Adventure Accounting

I cannot find the photos I took on my way to Lisbon airport and my whole flight back. Bummer. Probably, I mistakenly cleared the memory card thinking I saved the photos but I didn’t. Booooo.  So here it goes with less photos.   I bought two souvenir shirts from the shop below Good Morning Hostel Lisbon. The guy here calls me out whenever I leave or arrive: “Hey there Philippines!”. I bought two shirts from him for €19 for my parents.  I had a bunch of euro coins left so I splurged €6,90 in Haagen Dazs for an apple pie ice cream before heading to the airport.  The bus going to the airport costs €3,50, the stop is right in front of my hostel, so it was very convenient. I wasted more euros for pasalubong at the airport. I was closely monitoring my spending throughout the trip and I was still way below my planned budget. I never fully utilized the food allowance. I am blogging almost two years after the trip itself. I already forgot some o...

This hostel shows what customer service is all about! First of all, they treat you as a buddy-friend, and they are willing to answer all your questions. They answered my questions thoroughly and gave me plenty of suggestions.   I stayed in a 6-bed female dorm for two nights and a double room for my last night. The 6-bed dorm was spacious. Each bed had its own lamp, socket and a place to put random stuff on. The beds are really sturdy too! It does not creak and squeak as much. A super plus especially because I was assigned at the top bunk. The lockers are huge (bring your own lock) and the room has enough space to accommodate the luggage even if we are all in the room. The room looks really spartan but the bunks are very sturdy, and they are kept clean! The common bathrooms were well-maintained, spotless and never runs out of tissue paper. The bathroom had a hook where you can hang your things, although in my opinion, a couple of more hooks/hangers in the sh...

Lisbon is famous for its amazing seafood dishes. I met two travelers who said they’ve tasted the best seafood in their life in Lisbon! I raised an eyebrow at that. I would still argue that the best seafood can be found in the shores of Palawan , Surigao and Davao . Codfish is the specialty of Lisbon. I’m not sure if the codfish is special because it is somewhat unique in Lisbon. It does not have a “Lisbon Codfish Special” recipe. Restaurant menus offer baked codfish, fried codfish, boiled in a sauce and grilled. I had lunch after my two-hour tour around Lisbonupon my arrival . A very late lunch in restaurant near the hostel, as they recommended.  The restaurant flaunted this aquarium with sea creatures. The waiter brought me a basket of (cold) bread, two pieces of croquettes, butter, oil and olives as appetizers. Swanky set. The codfish was perfectly baked but the seasoning was too salty. Too much butter and flavor that was too strong to the de...

With Lisbon as my base, I can explore another UNESCO World Heritage Site, just a 30-minute train ride from Rossio station. A train leaves every 20 minutes so I didn’t pre-book a ticket. My hostel was just 5 minutes away from the station. Had to purchase a separate train ticket for this one. The grounds of Sintra are vast. If you want to explore everything, it would take more than a day trip. But I didn’t have the luxury of long travel so I had to make the most out of a day trip. From the train station, I followed the signs until I reached the bus stop. Paid €5 for a round trip bus ride. Alternatively, you can reach the old Sintra castle by walking for 20 minutes – uphill. They said this is just around 1.5km. The hostel said you’ll pass by a shop selling some awesome pastries. If you are a slave to the sweets, it may be worth it – or so my hostelmates said. A full bus The hostel gave me great directions and tips how to reach Sintra. The girl was very enthusias...