Lisbon '07

It had been 7 years since I traveled abroad. That was when I met up with my long time friend and traveling companion Max, in the unknown territory that was Eastern Europe. A decade earlier, communism had crumbled with the fall of the Berlin wall, and many former Eastern bloc countries declared their independence soon after. Czechoslovakia would become the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Many, including Hungary, would transition to a market economy.

I had always wanted to visit Prague and Budapest, so when Max invited me to join him for part of his 3 month vision quest, I jumped at the chance. We spent 5 days in Budapest and another 5 in Prague. Despite the difficulties of trying to navigate ourselves around unfamiliar lands and foreign languages, we somehow managed to have a great time.

Since then, Max has done a lot more traveling around Europe; while I have languished in the relative safety and staidness that is Silicon Valley. I now own a home and enjoy the comforts and daily routines that are associated with a domestic existence, but I still long for the adventures of being in a foreign land. Which is why I finally decided to take a long overdue trip. This time, it would be Lisbon.

Why Lisbon? Well, to be honest, it wasn't the first destination that came to mind when we began planning for this trip. Initially, it was only going to be me and Max. We had started talking about places like Amsterdam, Greece and Rio de Janeiro. Amsterdam was a top contender, but I had already been there with my ex-wife several years ago. Granted, it would have been a different experience this time, but I wanted to see some place I hadn't been to before. So Amsterdam was out.

It was at this point that we decided to invite Nick on our trip. He was totally up for it, but he wasn't sure whether he'd be able to get away. The company that he worked for had just went under and it was unclear what his financial situation would be. But he seemed enthusiastic and sounded like he was going to find a way to make it happen.

Another problem was that Amy, Nick's wife, had wanted to go with him to Greece and Rio as a couple. So if Nick were to go with us, and still stay married, Greece and Rio would have to be out. After about a week of deliberation, Nick came up with the idea of going to Spain in September. Amy had already been to Spain with her girlfriends and September seemed like a good time to go since it was past the summer high season. Unfortunately, Max had just gotten back from Barcelona in March. So Spain was out.

This is when Don came into the picture. Don is a guy that I worked with at Earthlink. I mentioned our trip to Don and asked him if he wanted to join us. He'd never traveled outside the United States and the thought of going to Europe appealed to him. I told him about our problems with picking a destination. Being half Portuguese, he suggested Portugal. He said he had always wanted to visit the place his father's family was from. I passed the idea along to Max. He was open to the possibility.

After a bit of research and some feedback from friends and colleagues, we decided that Portugal was indeed a great destination. In particular, we thought that Lisbon had a nice blend of the cosmopolitan and the provincial. There is plenty of culture and places of antiquity to occupy ourselves with during the day, and a lively nightlife that would keep us entertained at night. Portugal is also one of the cheapest European countries to go to. Given the weak dollar, that was definitely a consideration. Also, we found a couple who lived near Lisbon that would let us stay with them and show us around while we were there. What's not to like?

We decided on the week of September 17 as the time to go. It was early May when I booked my flight. After a bit of searching on Kayak, I found the cheapest flight was on US Airways flying out of SFO. Soon after, Max booked an Iberian flight from JFK with a connecting flight out of Madrid to Lisbon. Both our flights were to arrive Tuesday morning of the 18th. Sofia would pick us up from the airport. Things were progressing as planned.

Then I got some bad news at work. Don and his group got laid off from work. Fortunately, they got a very generous package and were given the opportunity to work till November. I asked Don if he was still planning to join us. Although it was still feasible for him to go, he decided that it would be prudent to save his money. So Don was now out of the picture. It was ironic that the guy that helped us to decide our destination would end up not making it himself. It was down to just of the three of us now.

By early August, Nick was still only about 65% certain he was joining us. But he still sounded optimistic. So we continued to plan as if he were going. We began planning our itinerary. Both Max and I picked up guidebooks to help us with our planning. Months earlier, we had also picked up some Portuguese language courses. I had gotten one from Pimsleur. It's an audio only course, but it's very effective in it's approach to teaching basic conversation.

Max, as usual, immersed himself in his studies. He always makes it a point to try to learn the language as much as possible. He also educates himself on the culture and history. I feel rather spoiled when I travel with him, because I know that I can rely on his knowledge of the place to help us get around.

As the end of August approached and he still hadn't bought his ticket, it looked as if Nick's chances for going with us were getting slimmer. I finally asked him about it and he confirmed that it was becoming less likely now. He informed me that Amy was several weeks pregnant with their third child. Also, the business venture that he was working on after the mortgage company that he worked for tanked was now at a critical juncture and it would be extremely difficult for him to take time off from it. So Nick was now out. It was down to just the two of us again.

Anyways, that's the long and short of how we ended up going to Lisbon. I could go on with a lengthy description of what we did for the 6 days that we were there, but I think I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. They're pretty much in chronological order. In some places, I took a little bit of liberty in ordering the photos to help with the narrative, but overall it gives a fairly accurate sense of how we spent our days there. I hope that you enjoy it.

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