Reflections on my Holiday

Back home now, where there is non stop sun and a heatwave forecast. Quite a change from the Portuguese weather.

A few reflections from my holiday follow. The Lisbon Lounge Hostel was in a really good location, once you had mastered the maze of small streets in which it was situated. The staff were friendly and very helpful. The major drawback for me were the stairs: it’s an old building so they can’t install a lift. I always had to rest half way up! Another issue were the doors. Every room had a noisy door that banged as it opened and shut. My private room was next to the bathroom, so I heard a lot of opening and shutting.

The location was excellent, a few minutes walk from the Metro and from the major Rua Augusta which led down to the river. There were lots and lots of eateries nearby and ATMs everywhere. I don’t know why Lisbon needs so many. Most eateries had an outside area, where the Portuguese love to sit even in the coldest, wettest weather:

The amount of rubbish which accumulated every night was astonishing, but it was always cleared away by the morning.

I went early in the season, hoping to avoid the crowds, but there were crowds in all the major tourist spots. The weather was really changeable and unpredictable: the forecasts often wrong. But I made the best of it!

I had my swimming costume with me, but it never came out of my backpack. Now it’s getting lots of use at home.