An express trip to Lisbon

I have never been very attached to calendars with their specific dates, but this year, everything that supposedly measures time completely escapes me. I can’t believe that just three months ago we were walking the streets of Lisbon! It was a whirlwind trip.  We crossed all of Spain making the route by car, and after two days stopping here and there, we arrived at a quiet, lonely, authentic, and melancholic Lisboa…

Many times we found ourselves to be the only tourists in sight, marveled of this ancient and noble city patina…. The Covid crisis ruthlessly swept away travelers and mass tourism, and everywhere we went it all seemed quite unreal, but sincere and straightforward at the same time.

These days I was looking at the photos I took, remembering, and I thought it would be nice to finally make this post without importance about the time that has passed … That incredible Portuguese light is present in several photos, surrounding everything with its golden veil…

In others, unexpected views open suddenly, and the tireless old yellow trolleys are always present, like a soundtrack movie, moving up and down through the hills of Lisbon. Trough the popular districts of Graça, Alfama, and Estela, crossing old neighborhoods loaded with secrets, colored tiles, forgotten and remote stories of overseas travelers, fortunes, and loves

I spent part of my time admiring and collecting pictures of the old diverse tiled walls. Other moments having a coffee or a drink on a terrace and some other, only walking. Feeling the pleasure of being lost.  The city is a marvel for an artist. A painter, a writer, a poet, an architect! Lisboa is to walk until you get tired. What a good feeling! To go up and enjoy the view on the “Miradores”. Walk in the parks full of exotic plants and old trees brought from overseas… To discover small shops that passed from one generation to the next, preserving meticulously their essence.

Every corner is a surprise here… We have really enjoyed these few days and I cannot forget to mention the excellent food in the small restaurants, each one with his own wise philosopher waiter. Or its walls full of tiles of infinite colors and shades. Lisboa is not just one. It is many cities in one single place. It is a city made of contrasts, layers, vertical, multicultural, with people from around the globe and many colors and races… And yet it is one and only, unrepeatable.

It is similar to an old wine full of nuances, colors, flavors. You need a double taste. A place to return to, always the same but different, elusive, and that reveals itself around every corner, every street, or every door … And when it gets dark, the city changes. The night brims with youth and vitality and dozens of curious locals, open their doors to the night, where spirited conversations multiply sharing a good botle of wine.