I have knocked out quite a few European cities in the last seven and a half months. London, Salzburg, Amsterdam, Bruges, Dublin, Rome, Berlin, Munich, Seville, Belfast, Madrid - to name a few. Since last semester Paris and Barcelona had been tied for my favorite European city... and now, all of a sudden, Lisbon has come at me from out of left field and clamored to the top rung. This just might be it. True love. In six days I cultivated an affection and admiration for this beautiful city that rivals my pedestal for New York. This is the first European city that I could actually imagine myself living in. Maybe I'll make it back there one day to try it on for size.
Lisbon took me by surprise. Or I should say, everything about Lisbon was a surprise, and perhaps it is for this reason that I fell for it. Hard. I had uncomfortably, reluctantly turned down a trip to Morocco to save money and missed school days to go to Lisbon, but because I had no idea what to expect, and because I didn't really know what made me want to go there in the first place, I had begun to think that I would regret the decision. That was until (after an 11 hour overnight bus ride) we arrived in Lisbon.
Knit cozy for the signpost.
This was the view from the window of our hostel; the old neighborhood, the Alfama district, with the Castelo de São Jorge on the hill in the distance.
Graffiti of the emblematic electric tram, as worn by an octopus.
Got a little excited about taking pictures of colorful, crumbling architecture.
It's officially called the 25th of April Bridge... but we just called it Golden Gate.
Monument to the Discoveries
There is something so beautiful and charming about the colorful, dilapidated buildings and brightly patterned tiles that line this cobblestone labyrinth.
Hieronymites Monastery
Sailboats. So sexy.
Belém Tower - J was under-impressed, but it's quite pretty, and it has a draw bridge.
A 45 minute train ride from Lisbon, Sintra was beautiful and furnished with a fairy tale collection of palaces and castles.
Palacio da Pena
Oh, Lisbon.
View of the Atlantic and Lisbon from Sintra.
We rode the famous eléctrico 28 until they kicked us off....
way more excited than anyone else on the whole tram.
At Pasteis de Belém - the monastery and tower were cool -
but mostly we trekked to Belém for these pastries. Mmm.
It is hard to describe just what it is that I liked so much about Lisbon. I understand that much of our perceived enjoyment of any one thing comes from circumstances; I traveled with two wonderful friends, we stayed in an amazing hostel, the sun was kind to us, no one lost their passport, etc... But there is something deeper than that, something of the city itself that bewitched me.
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