Kilgore Trout
New Member
LISBON
forgive the obvious analogy, but lisbon is like a bottle of port: it tastes better after having aged in our memories. lisbon, unfortunately, was the victim of bad timing. we spent only two and a half days there at the end of our trip, so we were tired and kind of homesick. it was a weekend in the middle of the summer, which meant that the city seemed half asleep. the traditional downtown area, the baixa, gave off a rather incidental, stagnant feel, and other parts of the city were sluggish.
despite our initial disappointment, though, lisbon has grown on us. its hills, crisp nights and water views are beautiful, its food is delicious and it has an intriguing nightlife composed of tiny living-room-sized bars that sell takeaway beer. i would definitely like to go back, perhaps in the spring or fall when the city is livelier.
a note about these photos: our first full day in lisbon (a saturday) was so perplexingly quiet we spent the evening in lisbon's branch of the giant spanish department store, el corte inglès, the only place in the city that didn't feel shut down for the summer. this was bigger than any of the locations we visited in spain: it was more like a mall than a department store, complete with a multiplex cinema in the basement. on sunday, an even quieter day, we decided on a spur of the moment to hop on the train and take it to estoril, in the eastern suburbs of lisbon, which we decided to visit because of a vintage 1920s postcard advertising mild weather and beautiful beaches. lo and behold, when we arrived, it seemed as if le tout-lisbonne was hanging out along the seashore. it was one of the more memorable days of our trip.
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forgive the obvious analogy, but lisbon is like a bottle of port: it tastes better after having aged in our memories. lisbon, unfortunately, was the victim of bad timing. we spent only two and a half days there at the end of our trip, so we were tired and kind of homesick. it was a weekend in the middle of the summer, which meant that the city seemed half asleep. the traditional downtown area, the baixa, gave off a rather incidental, stagnant feel, and other parts of the city were sluggish.
despite our initial disappointment, though, lisbon has grown on us. its hills, crisp nights and water views are beautiful, its food is delicious and it has an intriguing nightlife composed of tiny living-room-sized bars that sell takeaway beer. i would definitely like to go back, perhaps in the spring or fall when the city is livelier.
a note about these photos: our first full day in lisbon (a saturday) was so perplexingly quiet we spent the evening in lisbon's branch of the giant spanish department store, el corte inglès, the only place in the city that didn't feel shut down for the summer. this was bigger than any of the locations we visited in spain: it was more like a mall than a department store, complete with a multiplex cinema in the basement. on sunday, an even quieter day, we decided on a spur of the moment to hop on the train and take it to estoril, in the eastern suburbs of lisbon, which we decided to visit because of a vintage 1920s postcard advertising mild weather and beautiful beaches. lo and behold, when we arrived, it seemed as if le tout-lisbonne was hanging out along the seashore. it was one of the more memorable days of our trip.
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