It’s been almost a week since I returned from my girls’ weekend in Lisboa and my feet have almost recovered. I’m still surprised by how much I enjoy living off the beaten track, but a small taste of city life every now and then is a glorious treat.
My first solo journey in Portugal began with a surprisingly efficient and uneventful train ride to Estação Oriente - train tickets sent directly to your mobile phone, how cool is that? I met my childhood friend (now living in Germany) and we spent the next four days walking, shopping, talking, shopping, eating, shopping, drinking, shopping and laughing. Both mildly crippled by the incredible cobblestoned streets of Alfama, Baixa, Bairro Alto, Estrela and Belém, we had no schedule, no agenda and no objectives. Just glorious freedom to wander the hillside streets. We drank when we were thirsty, we ate when we were hungry and we stopped when we were tired (a few more weekend photos here).
Without my usual handsome interpreter I had no choice but to attempt speaking Portuguese and, although I may have been asking for larynx juice instead of orange juice, I survived. Sometimes there’s no better motivation than being thrown into the deep end without a life rope.
In those four days I fell in love with Lisboa, I’m already looking for an excuse to go back. There’s an unmistakable charm I haven’t experienced in any other European city. And, in case I ever get a hankering for a taste of home, it’s good to know that a non-fat, mocha, skinny Frappucino is only a train ride away.
.
PS: Thanks again to DaddyP, djbeat, Daisyfae, Surftwin, Penfold, Lo,TG and Stinkypaw for their comments on Neither Patient Nor Virtuous
