Aside from music, one of my other passions is traveling. 💚

I just returned from an AMAZING trip to Portugal, and I would LOVE to share with you some of my experiences there.

The last time I traveled internationally was in 2019 when I visited Poland. (Check out my posts about that trip here.)

It was an INCREDIBLE experience to travel overseas for the first time since COVID-19 shook the world, and I am so GRATEFUL that I had an incredible experience overseas.

Thanks to the Lisboa Card, I was able to easily travel from the airport to the hotel I was staying at in Lisbon via public transportation. (Public transportation is AMAZING in Portugal! 🧡)

Since I arrived around lunchtime, and the office to check in was temporarily closed, I took my suitcase and had an INCREDIBLE dining experience at Dote Parque das Nações. The staff was SO kind, and the food was AMAZING! I ordered a francesinha (a sandwich with various meats covered in sauce) for the first time, and it was SO DELICIOUS!

Prior to my trip, I had spent months studying Portuguese, so I was SO EXCITED to use my Portuguese at a restaurant for the first time. 😊

After a delicious lunch, I returned to the hotel and was able to check in. I was SO EXCITED when I got to my room and saw that this was my view! 💜

I can’t tell you how many times I looked at this view during my stay and wore a HUGE smile on my face. 💙

When I travel, I love filling my day with activities, but since I didn’t arrive in Lisbon until midday (thanks flight delays! 😉), I had time for only one attraction that day. However, what I did that day was SO MUCH fun!

I went to Oceanário de Lisboa, Lisbon’s aquarium.

At the center of the building was a giant tank with fantastic sea creatures! Some of the sharks, stingrays, and fish in that tank were HUGE! As I walked around the aquarium to explore the many exhibits, I was able to look through windows of various sizes to continue looking at the giant tank. The structure of the building was so neat and not something that I had ever seen before.

At one of the exhibits, I saw puffins! 😯 I had NEVER EVER seen puffins before, so I was SO EXCITED! 💛 They were SO ADORABLE!

I enjoyed watching otters relaxing on their backs, living their best lives.😊 (Check out my Instagram and Facebook Page for a photo.)

There were so many BEAUTIFUL colors and creatures at this aquarium! I was SO EXCITED to see a blue tang for the first time! (I had to look up the name of this fish as when I saw it, I thought, “That’s the Dory fish from Finding Nemo.” 🤣)

One of the most memorable parts of my trip to the aquarium was watching the penguins. As you can see in this picture, one of the penguins was scratching his head using his foot like a dog does! 🐶I didn’t know penguins did that! That penguin was SO CUTE!

Another penguin was just hopping around and had the happiest look on his face! That penguin reminded me of Topper from Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town. 🐧

I had never been so close to penguins before! You can be assured that I had a GIANT smile plastered on my face during my time at the penguin exhibit. 💙

After the aquarium, I walked around Lisbon for a bit and then enjoyed takoyaki (octopus dumplings) for dinner at a restaurant that served a lot of Japanese dishes. The seafood was SO FRESH and SO DELICIOUS in Portugal!

After dinner, I headed back to my hotel to sleep as I didn’t sleep very much on the flights over. 😜

I can’t wait to share more about my trip with you next week!

Wishing you well! ❤️