Sorry Portugal ... I failed you

Portugal was a country that I'd been looking forward to visiting for a long time. I'd heard such great things, so my visit should have been great.

But it wasn't.

I hit Lisbon after a hectic few weeks in Morocco where I'd struggled to shake off a stomach bug. I was staying at the fabulous Zuza Guest House so had an amazingly warm welcome and settled in.

I was given so many tips about where the locals go, which markets are the best and where to eat the best food, but by that night I started to feel very unwell. Sadly I had to let Lisbon down ... I wasn't going to be able to make the most of my time here.

My guest house was in Barrio Alto, this view is from the end of my street.Very cool.

Basically my five days in Lisbon were spent lying low with a nasty flu bug. But between the fever, constantly runny nose and cough, I did manage to rug up, dose up and get out and see a bit of the city.

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in western europe and has some amazing architecture. It is also very hilly so there are some great sight seeing spots amongst the windy narrow streets of the old part of town.

There are so many buildings covered in mosaic tiles which look amazing. Touring around the hilly streets checking out these places in the rattly old tram was loads of fun.

I also loved the street art, the roasted chestnut sellers and seeing the locals out on the streets enjoying themselves despite the freezing weather.

These dudes wore helmets with blonde pony tails ... bizarre I know! And they stood so still all day, although I did manage to crack one guy up as I pulled faces at him as I walked past.

There is so much to see in this city and I feel that I missed most of the cool stuff. But there wasn't much I could do ... after five days of loads of rest I was worse than when I arrived. So rather than head off to see the rest of the country, I booked a flight to Malta ... the warmest place in Europe at this time of the year. It was time to take a holiday from travel.

All the pics from Lisbon

Portugal - Lisbon