Lisbon

Lisbon, Lisbon, Lisbon. Words are starting to fail me. The city isn't beautiful in the traditional sense of the word, that is, there are ugly corners, debris lying around, caved in houses, piles of rubble...but all that serves to do is add to the charm that is Lisboa.

The winding maze-like streets, the cathedral, the castle, the brightly coloured houses on the hill, the coffee (oh god the coffee...I never want to leave for that sole reason) and the people. Life is a little slower here, people are less rushed and more, mellow. They take their time to appreciate things, to walk and look around, to sip their coffee and in this atmosphere I'm finding myself right at home.

I ate lunch today in this little family-run restaurant where at night they have non-professional fado - traditional Portuguese song - (more local and authentic), and there in that magical place I had the BEST sea bass ever. Honestly, that meal was heavenly. I didn't know food could be such an experience. The dessert was pear cooked in red wine and cinnamon - don't get me started on how good that was (I took pictures). And, in traditional Portuguese fashion, I spent a good 3 hours savoring it.

Basically, I love Lisbon and will thoroughly enjoy the next 2 days here. This morning I got in after a LONG train ride from Santiago, I was in Porto from 10pm until 1:30am when my train left for Lisbon. In the hopes of getting some sleep I drank half a bottle of red wine in Porto, passed out on the train, then stumbled my way to my hostel where I found a couch and slept some more, then after a shower I felt nearly human again. Sometimes train travel wears you down, certainly I've never felt so dirty as after a long train ride. That and apparently Santiago is the final stop of a pilgrimage (Le chemin de St. Jacques) and my train was full of ecstatic Russian pilgrims (complete w. guitar); clearly this did nothing to enhance the sleeping bit.

So those are my recent adventures, after Lisbon I'm off to Madrid to meet up with Bridget and party (party hard), then Barcelona (Barcelona, it was the first place that we met! Oh good ol Freddy Mercury). I'll try to post more pictures soon =)

Cheerio
Petra

PS - To all my KW folks, hopefully things are good back home...what's new with you all?