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| The monastery & Cathedral in Belem |
I
made it to Portugal last week, and after getting to my hostel I started a list
of things that immediately berate your senses and remind you that America is
long gone once you hop the pond. So here goes, you know you're in a European
hostel when:
1)
Everyone speaks at least some English
2)
90% of the people are on a weekend getaway
3)
The milk is warm
4)
There is hot chocolate for breakfast
5)
The cornflakes haven't even got a hint of sugar
6)
Meeting people feels more awkward cn than ever
7)
The number one thing you ask for is the wifi password
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| Torre de Belem |
I
only had two days in Lisbon, so I left early on Sunday to make sure I would get
to see as much as possible. I walked down to the waterfront and took the light
rail west to Belem, a suburb that contains a few monuments, a market, and the
largest free cultural center in the world. It contains so much art (and is
larger than many of the Smithsonians in DC) that it ranks as the 50th
most visited museum in the world, which is surprising considering how many of
them must be located in Washington, New York, London and Paris. Turns out that
Portugal is an art hotspot.
I
walked along the waterfront, went to the museum, and then headed back into
Lisbon for some more downtown exploring. Chiado and the other nearby
neighborhoods that make up central Lisbon immediately reminded me of San
Francisco and I was really happy to just wander for a few hours. The waterfront
has been redeveloped and is full of pedestrian areas with benches and trees
that locals are taking full advantage of. I found a wine and cheese bar/art
gallery/restaurant in a converted warehouse and sat down for my first lunch in
Europe (which was long overdue). I had a Portuguese pizza with ham and peppers
and olives and sat watching sailboats out on the water.
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| Lunch on the water |
As
I always say, places that are off your radar, and you have few expectations
for, always surprise you. They tend to be low key, pedestrian friendly, tasty,
and generally a good middle ground in terms of grimy/sterile. What I mean by
the last is that you want a city that hasn’t been trashed by the locals (Rome),
or sterilized to draw tourists (lots of fake places). You need something that
feels real, where you can smell the food (Malaga) and hear the local sounds
(Fes). The point is, Lisbon does that. It gives you just enough of each,
without overwhelming you (India), that you want to come back. It seems that
this is a regular thing with Lisbon, people only pass through for a few days
and then realize they should have stayed ages. Every article in the Huffington
Post, New York Times, and Matador all were written by people who had been in
transit and been so blown away by Lisbon they were adding it to their list of
places to go back to when they next had the chance.
One
last success of the day. When you travel, and I mean that in the truest sense
of the word, you are trying to leave the predictable and ordinary behind. I
realized at one point in a train station that I couldn’t remember what I had
been thinking for the last two hours. No clue what was going through my mind.
But I know it wasn’t work, it wasn’t applications, it wasn’t any of the
stressful day to day things that we all seek to escape when we’re on the road.
Lisbon gets a thumbs up and five stars for making me completely lose track of
where I was in life for that afternoon.
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| The waterfront in Lisbon |
