Making Restorations: a long layover in Lisbon

With traveling to Morocco in Africa, we had to take several flights from the states. On the way home, we were passing though Lisbon Portugal-a place that has always been on the top of my bucket list because who could resist this colorful city? So I decided to have us stop here on a long layover.

Not only did stopping in Lisbon give us a chance to experience a new country together, it also broke things up so that we didn't have a crazy 24hour+ travel day. It was an easy decision and the best choice to make. Here's what we did with one day in Lisbon...

Like most major cities, Lisbon is broken down in several major neighbors. We split our day between the most picturesque of them all...Amalfa, the Barrio Alto, and our unexpected favorite...Belem.

We started our morning in Belem, stopping into Pasteis de Belem to pick up the classic pasties de nata that Lisbon in famous for. We also grabbed some Starbucks and just had the most relaxing morning stroll through the park eating our pastries and sipping on lattes.

a morning walk past this beautiful monastery and it's ringing church bells

we definitely fell in love with this fountain in a little square with gorgeous views of the waterfront and the monastery. it felt like an iconic european morning.

love this guy and love this city

it seriously felt like we had this place all to ourselves

After we finished up our long morning walk and pastries, we headed to Lisbon's Waterfront.

We love a good waterfront city, which is why we live in one at home in the states. But Lisbon is doing it's waterfront just right.

The waterfront is the perfect melting pot of the tourists and locals alike because no one can resist this gorgeous spot.

An obvious favorite was the Padro dos Descobrimentos aka the Monument of the Discoveries. It celebrates Portugal's Golden Age when they were the wealthiest monarchy in Europe with the discovery of new lands and trade routes.

pretending to be Ferdinand Magellan and Vasa de Gama because yes, we do things like this in public

can I please just stay here forever?

After spending hours in Belem, we grabbed a quick lunch on the go and headed off to take an afternoon walk in the Almalfa and Barrio Alto neighborhoods. There are lots of worthwhile attractions around Lisbon, but what made us love the city most is that there is so much to stumble upon.

like these incredible views

Lisbon has these stunning miraduoros or viewpoints all over the city, it makes it just a bit more magical to take in sweeping views of its terra-cotta roofs and colorful buildings.