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.

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.

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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.

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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…

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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. ❤