Quick Stop in
Lisbon and Porto
Writing and Photography by Kit van Wagner
arrived in Lisbon unfortunately without my wallet. It somehow fell out of my carry-on bag onto the floor under the seat in
front of me on the first of two flights from Boston to Lisbon.
In the end, the airline folks found the wallet on the plane in the Azores and sent it on the next flight to Lisbon, but it meant I had to wait in the Lisbon airport for hours. My skill for finding nooks and enclaves in international airports has been honed with magnet-like precision. Camping out between the escalator divider and the back of the airport pharmacy and Skyping with friends on poached airport WiFi? Not a problem – I was born for this challenge.
It was a disappointment not to have that time to see the city on my own, but I was so relieved to have my credit cards, ID cards, cash etc. It taught me two lessons – to keep track of my things better, and to keep a stash of money, copy of my passport, and a spare credit card in my carry-on, just in case I loose everything else again.
To celebrate the wallet’s return, I treated myself to a nice dinner. With a recommendation from the front desk and an address written down on a scrap of paper, I set out to walk to the restaurant in the dwindling day’s light.
Picture windows in the discrete spot looked out over the city and I took it all in with glasses of beautiful local wines, bacalhau and the restaurant’s specialty crème Brule for dessert. I got in an argument in French with my Portuguese cab driver on the ride back to the hotel. The wine had made me feel boisterous and uninhibited enough to let the French words flow from me. We were sharing a good laugh by the time the rusty compact car rolled up the narrow street in front of the hotel.
I loved Lisbon. It is crazy, winding streets, with small shops and cafes and colorfully tiled buildings that you don’t expect to see around the next corner. It was a little chaotic and covered in graffiti and it felt gritty and real.
Traveling up the coast, I found Porto to have a vibrant party-spot atmosphere. All the big port wine distilleries along the river offer tastings and the sightseeing-slash-tasting boats go up and down the river through the center of the city. Red tiled roofs and whitewashed walls wrap narrow streets lined with balconies and a rainbow of clothes hanging out to dry on each level.
i
a quick stop in
May 2017 - Feature Destination
68 - SEVENSEAS