Lisbon Portugal

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So I´m in Lisbon and I could not be happier. The plane ride was easy enough and I was fortunate to see one of those wonderful fast-forward sunrises one only experiences while traveling directly East at 600 mph. Approaching Lisbon, we flew right over the south-westernly most tip of Europe and I was able to pick out each city along the coast until we got to Lisbon itself. The best part, however, was the bus ride from the airport. I unintentionaly sat next to two French girls, Elodie and Marie-Laure, having never really talked to a French girl, I was delighted to find it very easy to strike up a conversation immediately. By the time we reached the hostel, we were friends... and.... get ready... Maurie-Laure said I spoke excellent French. This may seem trivial, but if you know the French, the difficulties involved with speaking a foreign language, and the immense amount of time I spent preparing for that vary encounter, you know this is quite an accomplishment.
I roamed the city all day and ended the evening with an incredable sunset from the top of Castello Sao Jorge. I was reminded rather accutely that there´s something about European cities that no American city can match. Its the way a city, after being destoryed and rebuilt dozens of times over dozen of centuries always has a life that no city designed correctly from the begining can ever match. It also reminded me that my fondness for ancient castle has nothing to do with castles and everything to do with the hilltops on which they sit.
Portugal is wonderful, more mellow than Spain, but very aimiable. My thoughts however lie with Morocco and the Sahara. I´m tempted to go immediately across the Mediterranean, but I know I´ll regret not tasting Portugal if I do.
And I say tasting, in the literal sense. The food here is phenomenol and super super cheap. I intend on eating alot of it. Well anyway, I´m off to bed.. or maybe I´m off to find some other travellers and go out partying. We´ll see.
Adeus,
Brad

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Comments

[anonymous]

Lisbon is a great place...from someone who's been there...
Hi Brad, just read your blog on Lisbon. I agree with you on the city it's wonderfull and cities in Europe do have something about them which US cities can't touch. I live in the US but I've been to Lisbon so many times over the years due to the fact that my parents are Portuguese, I have family there and I've lived there before. I'm glad to see you enjoying yourself. Try out the Bairro Alto section at night possibly. You can go to a nice Fado bar and listen to some great "Fadistas" singing about their lost sailors at sea or some other sad affair. You mentioned "tasting" Portugal and I can't agree with you more. I've grown up on that stuff and I love it. I've got withdrawls symptoms now too because I'm in China on business and the food here is entirely a different thing. If you like wine, please do yourself a favor and try out the table wines with your meals. At good local restaurants it won't cost you that much. And if you want to treat yourself, try some Vinho do Porto (Port Wine). For me it's one of my favorite drinks. Check out the elevator, Santa Justa near Rua Santa Clara. All the monuments are a must...Torre de Belem and Padrao dos Descobrimentos. If you are into nightlife there are probably some good places to go to at Docas which is located just under the Ponte 25 de Abril (April 25 Bridge). Enjoy yourself... This blog seems pretty cool. I'm going to join and post some pics and comments on China. Ate logo, boa sorte... Pedro