Iberian Adventures #5 (Portugal: Lisbon and Sintra)

/ Andrea

It’s interesting how much can change, or stay the same, over the span of twenty years.

The last time I had been to Lisbon was nearly twenty years ago, when I studied abroad there. Back then, I was younger, not married, and had not a care in the world. I was immersed in my heritage, dabbling in adventures I would have never had otherwise, and having the time of my life. The food, the architecture, the history, the people, the fado, the everything! I will also never forget getting lots of sun at the fantastic beaches, drinking many a delicious caipirinha, and staying out “clubbing” until 5 in the morning.

A much younger me, enjoying a river cruise along the Douro River in Porto, Portugal. (summer 2004)

Fast forward to a few months ago. After a whirlwind vacation we took with a tour group through some of the Azores islands, we all ended up in Lisbon for the culmination of the truly fantastic tour. Lots of things in Lisbon were the same for me, while lots of things were different.

Above are photos I took of the Arco da Rua Augusta: the one on the left back in 2004, the one on the right taken this summer.

The capital of Portugal is undoubtedly busier, louder, and grander than the Azores. With a population of over 3 million people, the entire metropolitan area of Lisbon is definitely much more crowded and diverse than anything we experienced on the islands. Being on the mainland, it’s also quite a bit warmer and sunnier. We were advised that pickpockets were a big threat, which seemed so minor when compared to all of the senseless gun violence here in the US. Fortunately, none of us encountered any sort of theft or crime there or anywhere on our trip.

This is Pink Street. So pretty and colorful! However, like most touristy spots, there were a lot of people there. At night, it’s supposedly a good place for bars and clubs. Pink Street was not there when I first visited Lisbon back in 2004. The other study abroad students and I went over to an area called Docas for our nightlife.
Check out this window display in one of the many bakeries around Lisbon. It took an incredible amount of willpower, but we did not eat up everything in sight.
Monument of the Discoveries
This place was awesome! So many choices for eats, plus there was a farmer’s market on the other side.

On the left, awesome calçadas Portuguesa (Portuguese pavements) in an area which I think is called the Pillory of Lisbon. On the right, we have one of two mermaid fountains (that’s me in the red shorts) and the column of Pedro IV in the background of Rossio Square, with some more cool pavements.

We enjoyed a ride along the famous #28 tram line. In case you didn’t know, I come from a train-obsessed family, so a trolley ride was a must.

We took a day trip to Sintra, a city located a quick 45 minutes from Lisbon by train. Here’s the not-so-funny story about that little excursion and this photo…

There’s this castle there (Pena Palace) that’s something out of a fairy tale. It’s such a popular tourist destination that I had to buy tickets for it well in advance of our trip. Well, due to delays with the train, tourist congestion, and a cancelled shuttle bus, we missed our entrance time. By A LOT. So no castle and no refunds. We made the most of it by walking around the perimeter, enjoying the beautiful gardens, and letting go of what we could not control. And if I do say so myself, that photo I took came out rather good. 😉
The outdoor dining in Lisbon feels so quintessentially “European.” I love it! People-watching and delicious foods: life is good.
After our tour group returned back to the States, my family and I checked out of the hotel and rented a modest flat in a quaint neighborhood for a few days. We wanted to see what a Lisbon apartment looked like–more or less. After living in various hotels all the previous days of our trip, it was nice to have so much more space, a little kitchen to do some cooking, and a washer/dryer to do some laundry. This photo is the living room. The windows and balcony door are casement style, so they can open regularly or lean into the room to vent.

It was great to embrace and explore the city with my previous memories tagging along, piecing together fragments of what felt like a whole different life I lived back then. It was also great to make new memories with my family, especially my children. No longer a naive, carefree, college student, it was different to experience everything through my current self. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why we travel: not only do we get to learn about and connect with new lands and cultures, we also get to learn about and connect with different versions of ourselves.

My apologies if this post seems all over the place. I’ve been working on it here and there for a couple of weeks now, with lots of distractions derailing my train of thought. Hopefully, my photos do a decent job of telling my travel stories. Be sure to come back again, readers, because next time we’ll be exploring vibrant Madrid.

As always, thanks for stopping by. ❤

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