Lisbon Chronicles pt1: Unveiling the Charms of a Hillside City
I have to start with one thing and get it out of the way: Lisbon has hills, lots and lots of hills. I'm talking about long hills, short hills, red hills, blue hills, old hills—hills from here to there. The funny thing is, hills are everywhere. Even when you're walking downhill, it feels like you're walking up a hill. Now that's out of the way, we can really get into Lisbon.
Lisbon is a very, very lively city. Coming from Dublin, the first thing that strikes me is that Lisbon feels like what I expected Europe to be once again. The multi-colored buildings, people walking around with baskets of fresh bread, even down to the attire of the people. The city has a unique spirit that blends being very casual and laid-back with the excitement of pandemonium, and that fuse can be lit at any moment. In almost every park you walk past, there are these little huts that serve food, coffee, and alcohol. Picture a pop-up shop, or like a frozen custard place in the States, like a Ritters. Except they are in every park and serve alcohol. There are chairs set up, and some even have servers at them. At any given time, there are just a bunch of people enjoying the weather and the company, and as the day/night goes on, the wick of pandemonium starts to get turned up.
I've found that the people are pretty straightforward here. Not in the same way as Dublin or the other Northern European countries I've been to, but more forward in the way they express themselves in the moment. Everything from compliments to dissatisfaction with how you are taking up too much space on a sidewalk. It's never rude, but very honest, lol. The most jarring thing, I'd say, is the forwardness people have when it comes to expressing their attraction to someone. They are not bashful; you never have to think, "Is that person flirting with me?" Trust me, you'll know.
A lot of the brick and mortar restaurants, especially in places with major foot traffic, have walk-up windows and people just get things to go. So people never have to worry about being hungry or thirsty on their way to the next destination. It's a brilliant idea for both sides. The restaurant can still serve people even when they're at capacity, and the people walking by can quench their hunger/thirst without having to slow down. I had to give it a try too, so I grabbed a slice of pizza from a random restaurant. Now, as someone who lived in New York for the first part of my life, I truly believe that we can do no wrong and New Yorkers are always right, but I have to say we've gotten folding a slice wrong. They fold their slices into a mini triangle when getting it to-go, and it's the right way to do it. I'll die on this hill. Here is a picture so you can see what I mean.
The last thing that really jumped out at me during my first week here is the consumption of old-school hip-hop/rap. I've always heard how legacy acts could come to Europe and sell out venues that they could never sell out in the States. Saturday night helped me understand. In a bar/club that was pretty packed, the DJ was playing music from Coolio, LL Cool J, G-Unit, NWA, and the people were jumping and rapping every word. So it's not just that they see American rap as some sort of novelty to go see a show, but they listen to it in their day-to-day partying.
That's all for now from Lisbon. I have a few adventures planned for next week and am looking forward to sharing. Thanks again for reading. Appreciate you.
