Bem-vindo a Lisboa

So today, the time has come to see the capital. I couldn’t leave this country without seeing Lisbon. Just see the newly uploaded pics to realize how beautiful the city is. I went there on my own. That’s actually the best way to explore the city. Ok, it’s not the best way in general (you may miss a lot of places without having a person who knows them very well) but the best only for me :) I just love wandering across the city with no destination. Alone – with my camera only. Taking the streets that I like, with no other criteria whatsoever. No rush – I feel like the time is on my side.

So I took the bus from Leiria (a city between Lisbon and Porto where I’m staying and where Catarina comes from) to Lisbon. It took almost 2 hours. When I arrived I actually didn’t know what to do. I had no guidebook, city plan or even no instructions where to go. That was even more exciting. I discovered that there was a metro station next to bus station so I went there. To my surprise I realized how much Portuguese I could understand from the metro guide hung on the wall just next to gates to the platform. Knowledge of English, French and the general understanding of the functioning of public transportation :) made it easy for me to learn how Lisbon metro works and which ticket I should buy. I arrived in a really beautiful place where the charming streets with old wooden trams seduced me and my camera :) I was wandering downtown and later near the castle of St. Jorge. Then I went to EXPO ’98 site to taste other part of the capital. Afterwards it got dark but I still managed to see Belem and then was back in the downtown where I was having some random walk until I got back to the bus station and went back to Leiria.

That’s the cultural experience that I do enjoy a lot. Sightseeing cities, taking thousands of pics, having coffee or walking in the most famous places. Recently, I have been complaining a bit about my Morocco to the extent that my friend asked me what I was still doing there if I didn’t enjoy anything (she mentioned culture too). Then I started to think. Don’t I enjoy the culture or even the country?

Let’s summarize then! What I don’t enjoy (or it’s not important for me to experience):
-the local food – I’m very picky so I always want to eat what I already know. Mc Donald’s is the best choice sometimes (I know – it’s politically incorrect but I love the food from Mc Donald’s – feel free to hate me, I just love it and I’m proud to admit it loudly :) ),
-tradition, religion (e.g. Ramadan or some feasts) – just doesn’t appeal to me… what can I do about it? You’ve maybe noticed that – I barely write about the tradition,
-the countryside – well, I can go there for a while but I’m quickly bored,
-the traditional part of the cities (like medinas in Morocco) – I enjoyed it the first time but later it was too tiring and annoying,
-interacting with the locals, being invited by them – I was trying this many times but I always feel uncomfortable being invited by a random person (even if I know it’s part of the culture and it’s 100% safe). I just feel uncomfortable, unsafe and I’m thinking of escaping as soon as possible,
-shopping – maybe I don’t enjoy because I don’t have money, maybe the local products are just not interesting. I’m not a shopping person anyway,
-music, dances or movies – it’s hard to raise my interest by these pieces of culture (Bollywood music and movies are exception though but it’s rather a coincidence),

Then what do I enjoy?:

-as described above - the sightseeing of the famous or charming places in some big cities,
-having a lunch (not traditional of course :) ) or a coffee in a famous place or street (not a traditional place like e.g. medina),
-having conversation with the cool people (some locals or internationals – doesn’t matter) about some interesting (from my perspective) topics,
-experiencing the urban lifestyle (night life included) and all that is connected to luxury (I wish I could afford it! – in such cases I don’t mind being invited :) ),
-taking the metro – I know it sounds stupid but I really enjoy it! Probably because metro is such an urban invention – sort of a symbol of a city,
-the architecture – my love to the architecture has been present all my life.

So now you see how to make me happy and how to avoid making me unhappy :)

Another issue - I wrote a few times about Morocco you can easily see the division between traditional Morocco and the modern one and you can pick each of them whenever you want. Recently, I’ve been picking only the modern one – I enjoy it much more. For the traditional part I don’t mind seeing it but not more than once. A good example is Fez – a very traditional-looking city in Morocco. I really enjoyed it the first time I was there. Later, I was there at least 4 times more (to play the role of a guide for my parents, to receive someone at the airport or to arrive from France etc) and each time I was praying to leave soon. After seeing the traditional Fez once I was done with it forever. There is nothing more that I could see there or that could entertain me. The modern parts of Morocco (like Agdal in Rabat with my favorite café Bert’s) always appeal to me and I can spend there a lot of time always. There are still a lot of places in Morocco that are famous and considered by me as traditional. I do want to see them but not more than once.

Another interesting (and shocking) discovery about myself. I don’t have the need to explore any other cultures deeply. If you know the iceberg model of culture I can tell you that it’s enough for me to explore the visible top (shame on me most of you would say, wouldn’t you?). I don’t have to know what is under the water. The first days of being in a new country are always exciting for me. The more you stay the more negative things you realize. So I prefer to stay short enough not to discover them and to keep the positive image of the place. Even if it’s not true, even if it’s fake. That’s why I don’t want to live in any other country before I settle down (and settling down will be soon I hope). I want the next country to be the last one for me (however, maybe not PL). I love traveling and I will be doing this for all my life. I will explore many countries but I won’t stay in any of them too long in order to see the exciting part only – without the boringm daily routine that keeps catching me in Morocco more and more. Just the top of the iceberg as it must be like with the wedding cake I guess – the top is the most delicious part ;) Well, maybe the only place I want to taste as my home for couple of months is New York but this is an exception.

So what do you think about my all these politically incorrect conclusions of mine? :)