It was the 31st of December, the last day of 2019. We took an early ride out to the Porto train station to catch the train to Lisbon. How could a trip to Portugal be complete without these two cities. Even with visits to both places, a trip is never complete, a good one should left you longing for more. Lisbon surely left that feeling, of cloudy memory, whispering “come back and see me again”.
Red Lady at the Platform
Magenta & Green Traveller
The train ride took around half a day. It was a packed ride, maybe it was because of the timing as last day of the year. Maybe, it’s less supply of routes from people staying home. I didn’t come to a conclusion in my narrow mind. We were stuck in a seat which was haunted by a rancid smell. It felt like someone partied too much on this train last night, understandable I guessed. I realised about 2 hours in that there was a cafe in the next train bogie. I went and observed, then we saved ourself from our own seat by moving to the restaurant cart. Though the seats were smaller, that cafe cart has large window panes and fresh air circulating. I was looking out of the window when a very long bridge flash through, we were almost there, Lisbon.
It was early afternoon when we arrive at the destined station. We walked out and the air was refreshing and slightly salty. The sky was clear, and we were a bit tired. We would ride to the hotel for tonight, and take it from there. After staying in a few Airbnbs earlier in the trip, it’s probably a nice change of scenery to stay in a hotel towering over Lisbon. The receptionist gave us a warm welcome then viola, as luck may have had it then, we were upgraded to the so-called room-with-a-view. The room has a windowed corner that lookout to the city of Lisbon, I was excited with the idea of camping for fireworks later tonight.
Clear Sky on Arrival
After resting and unpack some clothes, we walked out to picked our rental car. I came to find out that I made a pricey mistake. I misunderstood “Fiat (A)” for an automatic transmission small Fiat car. The rental clarified that A stands for A segment which is their cheapest. With both of us so used to automatic gear, we need to find option B. With the holiday season, option B came in a form of pricey white Alpha Romeo. “It is what it is” I thought. I didn’t want to waste a clear sky sunset, and we went over to Amoreiras, a mall with a 360 panoramic viewing lounge atop. It was a bit of a walk and both of us were getting hungry. We arrived during golden light only to find out that the viewing deck is closed for New Year’s Eve. Maybe I ran out of 2019’s luck, and need to wait for the replenished refill when 2020 arrives. For that afternoon, at least I got McDonalds.
Basílica da Estrela
What follows was a walk toward the city, the closest green pin in my Google Map. I optimised toward seeing these green pins before sunset, and to end close to a red pin (restaurant). The sky was pretty, it was a clear winter sky with splash of golden light that weakened toward magenta as time goes by. We had the last light at Basilica da Estra, a beautiful chapel that remind me of both San Francisco city hall and Bangkok’s Throne Hall. Considering how long Portugal history went back to, maybe this was the original that inspire many other cities. Since the sunset was around 5 PM, it left us a two hours slot before any restaurant opens. In Portugal, people eat late dinners, and they party longer into the night. Not a bad cultural norm.
Yellow Glow
Dinner not yet Served
We walked around the area marked as yellow in our maps, which supposed to be a so called “walking street”, but it was dead empty. Most store aren’t yet open, we slipped into a not-here-not-there state in the middle of Lisbon. I felt slightly anxious, maybe from the orange light, or maybe from hunger. I wished for a cafe that we could crash before our dinner in the are, and we ended up at a local wine bar just around the corner. It was a cozy place with 2 existing groups at the tables. It was a nice way to kill time, and drink some Portuguese wine. Later that night, my cravings were satisfied with the best steak I’ve ever had. The restaurant “Cafe de San Bento” served a classic recipe of Portuguese steak. Highly Recommended.
Not where I stayed
After a filled tummy, we went back to the hotel. My wife went to bed early, I stayed up for a bit framing my camera to Belem. I was expecting to wake up to shoot some firework. As the night goes by, the cloud creeped in, and the remaining part of our time in Lisbon were spent under the grey cloud. Since we visited during winter, and we got 8/10 days without clouds, I don’t think we can complain. It was a message from Lisbon saying “see me again in a different light”. I’ll remember that promise, and I’m hopeful to see Lisbon again, someday in the future.
Midnight Light
Next Morning’s Wake-up Call
The Pink City
1st Jan Morning Sun
Venture On
You go first Vasco
The Ocean Men
Not the Golden Gate
The Night Crowd
And I’ll be back for this Lisbon
