The highlight of my first days on my study abroad has been taking a Tuk Tuk tour. A Tuk Tuk is a cross between a Vespa and a golf cart. They seem vintage; a lot of them are modeled in the European fashion and decorated in some sort of way. My friends and I had seen them all around Lisbon and knew we wanted to do one.
After a morning of walking around the city ourselves, we stopped and ate a quick lunch at a bakery spot near the river where all the drivers were waiting for future customers. As we walked down the street, we were deciding what Tuk Tuk tour to go on. A white Tuk Tuk with blue sardines appeared and we knew that it was the winner. Sardines are a big deal in Lisbon, and we thought it was perfect. After a little bargaining and deal making we agreed to pay 30 euros each for a one hour tour around the “Old Town” of Lisbon.
Our driver took off straight away and brought us to some of the most beautiful sights in the city. We were able to connect the dots of places we had already been and places we wanted to come back to later on. We rode by so many beautiful churches and the rooftop views of the city. We passed by the famous pink street, as well as the lesser famous yellow street. We learned the history behind the main pavilion of the city and where the world’s second largest Zara is. We even went to the highest point in Lisbon and saw an amazing view. The lookout was gorgeous and held some historical artifacts like a walk from the time the Christians were in charge of the city and a tile mural of St. Lucia. Another lookout was the place where Saint Vincent of Saragossa was born and buried near a Church bearing his name. St. Vincent is the patron saint of Lisbon, so it was cool to see how the locals still revere him to this day.
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history and took our picture at so many different places. We could even hook up to the aux to play our own music as we sped around the insane scenery. The roads in Lisbon are very hilly and they drive very erratically compared to drivers in America. We enjoy walking downhill, but the uphill is always so difficult; it was nice to be driven around in the Tuk Tuk. There is a different tile pattern on almost every building. We were all taking so many pictures while we were on the Tuk Tuk. I highly recommend it as an excursion and a way to see the city! It is our favorite thing we did this leg of the trip that we picked out for ourselves, and we are so glad we did it.