Lisbon, Madrid, Leicester

My flight from San Francisco to London Heathrow was only $115 and there was the option of having a layover of up to 5 days in Portugal. So of course I stopped off on my way home. I wasn’t really ready to go home.

Lisbon

I took a real liking to Lisbon. I loved the fact that the North African influence on the city and the language was evident. Lisbon reminded me so much of Tunis in Tunisia.

Examples of the different artwork around the city. The picture on the right is made from wheelie bins and other large bits of rubbish.

An amazing building that was used for concerts. I loved the roof top.

On the right a church with lots of gold that was taken from Brazil. On the left the Igreja de Sao Domingos. This church had survived an earthquake and a really bad fire.

Replica of the Golden Gate Bridge and Christ the Redeemer in the background.

I visited the Transport Museums.. I was the only passenger on a tram that was over 100 years old. The picture on the right is the interior of a tram that was over 100 years old. By the way that it’s been kitted out I don’t think that everyone at the time could afford to ride in it.

I was the only person in the the transport museum which was a bit eerie. I was shown into a massive building with loads of buses and trams and then the door was closed behind me. I only went to visit the museum because I had been given free entry when I bought a train ticket.

Street art around the city on the left. In the picture on the right is a views across the rooftops of Lisbon.

Sunset in Lisbon with The ‘Golden Gate Bridge’ in the background on the left. Praca do Comercio on the right.

It was interesting to learn a bit about the Portuguese Empire from a different perspective. Whilst travelling I had been told that Portugal had been the first European country to colonise some of the countries that I had visited. I remember being told that they just got lazy and complacent and so the French, British, Dutch and Spanish came along and took over. So whilst in Lisbon, I learnt that Portugal started to lose its hold on its colonies when the King of Spain seized the Portuguese Crown. The other interesting fact that I learnt is that Portuguese is the language spoken by most people in the southern hemisphere.

After 5 days in Lisbon I decided to catch a bus to Madrid, because I still didn’t want to go home. So I spent 5 days sight seeing in Madrid.

Madrid

I did a day trip out to Toledo, the ancient capital of the Visigothic Kingdom

The Royal Palace, which is no longer used by the royal family. Members of parliament and officials stay here if they need a place to stay when they come into the city for meetings. No need for a second property in the city.

The Oldest Barber in Madrid, apparently they struggled back in the 60’s when the Beatles were popular and long hair was in fashion.

This is the oldest restaurant in the world. The picture in the middle is the kitchen. On the shelves are pigs. It’s supposed to be really well priced, but you have to book well in advance if you want a table.

Leicester

I arrived in Leicester on 14th February 2020 and I am so grateful that I got back when I did. For the past two years I’d been joking that I was going to get home in May 2020 in time for my 50th, get all of my presents, cycle tour with my friends from Total Women Awesome Tours and then go off on another adventure.

I got the chance to meet up with a few friends

I got to eat food that I hadn’t eaten in quite sometime

I cycled the little quiet country lanes that I had romanticised about when I was away cycling. The days when I dreamt of being back home in the UK were the days when I was cycling on horribly busy roads.

About five weeks after arriving in the UK the country went into lockdown due to Covid-19 and all of the streets became really quiet and my plans to cycle tour with my friends in Scotland to celebrate my 50th had to be shelved.