Part 2 of my holiday was the capital of Portugal. A large busy port city on the river Tagus. The oldest capital city in Europe since 1255 with a few inhabitants being the Celts, Romans, Sarmatians, Alans, Vandals, Muslims, Norwegians and now the Touristians. 😀

The historical centre is a maze of twisting and turning streets, a lot of which are on hills. Even though I am off the Camino trail doesn’t mean I have stopped walking. I enjoy exploring places, walking around, and getting lost is the best way to see things up close. It’s a great way of noticing things.

I have noticed that I and many others take a lot of pictures, but why? I know we want to capture the moment but will we look at them in the future or will just float up to the clouds never to be seen again. Why not capture the moment but being present in that moment and not behind a device! That’s my rant for today 😀

Famous for their trolleys and while they use tiles outside like Porto, Lesboa uses paint much more.

I also did a side trip to Sintra, a once royal sanctuary for Portuguese nobility. A World Heritage Site filled with pastel-coloured villas and palaces.

I broke one of my travel tips; if you go to a heavily touristy spot, don’t just pop in and leave, book a place to stay overnight so that when the day trippers (like me) leave, you will have the place to yourself. It gives you the opportunity to explore and get a sense of what the place is like. While there I can understand why locals get frustrated with living there.

But over all it was a lovely trip and all I could think about is ‘how do you live here?’ It was crazy for me as a day visitor, but I can’t imagine experiencing this every day of the year!

So Lisboa has a lot to offer in the form of historical sites and many great restaurants. And I got to sleep in a palace.

Now I am off to the airport to fly to Barcelona. Part 3 begins now…..