Lisbon it is!
Lisbon it is! After weeks of discussing where to go on holiday with one my friends, we finally agree on Lisbon. I start to make preparation but find out that there is not even a Portuguese embassy in the UAE. I need to go to the Spanish embassy instead. There are no direct flights to Portugal from the UAE either so I have to go via Amsterdam where I have a 6 hour stop. I walk around Schiphol airport and can hear multiple languages being spoken: English, Dutch, Spanish and another that sounds Eastern European. I also hear Turkish, there are quite a few Turkish staff working in the airport. I envy the way Europe has integrated itself so well, how all these nations with different identities and languages have formed this block where they interact with each other so much.
A few days before travelling, I find out that Portugal has taken over the 6 month rotating EU presidency and they have said that they will support Turkey’s membership to join the EU. I mention this to my Portuguese friend in Dubai, and he seemed disinterested, telling me not to think too much of it, “I wouldn’t expect too much from the Portuguese, they don’t get things done.”
Lisbon as a city is simply beautiful. I walked all over the city for my first two days. The architecture is attractive and varied. There are tall trees on the sides of the road to provide shading for pedestrians. I also go to Estoril a town called Estoril to the beach and the water is ice cold. I cannot even enter past my ankles and it is July, the middle of summer! Unfortunately, I left my ankles a bit too long in the water, and that night I got a fever.
The people I saw seemed to be very reserved, they aren’t very loud or animated in their behaviour. People walk around very slowly in the streets, almost dragging their feet. My friend says that it looks as if they have come out of a long war and are all very tired. I look again, and it really does seem that way. Traditional Portuguese music, Fado also reflects this. It is slow and mournful, even painful. It is similar to traditional Middle Eastern music, and indeed, it does have Moorish influences.
A few days before travelling, I find out that Portugal has taken over the 6 month rotating EU presidency and they have said that they will support Turkey’s membership to join the EU. I mention this to my Portuguese friend in Dubai, and he seemed disinterested, telling me not to think too much of it, “I wouldn’t expect too much from the Portuguese, they don’t get things done.”Lisbon as a city is simply beautiful. I walked all over the city for my first two days. The architecture is attractive and varied. There are tall trees on the sides of the road to provide shading for pedestrians. I also go to Estoril a town called Estoril to the beach and the water is ice cold. I cannot even enter past my ankles and it is July, the middle of summer! Unfortunately, I left my ankles a bit too long in the water, and that night I got a fever.
The people I saw seemed to be very reserved, they aren’t very loud or animated in their behaviour. People walk around very slowly in the streets, almost dragging their feet. My friend says that it looks as if they have come out of a long war and are all very tired. I look again, and it really does seem that way. Traditional Portuguese music, Fado also reflects this. It is slow and mournful, even painful. It is similar to traditional Middle Eastern music, and indeed, it does have Moorish influences.
posted by Resto at 10:48 PM
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