Lovely Lisbon: flashback entries

Lisbon (to backtrack significantly to the beginning of December... oops) was, I think, the first solo vacation I have ever taken. Naturally, I love traveling with friends or family—but this was a whole new kind of relaxation! No worries about making someone impatient with my incessant photo-snapping, no one else’s preferences to consider on food or beverage, no one wanting to go back to the hotel too early or stay out too late, no one to drag me into a chic clothing store or a cheesy tourist shop or to try to keep track of in a crowd. For the most part, I still prefer traveling with company. But Lisbon, in just a few short days, has become my getaway city, my writerly retreat, my whimsical, selfish indulgence.

Needless to say, I loved it.

Normally I organize things chronologically. Or, rarely, in a Top 10 list. But Lisbon, though relatively small, is a varied city. Each new neighborhood (bairro) has its own personality. Lisbon is roughly made up of seven hills (each basically its own bairro), most of which I was able to visit. So I’ve organized this little travelogue (should it be travelblogue?) according to the bairros, to collect my observations and recollections of each into one place rather than scattering them—well, to the seven hills.

I started part of this some time ago (as is only natural, given the whole trip was two months ago!), but it’s taken me a while to finish… and to sort through all those pictures. The next few updates will be me trying, woefully late, to catch up to myself. So to speak.