Portugal
A brief winter getaway
While most of the U.S. was plunging into a winter freeze, I slipped away to Lisbon for a few days. This wasn’t a beach vacation - it was 50 and rainy - but a decent reprieve from the subzero temps back home. My overseas flight landed around nine in the morning, and after another hour or two of foot and train travel, I hit the top step of the climb from the underground metro station. Transit, especially subways, is always fascinating to me, and I often go out of the way in cities that have a network, just to experience it. Not just for the novelty - we’re nearly destitute in the states - but for the technology, the utility, and the romance. I dream of living in a city where the public transit is as robust as most European cities.
The stone-tiled streets were slick with the drizzling rain and I sought my first purchase, an umbrella. I whittled away the morning hours in a cafe then, once the clouds gave reprieve, out on a massive plaza where other tourists were scattered about. This was my first time in Portugal, besides a brief stop in Porto a few years ago. I’d seen enough photos to know Lisbon was a photographer’s dream. Colorful facades, plazas and parks, locals and tourists going to and fro, history around every corner.
The city’s tucked away from the brunt of the Atlantic, overlooking the mouth of the Tagus River. Roads climb up and away from the sea, this way and that. Keeping my sense of direction was difficult. Cars would thread themselves through the narrow streets (some more like alleys), paying mind to trams, pedestrians, scooters, tuk tuks, and once, a stray trash bin. Our rental apartment was in the Alfama area, known for its hilly terrain and the number 28 tram, which we used more than once to save our legs and keep dry. The days generally revolved around finding coffee, food, and wine. We made other stops for viewpoints, vintage shopping, a 13th century cathedral, and a tattoo parlor for some fresh ink. As usual, I quickly embraced the urban Euro way of life, usually on foot and in small spaces. The physical closeness of strangers, normally a bit suffocating, became comforting.
In my day pack, I carried my Fujifilm XE-5 digital camera and my Minolta TC-1 film camera. Of course, there wasn’t the golden sun of peak season, but there were plenty of opportunities otherwise. Thanks for reading and enjoy.
Minolta TC-1 // Kodak Gold
Fujifilm XE-5
This post can also be found on my Substack.
