Lisbon — Our Journey — After Achievement

We left Lagos on July 29 and drove about three hours north to Lisbon.

Our driver, Francisco, was 57 and had two young children. He had retired from banking two years earlier, although his former employer would continue paying his full salary until he reached the state retirement age of 67.

We talked almost the entire drive.

He told us about his family, his father's career as a pilot, life in Portugal and places we should visit if we returned.

That last part was increasingly relevant.

By now, we weren't wondering whether we'd return to Portugal.

We were already discussing how we'd do it differently next time.

A Different Pace

We checked into the H10 Duque de Loulé, settled into our room and went walking.

We walked through Eduardo VII Park, figured out the metro and bought Zapping cards, then headed down Avenida da Liberdade toward Praça do Comércio and the Tagus River.

On the way back, we stopped at a random outdoor restaurant.

We ordered shrimp with garlic and oxtail croquettes.

Both were, according to Shirley:

"Amazing."

I recorded a slightly more restrained assessment:

"They were good."

Apparently Everything Is Awesome was still playing.

But something felt different.

Lisbon had far more people.

People seemed to be in a hurry.

There were tourists taking selfies everywhere.

After Lagos, we immediately noticed the change in pace.

We liked Lisbon.

But we missed Lagos.

That first evening we were already talking about our next trip to Portugal: travel slowly down the coast, stop in some of the towns our drivers and guides had recommended, stay in a hotel for a couple of nights, and if we liked somewhere, find a short-term rental and stay longer.

Then move on.

But get back to the Algarve.

We Can Figure This Out

The following morning we had coffee in the room and breakfast downstairs.

Then we walked over to one of the local sightseeing companies and bought three-day passes for the hop-on-hop-off buses, boat and night tour.

We got on a bus.

Got off at the river.

Took the boat.

Got back on the bus.

Returned to the hotel.

Took a nap.

Then went out for dinner.

It wasn't sophisticated travel.

And that was becoming increasingly appealing.

I found myself comparing the day with some of the elaborate private experiences that had been proposed for our upcoming Australia and New Zealand trip.

Private helicopter.

Private marine biologist.

Carefully orchestrated experiences.

This was almost the opposite.

Buy a bus pass.

See something interesting.

Get off.

Walk around.

Figure out the metro.

Find something to eat.

Take a nap if we felt like it.

Both could be wonderful.

But for that day, this was plenty.

Maybe I Don't Want to Sightsee

I also noticed something else in Lisbon.

I wasn't particularly interested in checking off museums.

I wrote:

"I feel like I'd rather explore and find a quiet place to write and think and find a fitness center than exploring museums."

I even wondered whether Lisbon was the first stop where I'd rather spend a day doing nothing than spend it sightseeing.

It wasn't that Lisbon lacked things worth seeing.

We were changing.

After nearly a month on the road, there was less urgency to make sure we experienced everything a destination offered.

We didn't need to justify being in Lisbon by seeing all of Lisbon.

We could just be in Lisbon.

A Representative Friday

Friday started with a little work.

I responded to some emails, finished and sent my mastermind topic, paid the customs duties on the Moroccan rugs we'd bought, responded to BlueSky about an investment opportunity, and answered Rhona about the New Zealand itinerary.

Then we went out.

We took another sightseeing bus and got off at the Vasco da Gama Tower.

We walked along the waterfront for about half an hour, then bought tickets to go to the top.

From the observation platform, 145 meters up, we could see across Lisbon.

Afterward, we continued walking along the waterfront to the Oceanário de Lisboa and spent almost two hours at the aquarium.

When we came out, we found a restaurant and had a light dinner.

Laura called while we were eating just to talk and give us an update.

Then we walked less than ten minutes to the metro and headed back toward the hotel.

When we emerged from the metro near our hotel, we unexpectedly found an outdoor concert happening in a park.

There were also local restaurants along the street that felt less touristy than many of the places we'd been walking through.

So we wandered.

Eventually we headed toward the hotel, stopping at a neighborhood store because Shirley wanted to find spray starch for her shirts.

And that was Friday.

Mastermind.

Moroccan rug customs duties.

New Zealand planning.

Sightseeing bus.

Waterfront.

Observation tower.

Aquarium.

Dinner.

A call from Laura.

Metro.

Random outdoor concert.

Looking for spray starch.

I ended that day's notes with:

"This is a representative Friday."

That line may capture Lisbon better than any particular attraction.

How Our Days Had Changed

Saturday morning, I looked at the clock.

11:22.

We had just finished breakfast.

Many of the hotels we'd been staying at served breakfast until 11. During the week, our Lisbon hotel stopped at 10:30, which had required us to make an effort to get downstairs around 10.

Fortunately, on weekends they served until 11.

We needed it.

I began that day's notes:

"How our days have changed."

They had.

Wake up.

Coffee.

Talk.

Write.

Eventually get ready.

Breakfast at 10 or 10:30.

Then decide what we felt like doing.

There wasn't much resemblance to the lives we'd been living only a few months earlier.

Our Last Day in Portugal

Sunday was our final full day in Lisbon and our final day in Portugal.

We practiced packing so that the following morning would go smoothly.

Then we went for a walk in the afternoon and stopped for an early dinner.

That was it.

No grand finale.

No need to squeeze in one more major attraction.

After three weeks in Portugal, we'd apparently become comfortable enough to let the last day simply be a day.

What We'll Remember

We'll remember immediately noticing how much faster Lisbon felt after Lagos.

We'll remember figuring out the metro and loading our Zapping cards.

We'll remember walking Avenida da Liberdade to the river.

We'll remember Shirley declaring another random meal "amazing."

We'll remember buying a three-day sightseeing pass rather than arranging private tours and realizing that was perfectly fine.

We'll remember the Vasco da Gama Tower and looking across the city from 145 meters up.

We'll remember spending a couple of hours at the aquarium, especially the ocean sunfish.

We'll remember coming out of the metro and accidentally finding an outdoor concert.

We'll remember stopping at a neighborhood store looking for spray starch.

We'll remember finishing breakfast at 11:22 and recognizing just how much our days had changed.

And we'll remember a Friday that somehow combined investments, Moroccan rugs, New Zealand travel planning, an observation tower, an aquarium, a call from Laura, the Lisbon metro, an outdoor concert and spray starch.

A representative Friday.