My flight was delayed which was a bit frustrating, as Leonard told me he was on his way to Lisbon to meet me for dinner. I was fortunate though that through a serious of God things, I ended up flying business class. So though the delay was exasperating, I got the joy of sitting in the executive lounge and journally. Got was teaching me about trusting him and going with the flow... and fortunately I was learning without throwing into a full on panic, as things were further delayed. Eventually though, we were off.
I had been fortunate to find a great little hotel about a 20 minute walk from city center(no frills so inexpensive, but fine). I got in too late to see Leonard, but we made plans for breakfast the next morning.
So I started Day One with breakfast with Leonard. Fortunately he knows the language so it helps me feel a bit less lost. We met this little elderly lady who was sitting alone sipping coffee. Leonard began to chat with her in Portugese. Turned out she'd just lost her husband. So sad. She was so sweet though and grateful for our kindness so it added to the pleasant morning.
From there, we headed to the airport to pick up Amy and Melissa. They would be heading up with Leonard to the north and then back down to Morocco and Spain later in the week. Short as it was, it was good to see them and helped me to continue to gain my Portugal “sea legs”. I knew I wouldn’t have much time with any of them, but I prayed God would even give me a short bit with them just to easy by anxiety of traveling alone and get my off on the right foot. God provided and it really helped.
They dropped me back at my hotel and my adventure began. Courtesy of Rick Steves (awesome travel books!), I had great tips on how to spend my day, so I began to be filled with confidence and excitement. I walked into the center of town and explored. Walked through the Baixa down to Comercio Square on the water. Neat place. I sat there for a bit, people watched and journaled some more. Visually followed a trolley and figured out how to get up the Alfama, an amazing section of Lisbon up high on a hill.
The windy hills up to the Alfama by trolley made me think of San Francisco, as oddly so did the view up top, as I looked out onto the bay and the wide expanse of bridge crossing it. The city looked so peaceful from up there… the amazing history mixed with bustling commercial area. The Alfama is full of quant neighborhoods, truly Portuguese, that I wandered through to make my way up to the castle.
I entered Castel de S. Jorges to this brilliant overlook area. It was gorgeous! I took many more pictures and sat down again to journal and people watch. There was a lot to see, but I’d promised my self, that in the interest of needing this time to think and wind down from the stress of the past many weeks, that I’d take it slow and do a lot of just sitting. So I stuck with the plan. I spent about a half hour just chilling there before I met these two (beautiful!!) guys from Vancouver. They asked me to take their picture and we started chatting. They asked if I’d seen the castle yet. I said no, thinking S. Jorges to be more view than castle. They went to explore and I followed about 20 minutes later.
Man! Was I wrong! The castle was amazing. Very cool. I wandered all around, climbing, exploring, taking pictures. I ran into my Vancouver friends again and we laughed together about my silly comment. I spent a bit more time up there before heading down to see the rest of Lisbon.
There were so many nooks and crannies to see and plenty to take picture of. I explored all over town. Monuments, shopping areas, old churches. As it moved into evening, I prayed for a good place for dinner. I hate eating alone so I just hoped the right place would jump out. Just then this little waiter comes up to me to show me a menu. The place was perfect. I had a delightful evening and Nu-nu took very good care of me. I went home content and pleased. My first day had been wonderful. I occurred to me that I felt truly happy.
Day two began with a trip out to Belem. Belem is another section about 3 miles from the center of town. I visited a monetary and two incredible monuments. Check out pics to see these amazing places. And I can’t forget the amazing custards! They have these incredible little custard tarts… like nothing you’ve ever tried!
I spent most of the morning and early afternoon there, before heading out to Estoril, this wonderful beach. Ah… beach. I desperately needed some sun and beach. London had been so dreary lately in every way; we’d almost forgotten it was summer. And the beach always has this wonderful calming affect on me. It was a perfect afternoon.
Just as I was beginning to feel a bit lonely, I met Alicia and her boyfriend, fellow North Americans working in Europe, but on a brief holiday. It was a joy to chat with them as if we were kindred spirits or friends who’ve known each other forever. That’s part of the joy of traveling, the people you meet. You have this camaraderie, b/c you’re doing a lot of the same things, feeling a lot of same things, and all on this great adventure. It’s like you instantly understand each other, when those at home don’t always get it. No offense of course… but its such a different life, the good and the bad, then unless one has been here, its hard to understand. So chats with fellow travelers are not only fun and wonderful, but refreshing too… b/c they help you feel a bit less crazy and alone. I mean, Europe is wonderful, no arguments to that. But working overseas isn’t always the glamour people think. It can be hard and you get lonely and tired… but then feel guilty about that b/c you should be having the time of your life. Its just tricky some times.
Anyway… They took off, I spent about another hour or so, and then back into Lisbon for an interesting meal. The food was great and a met a few more really cool Americans traveling around. But it was good I had their companionship or the rest of the night would have been a bit scarier. To this day, we don’t really know what was happening, but a woman at the table next to us was having some medical emergency and just kept shrieking and screaming in agony. We had no idea what to do, especially as we were in the middle of our meal… but together, the four of us tried to make the best of it. Weird night. I took a bit of a stroll and then off to bed.
Day three started a bit earlier b/c I had to catch a train to Sintra. Sintra is up in the mountains about an hour or so away and another amazing place of sites to see. I saw two very cool palaces, the National Palace and Palacio de Pena, both World Heritage sites There was a castle up there too, but I didn’t have enough time, and having living in Ireland and now England for the second time, I’ve had no shortage of castles in my life. And of course the view was spectacular. They say they were build up there b/c they were the closest points to the gods and the commoners could always look up and see who was in charge of the land. Hmmm…
Anyway… Then I caught a bus. Well, cabs and buses in Portugal are a bit of an adventure. They are not for those who get car sick! Oh my! I took this bus out to the most westward point of all of Europe, Caba de Roca. Pretty cool. Then I continued to Cascais, another delightful beach town, where I’d spend the remainder of the day on the beach, before strolling the quaint resort village. As the sun began to set, I followed a long train of people heading around the peninsula to the west side for the sun set. “The Place of the Sun” as its called (well… in Portuguese, but I don’t remember what it is). I sat on a rock and journaled until it was time for some of the most remarkable pictures of my trip. I’ve seen better sunsets… but heck, I was in Portugal! All this, realizing again, that I was really truly utterly content and happy. Hmmm… strange… very cool.
I walked back into town for a lovely little dinner and chat with an Irish couple and then jumped back on the train back to Lisbon. It was my last night, so I took a quick stroll to see all the monuments lit up so delightfully and then off to bed.
The next morning I stayed close to home, b/c I was flying in the afternoon. I had back down to city center to do some last minute shopping, picture taking, journaling and trolling. Went back to the Baixa, down to Comercio. Got into a great conversation with a Canadian couple, on their first ever trip out of Canada. I just felt led to approach them when I heard them speaking English and stumbling with a map. They’d just arrived that morning and were trying to get their bearings… a little uneasy. Ah… me, three days earlier. I think they were blessed by my welcome and it was good to once again have someone for me to chat with. Traveling alone can be cool… but I’m thankful for each person I met and chatted with, as it kept me from losing my mind!
So it was back to the hotel to grab my belongings and then to the airport. My flight was significantly delayed… AGAIN. But I was in Business Class… so off to the lounge for some treats and journal time. Good stuff.
I can’t even share with you all God taught through this experience but it was amazing. I feel like I’ve regained a contentment, a trust in him, a confidence and appropriately sense of myself… that I hadn’t had in some time. Now wrapping this up in the Outer Banks two weeks later, there is still a neat peace about me, where things just don’t throw me like they did a month ago. God supplied for all my needs then, in a hundred and one miraculous ways… and he continues to supply them now. I have nothing to fear.
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Wanna see the extended version of the photos? Click here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingReg.jsp?Uc=86i6ztv.akatz06n&Uy=jnvq85&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=1&UV=697550225831_316442942503
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