Have you ever visited Lisbon, Portugal? After my reading in London, I came back to New York and in a last minute decision decided to head to Lisbon to meet friends. The kids ended up being away anyway for a little family vacation of their very own, so it worked out perfectly. Of course, I could have stayed home, reset, and tackled a few things without them. But, taking the chance to skip town and shut down my phone a bit really helped me more than I can articulate…
The people in Lisbon don’t have much, but are happy. The sardines were plentiful, the coffee so incredibly cheap, and the walking a bit, arduous. I’m sure everyone has the most amazing legs. And I heard that their life span (the fish and walking, I assume) is one of the highest! The palette of the buildings left me gasping, and the scenes and energy can not be replicated. I didn’t bring much with me, which made the trip incredibly easy as well.
Besides walking and partaking in a weekend of dancing and festivals, I also took a boat to Sintra and explored castles. Apparently, Madonna once lived in Sintra as well. ha!
I couldn’t have done the trip without a pair of sneakers and my Birkenstocks when my feet needed to be out and comfortable. The hills are so incredibly steep and there’s a lot of walking. So if you’re visiting, be prepared.
I also couldn’t have done the trip with a slightly more open diet. While I mostly consider myself a vegeterian, the food to eat and quite routinely offered in Portugal, is sardines and bread. Any way you can have them. Any way you’d want them, morning, noon and night. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical, but truly enjoyed indulging in what Portugual offered.
The winding streets were breathtaking. At night, all I wanted to do was overlook the city.
When I returned home, I felt refreshed (and a bit jet lagged) and ready to tackle work, Oak’s birthday and everything else waiting in New York for me. Do you take short trips alone? I’ve become such a big fan for so many reasons.
P.S some of these photos were shot on film and some on digitial. Also, another thing I can’t go without these days!
I am from Lisbon and spent some summers in Sintra, those pictures and your descriptions are so right on! I am so happy you are an adventurous mama who shares her adventures = )
What a beautiful place to come from! I loved Sintra and hopefully get to spend more time there in another visit.
Thank you! Trying a bit more, even when it seems hard or not doable! It often is.
I travel a lot alone to destinations that I meet up with friends and family. I also travel doing the year but now until December is my peek traveling non work season. Wether my trip is by car , train or plane I always travel in a monotonous feel but smiling on the inside. I love to travel.
i only went to lisbon as a nanny so i cant say i remember much b/c it was a particularly difficult trip for my kid. this looks wonderful. i tagged along to chicago when my bf had a belated brother bachelor party last month and everyone kept asking me what iiii was going to do – explore the city by myself of course- i love alone time! a bit more about my trip here: https://tps-steph.blogspot.com/2019/07/0044-june-favorites.html
Your photography (and style) are phenomenal. Your tone of importance to style, simplicity, flexibility of lifestyle and all, resonates with me so deeply.
“The people in Lisbon don’t have much, but are happy.”
You always write so respectfully and it matters! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read “they basically have nothing or its a really poor village/town” and just language that makes it seem like everyone outside the US/UK is suffering & starving.
I am new to your website and have enjoyed exploring all of your older post. I found this one to be most interesting because I am at a point in my life (empty nester) in which I am trying to remember the things that really made me happy and excited. Traveling was one of those things. I have tons of questions about your trip and I hope it is not too late to ask them… please let me know if you would be down to share. Thanks for sharing your trip and being an inspiration.