LIsbon, in all it's glory
To capture my day in Lisbon requires I capture the essence of Lisbon in words, and I am quite sure that will prove impossible. Messy, chaotic, disorganized, to start. I was pretty sure I didn't like her very much. The old city is a labyrinth of tiny alleyways, staircases, and streets merging in complete chaos with no way to find a pattern to follow. It's color and music and crowds on the streets, in doorways, in window sills. It's cars and people and outdoor cafes and buses and tuk tuks and cable cars vying for space barely wide enough to fit one of us, much less all. The more modern parts of town are all of the above except with more spaciousness and much wider avenues.
It's the exact opposite of the Camino de Santiago where the path unfolded in a neat and organized way with guideposts constantly giving clear direction. Navigating this city with gps and map and any other form of directional compass seemed to make matters worse. There was no way to follow, no way to trust my directional prowess, no way to believe I knew where I was. This city showed me who was in charge every step of the way.
Lisbon won, and eventually won my heart as well. I gave up trying and surrendered completely into being lost in her chaotic beauty and just wandered with complete abandon, camera in hand, as she twisted and turned my path every which way. I was lost in her magic and eventually, as reward for my obedience I am sure, she led me to every place I had a desire to experience, and gave me so much more.
I am happy to report the hood is becoming quite familiar now, I can easily find my way home, and even the old ladies sitting in their windows are greeting me and including me in their conversations. I only understand about 1 word in 12 yet we all have a good laugh. The streets are once again setting up for their big celebratory festival with constant guidance being yelled from above. It's a very impressive city wide street party that is clearly organized very locally as each narrow alleyway is serving up their own booths with their very homemade goodies.
Seriously, this city is something else.
