Travel stories: November 2013

Small cafes put up tables on the street

Whenever a question pops out on which the most beautiful city that I have been to so far is, the answer spills out subconsciously - Lisbon. Cities like Paris, London, Barcelona, Berlin and Madrid do have something nice with them, but nothing really comes close to Lisbon when seducing travelers - be it the surplus of view points, the amazing Portuguese cuisine, the mesmerizing voice of a Fado singer, the cozy coffee shops on the cobbled narrow windy streets - there are so many things that just sit perfectly together to give that feeling.

The train journey from Faro to Lisbon passed by quite a few nice sceneries. The city of Lisbon welcomed me with a cloudy morning, which later cleared up into a beautiful sunny day. The train left me at Lisboa Oriente, which is located in a posh area with fancy modern buildings mostly built for Expo '98. The neighborhood is called Parque das Nações. A walk through it makes one feel like in a sci-fi movie setting the ones like in Gattaca. But one can grab a splendid view of the impressive vasco de gama bridge, the longest in Europe with a length of 17.2 KM.

Parque das Nações district of Lisbon

The walk from my hostel to Castle of São Jorge included several cozy old streets of the famous Alafama district, there is a really old tram that runs along the same street making a hell of rattling noise. The castle overlooks the city. So needless to say, the views from up there made my day - one can see the spread of the old city from one end of the castle and the river and the modern park from the other end of the castle.

Pena palace in Sintra region

Now, the city of Lisbon had me in a vulnerable position for three completely different reasons. One - I came here as a solo traveler but ended up meeting three lovely ladies to spend my special evening which brings me to; Two - The evening of my birthday away from everyone special to me, I were to spend in Lisbon and Three - let's take a break here! A perfect Portuguese cuisine followed by a live Fado session in a cozy bar already crowded with people put a perfect end to the evening on my birthday, and the three strangers from my hostel accompanying me through the evening made it all the more special. The morning was no less splendid- with me hopping from one hill to the other visiting the dreamy castles in the Sintra region. The old castle town is just a train ride away from Lisbon and is incredibly beautiful.

Lisbon Oceanarium

The third reason, actually the most important one, needs a bit of background explanation for non-Indian readers. In Indian movies there are usually a few songs with dances, ok! this I think everyone knows. But the interesting thing is that these songs are usually shot in some special places, often outside India. During my childhood, there was a period of an obsession with life size aquariums to shoot the songs. Naturally as a kid I wanted to visit one badly, but couldn't for several reasons. I stood in line for the tickets at the Oceanarium, mostly full of kids and caretakers - I could easily be the only adult visiting the place. But my enthusiasm and excitement were definitely higher than that of the kids' standing in the queue. That moment, I clearly remember, was an emotional one - I dreamt of being in such a place several nights and all those dreams about to come true. I definitely had a tear or two rolling down my eyes. It was a splendid place, even though I do not like the fact that animals are kept captive, but they still had a large enough place.

And so has the city enticed me leading to a long lasting love towards it. I am pretty sure that Lisbon and the surrounding districts will offer something to captivate anyone. It is just a pity that often some other big cities are over rated in all sorts of literature, where as the true charm- the charm that can completely captivate the hearts of travelers with no prior expectations lies in cities like Lisbon.

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