Jackie Steves Blogs Europe - The Best Hostel in the World

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The Best Hostel in the World

Lisbon was immediately and obviously different from the cities we visited in Spain. I felt disoriented and overwhelmed, with every fiber of my body entirely intrigued. This place is plagued, or rather blessed, by incongruities. It feels both rich and poor, forgotten and remembered, and most importantly, dying but lively.

Despite our initial directional misstep, we came upon our hostel easily. I know I raved about the last hostel, and I would still rave, but this hostel transcends all hostels, maybe all hotels for that matter. It's plushly decorated, with all the modern accoutrements of luxury and clean as the Steves' residence (and that's clean!).

Only photos will do it justice. There's free Internet, free computer use (IMacs), and free breakfast. It's full of vivacious young people, and being on a central street of downtown, right next to the central square, it stands among teeming crowds. I am surrounded by life. Also death, as I will explain later...

We grabbed a quick lunch of sandwiches and salad. Apparently my meal, which was called menu economico, came with a bica (espresso). I drank it with a little bit of help from Jackie, so we were energized for our walking tour with Rita.

— Zoe

About This Entry

You are reading "The Best Hostel in the World", an entry posted on 20 July 2009 by Jackie Steves.

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Previous Entry, It’s Mostly Yellow and Dying, But I Love It, posted Jul 19 2009

Next Entry, Party in the Streets of Bairro Alto, posted Jul 21 2009

Comments [ top ]

Is the hostel quiet enough to get any sleep at night - or are you just going to stay up 24/7 and sleep on the way home?

Posted by: b. - Jul 20, 2009 11:57 AM

Your blogs are a joy to read as this brings me memories of my own European backpacking trip that ended about 3 weeks ago. I was backpacking for 2 months and went to many of the places you had just been. Yeah lisbon hostels are the most amazing. I think the top 3 hostels in all of Europe, and 7 out of the top 10 is in portugal. They are very clean and each have a unique style and decor. Very trendy and hipsterish. On the old and new thats very true about lisbon. They have the city that is virtually brand new and modern. Portugal built it for the World Fair in the mid 90's i believe. Check out the aquarium in the new city. I believe its the biggest in Europe. Then they have the older shanty towns in the hills. Its major contrast. If you are in Portugal you should also check out Lagos and the south coast. many backpackers I met skipped this area, but it was one of the most relaxing and fun places in Europe. The beaches are not like the others in Europe. It has fine grain sand and clear blue water with no waves. Hope you are having fun and keep the descriptions on the cities you are visiting. Makes me miss Europe even more.

Posted by: Hai - Jul 20, 2009 6:16 PM

Thanks Jackie for understanding that travel is about the "soul" of the place...it appears you are a true traveler, not just interested in beautiful buildings...I too love the contrast between rich and poor....as someone told me years ago, not every building in a city has to be beautiful, when there's a mix it makes it more interesting...I was recently in a country where everything was "over the top" including the people (everything was in excess, I will not return)...you make me want to hop on a plane and head to Lisbon, you know what its all about!!!

Posted by: jm - Jul 20, 2009 6:40 PM