we joined another 40 souls heading to Lisbon. Thankfully all went without a hitch. Sadly, when we arrived in Lisbon, 5:45am the next morning one of our fellow travelers bags had be stolen. Leaving us concerned for the young fella but also thankful it wasn't our bags - probably the weight of the Moroccan rugs had come in handy for once.

Espanol!

Not even the first signs of morning could penetrate the dark curtains in our hotel room. It wasn't till at last 10 that we returned to the world of the living and attempted to head out and explore Sevilla. Taking advantage of the hotel discount we jumped on the city bus tour. This helped us get our bearings of what there was to see in Sevilla. Sitting on the open roof, double decker bus we braved the 10 degree weather and the icy wind that had the delightful sensation of a hundred pins pricking our skin. After completing one full circuit we jumped off and began wandering, north along the river. As the temps rose, so did the atmosphere in the city, locals and tourists began filling the streets. At most street intersections we would bump into tourist, who also had their maps out trying to figure out where to go next. As we wandered further north along the river we stopped in at the bus station to work out how long it would take to get Lisbon - 7 hours by bus. Now we knew how to get to our next location, it was time to soak up some rays and explore Sevilla. It wasn't long before Pia was in streetart heaven. Behind the station was an amazing array of artwork - filling buildings, walls, bridges and any other concrete or metal mass. The remainder of the afternoon was spent catching the bus to the northeast point of our bus tour, La Macrena. From there we walked along the canal, mingling with the afternoon joggers, taking in the street art which covered the walls, parallel to the river. There were certainly many photo opportunities. As the sun set on the horizon, locals found a spot along the river to relax and enjoy the mild winter temps. Dog walkers, rock climbers, cyclists, tightrope walkers and every Tom, Dick and Harry filled the foreshore. Occasionally we would stop and take in the atmosphere and enjoy the chilled European lifestyle.
After surviving the whole day without feeling the need to nap, we regrouped at the hotel, dumped our day packs and headed out to enjoy some post festive celebrations. The local park still had the Ferris wheel, food stalls and ice rink set up. As we wandered through the stalls the urge to consume churros was too great! Nom nom nom. :) From there we wandered along the avenue in the direction of Jardines Alcazar. It was here they had set up stalls representing different countries, where they were selling local cuisines and beverages. Even Australia was there offering Fosters and steak sangies! Our goal of the evening was to make it to the town hall to admire the Christmas light show. Whilst walking along Constitucion Avenue we were in awe of the thousands of Christmas lights that covered the street. Buskers lured crowds and filled the sidewalks, whilst latenight shoppers enjoyed the end of year sales. Before we knew it we had followed the crowd to the exact place we wanted to be. As the clock striked 9 and the lights dimmed on Town Hall, we were spoilt with an amazing light show. After a generous 15 minutes, we were treated with an extra special finale. They had set up foam machines on the roof, so when they turned them on it was like a white Christmas - snowing! What a treat, hehe! Covered in speckles of foam we made our way into the side streets to find some Spanish cuisine. In a little side alley we found a Tapas bar riddled with people. As we squeezed in and propped ourselves on the corner of the bar, we went on to purchase a variety of tapas, varying in different pork products ;) and enjoyed with a nice glass of red. Not completely full, in true Alisha and Pia style we had spotted the desert cabinet and there spinning around amongst the cheesecake and chocolate mousse was my much desired lemon meringue!!! You can guess what was sitting in front of me at the end of the evening... Satisfied!