Ode to Lisbon and a Friend
If you would have told me two years ago that I would be living in Lisbon in one of the most beautiful apartments I’ve ever seen I would have said noo that can’t be true. See I always thought I would be moving out of Portugal as soon as I finished my bachelor, even before that, I dreamt of studying somewhere else.
It might have been the love for travelling, which I have been doing with my parents ever since I was born, or just the thought of starting a new life somewhere new, that made me become a wanderluster. This brings me to the start of this blog. Almost four months after moving out of my parents, this is what I can tell you: I have become more independent; discovered new places; made new friends; fell in love; had my heart broken; and fell in love again for the city, the people and for myself.
It all started when I met this Italian girl in a small corner of Mouraria. There I was, a lost soul looking for a bedroom in the city and ended up with a great friend. Fast forward two months and we eventually moved in together to our so called home. Now she’s off in Italy and I’m still here. It’s hard to miss the smell of sardines in Lisbon during the summer. While last year I went for the traditional side of the summer parties (with old music and dancing), this time it was anything but traditional. Intendente is slowly becoming the go to place in Lisbon for independent parties and that’s where I was on the 13th of June, eating vegetarian food, dancing with my friends and struglling to find a bathroom (why do boys have it easy on this one?!). Most nights there isn’t any plan, we go wherever we feel like with whomever we want. Whether it is a night in bairro drinking one of the best Mojito’s in town (once you find it you won’t go back), ending by the river with our thoughts or playing dirty charades on my attic (yes I have an attic, how lucky am I?). I came to conclusion that as long as you feel like yourself with the people you’re with, then that’s where you should be. I’m not gonna lie, not everything is easy. There were days were I had to battle with anxiety, the rent was late and there wasn’t anyone there to help me. I started meditating to get away from my issues and just focus on relaxing. This was extremely hard at a time where I closed my eyes and it felt like everything was hitting me, I couldn’t do it, not on those days…Instead, I woke up early and ran by the river with my music and try to forget all about it.
The good thing about having roomates (good ones at least) is that you get to talk with someone at the end of the day and I couldn’ have asked for anyone better than Elisa and Manuela. Two ladies that I hope will always be a part of my life! Those brunches in the middle of the week on our terrace will always be one of the best memories I’ll cherish from this apartment. We always try to capture moments with our phones and cameras, but there are those ones that simply escape us. Whether our phone ran out of battery or we don’t think it’s important… It was on one of those moments that I met Nick, the oddly blond character that I met at a bar in Lisbon, who is now my boyfriend. After a high dose of caffeine from Starbucks I got home wanting to do something out of my day, so having heard of Meetup before, which fyi is not a dating website, I headed to Foxtrot, a nicely decorated bar around Príncipe Real.
Since then I’ve quit my previous job, started my own project to figure out what I would like to do, created my own meetup group (Lisbon Cinephiles Club), went on a TV show and decided to start this blog. In Lisbon I feel both like a local and a tourist. I know where to go for a nice cup of coffee, but I also know that the best Portuguese food is cooked at home, so I save up my restaurant visits for illegal Chinese restaurants and gourmet burguers. If you’re looking for a place to sit down in Lisbon just find the closest viewpoint, I recommend the one in Graça!
I’ve done so many things as obligations, this year I want to do something for me, so here it is City Odes, a blog for all the wanderlusters that like to explore the world like me.
