4th of July in Lisbon

July 3, 2012 - July 6, 2012
Setting off on my adventure for 5 weeks, I must say goodbye to my friends and family for too long. A great twist of fate evokes a run in with my sister, Claire; my niece, Iris; Tony and all of his family finishing their layover in Philadelphia airport on their return from Puerto Rico. It was a nice treat to see my family one last time before setting off for the unknown.


After a very sleepy plane ride (thanks, tylenol PM) from Philly to Lisbon, i am dropped off on the edge of the labyrinth that is bairro alto on July 4th and I am greeted by a familiar face as Andrew steps out from our new flat. We stay with a young braxilian dude named Fabio who is likely the friendliest person we've ever met. After a quick change into some patriotic colors, Drew and I set out for a day of exploration all red, white and blue of us.


Since Lisbon is set on a series of hills, we spot a castle atop another and make our way towards it. We see loads of spectacular buildings with and without beautiful graffiti and enjoy a portuguese bar hop that includes my first taste of port in Portugal (Phenomenal). We also have fallen in love with white vino verhde, a staple wine of Portugal, which is made with much younger grapes and tastes of summer. In the late evening, we demolish a bowl of traditional Portuguese dinner with seafood and rice mixture. Looking for a way to celebrate the fourth, we set out for a night cap at a 90s rock bar. A few ounces of whiskey, some Super Bocks (portuguese beer) and a couple Journey songs later, we trek around the corner to a Cuban bar where we find mojitos flowing, live Cuban music, and dancing. We belt out a few lines from our national anthem to celebrate our holiday with new friends. Details at this point settle into a fog, but my late hour search for a kebab goes unfulfilled as I go to bed at 4 am, stomach empty.


I wake up the next afternoon and we set off for a day of beach. A stop for Portuguese espresso, burger (with fried egg) and fries is essential as we navigate our headaches and we are off to la Praia (beach).
We arrive at Cascais beach to Sunshine and a wind that sweeps sand into my mouth, giving me a couple unpleasant crunchy bites. We walk along the gorgeous boardwalk coastline to discover a bar with bean bag chairs and a legitimate few hours of people watching. We befriend the bartenders, and lounge in the warmth until dark sets in. Back in Lisbon that evening, We enjoyed a most fancy dinner at Caldo Verde Fado for some traditional Portuguese music. I've heard nothing like it before, absolutely stunning vocals.


Dragging a bit and absolutely worn from our lazy adventures that day, we call it an early night (2am) and set alarms for the next day's trek to Lagos in the Algarve region, by train.