Somebody once said that the deepest conversations between friends take place in total silence, and Lisbon is a true expert in silence.
The portuguese tranqüilidade is probably one of the traits that differentiate Portuguese from their neighbors to the east. Lisbon is a city to experience slowly. Here, the streets seem to be frozen in time, whispering soft lamentations to the ear of those who walk them. Seville dances happily, Lisbon cries like a fado song.
I got to Lisbon with the hope of falling in love with the city. It was my second solo travel to the city. The first time had been a few years back and I cannot say that I even got to like the place. I was determined to wash that “meh” taste from my mouth once and for all.
With this journey, let’s call it a journey rather than a trip, I discovered that cities need to be visited at the precise right time and that the right moment does not depend on them but on yourself, on how you’re willing to take them in. Lisbon will take you as you are. Visiting it before you’re ready is a waste of time.
I got there mid August, the sun was a strong as it can be at that time and Lisbon’s infamous hills meant sweat and huge amounts of effort.
Fortunately, locals and tourists alike decided the weather was perfect to go to the beach and I had the city to myself, to enjoy some tranqüilidade, to listen to my own thoughts and being able to understand what I had to say to myself without the interruptions. I will try to stay away from the “I found myself” cliché, so I’ll just say that I found peace.
I ended up discovering a city that not only did it change the perception I had about it, but also managed to change the perception I had about myself.
In my frantic world, that is fed by stress and Red Bull, Lisbon is like an endorphin shot in the most ironic way. After all, how can a city quintessentially defined as “melancholic” bring you happiness?
I hope to find an answer to this rambling on my next visits to the city. Because all good things come in threes and because you eventually start getting into the drugs that make you happy.
