Treasure Hunting in Portugals Capital City - Feira da Ladra the 'Thieves Market'.

So I haven't posted for a while but I'm just back from an amazing treasure hunting trip to Portugal and thought I would share my experience.  Portugal is a beautiful place full of wonderful people and the lifestyle is something I would love to have more of in the U.K.  The local fresh food markets, the celebrated traditional craft fairs and the flea markets are just amazing.

One such flea market, hiding in the sloped streets of Lisboa, or Lisbon as us English speakers call it, is Feira da Ladra, or the 'Thieves Market"located in the Alfama District (Campo de Santa Clara).  If you head for the area between the Panteao Nacional and the Church of Sao Vicente on a Tuesday or Saturday, you will find it.  I was determined to visit this market as it sounded huge, so we set out early at 7 a.m to arrive for some bargains.

When we got there at 8 a.m, many of the stores (most simple blankets thrown onto the ground) were still setting up so we headed to a small cafe near the train station for some breakfast.  On heading back we were greeted by a true marvel, hundreds of traders and thousands of items for sale.

Most of the items seemed to start at around 5 Euros, from a rugby ball to a small painting!  There is an eclectic mix but I was struck by the quantity of quality brass ware and furniture.  If only I could have fit it into my suitcase! The sellers were friendly overall, not everyone spoke English but that is no barrier to getting a few treasures.  The traders that did speak English, which was most engaged in friendly conversation about Europe and asked what we thought about Brexit, it was nice to see how real people in Europe thought.

We easily spent 2 hours walking and rummaging through the boxes for hidden gems, you could spend all day here if you are a determined buyer.  Unfortunately I had a grumpy boyfriend with me who does not have flea markets and treasure hunting in his, "List of top 10 things to do".  He did carry my bags though so I can't complain too much, and I did buy him the rugby ball so he cant complain too much either!  I would thoroughly encourage you to take the tram over to the market if you are in Lisbon as it is full of atmosphere, in a beautiful part of the city and you might even find some treasure of your own.

Here are a few of the items I selected to bring back with me, and believe me when I say if i had a bigger suitcase there would have been much more!

Vintage Wicker Place Mats - http://etsy.me/2uD68Du

Vintage Coin Purse - http://etsy.me/2h4qKRF

Vintage Candle Box - http://etsy.me/2uyaT2u

To purchase any of my hand selected treasures from the Thieves Market head over to my Etsy store where I have hundreds of wonderful vintage items in stock from all over the world. http://etsy.me/2uYRPLO or look me up on Facebook http://bit.ly/2v0GA54