Today we took the train from Cascais into Lisbon. John and I had been to Lisbon nearly 20 years ago, and didn't leave with a super enthusiastic impression. I think part of it was that we drove into the city, it was dark and grey that afternoon, we were tired and I don't think we had actually planned to stay in Lisbon so it was a brief visit. We were also in our late 20's and I'm pretty sure that was a particularly tough time in our marriage so I'm guessing it gave us "grey" colored glasses. This time we took the train which was so easy, the station was 5 minutes from our apartment, and the last stop delivered us right into the center of Lisbon. Miraculously we managed to get there with a few mins minutes to spare, and actually all got on--I thought for sure we'd miss it and have to wait the 20 minutes for the next train. 20 minutes doesn't seem like long, but it can be LONNNNGGG, with 4 kids getting squirrelly.
It's an interesting city, I could definitely spend more time in it. It has beautiful architecture, and all of these buildings with tile faces which are amazing. At the same time, many of the buildings outside of the very immediate center, looked dilapidated and in bad need of repair. There is a ton of grafitti everywhere giving the city a gritty, raw feel and you wonder what it's like late at night. I could almost picture the city dark and crawling with thug-aspiring young adults, lurking around and leaving their spray paint signage in a dirty path behind them. It gives the city a punk feel over all, and you wonder if they embrace it because it's a little bad ass and they like it, or they are held hostage by nighttime street thugs.
It was a beautiful sunny day though, and it was bustling and fun. We strolled all around, window shopping along the little avenues, and then we came upon a wonderful little restaurant that happen to actually be open at 3:00 p.m. so we sat and had tapas and loads of good food. Two things that were fantastic...a mixed of vegetables that had been oven roasted with caraway seeds, and brushed with olive olive and finished with salt. Super amazingly delicious. Then I had a sparkling water and the waiter (who was also probably the owner) asked if I wanted a dash of ginger juice in it which was also delicious. I'm writing it down so I don't forget, it was so refreshing and delicious. We told gory stories of all the times the kids had to get stitches, or otherwise hurt themselves. In conclusion Ava has directly or indirectly caused stitches three times. We laughed, and ate a lot.
The girls and I walked into a store--can't even remember what store it was but a big box European store--and Lucia decided that she was going to find me a new dress. Well, in her humble, 14 year old opinion, I should be wearing skin tight dresses to show off my figure, "before you're old mom and can't do it." She didn't get the memo that I'm already 48 and body con dresses aren't quite as cool anymore. They forced me into a dressing room with what was a perfectly cute tank striped dress, with deep scoop, and a very body conscious fit. I tried to convince one of them to buy it. But this apparently, was "the dress" that my wardrobe was missing and the girls all said I HAD to buy it because it was so great on me. As with everything that comes out of a teens mouth, it sounded dire and absolutely necessary. Now luckily for me, the dress was only12 euros (how is that possible without employing unfair labor practices---it's definitely NOT possible.), so my leap of faith was a cheap on. I did buy it, to both quash their begging and to hold on to hope that my youth wasn't completely dead and I might be able to carry off a fitted dress like this. According to them I'll soon be "old", and by that I will read into it that I have a "few good years left" and by a few good years I am hoping they mean 50, but will be totally ok if 40 of those do not include fitted striped body con dresses.
If we had stayed in Cascais longer I would come back to Lisbon for another day, it's a great city. and we only scratched the very surface. Very hilly though, it felt like we were walking thru a European San Francisco, but it added a lot of charm. We came home and were back in our apartment around 7 p.m., giving us a bit of time to take a stroll to the beach so the littles could make sandcastles and the older kids could get gyros at a questionable gyro stand (the girls told me the guy was touching his phone, money and probably picking his nose while simultaneously cooking the food). It was a beautiful night, but it cools off quickly and by 8-9 p.m. wearing a sweatshirt is definitely comfortable because it drops to around 65 quickly.
Signed, ME {lv}
Comments