Reflections on Portugal // May 2023
I knew I wanted to do something “Shawnie” for my 40th birthday. Something that I really loved and was reflective of who I am. Of course that meant traveling with women. My sister and childhood friend Ali were kind enough to join me in Portugal for a few nights of epic food, sunshine and lots of laughs. Here are a few highlights
The view of Lisbon from the neighborhood of Alfalma
Lisbon is a super walkable city that was easy to navigate with excellent public transportation. Pro tip: Be sure to bring good walking shoes and carry water with you. I wore Birkenstock sandals or Vans. The city is hilly AF and totally worth the climb and switchback of sidewalks for the epic views.
Lisbon
My sister Michele and I arrived from Boston via a red-eye flight on Thursday at 6:30 am local time. We took the metro to the station closest to our accommodations and stored our bags in a locker. I love this option in Europe…there was no way we could have carried our stuff around until 3:00 pm when our Air bnb was read. Let’s normalize train station storage lockers in the USA please!
Without the hassle of our luggage we strolled through empty streets before getting espresso and pastel de nata…the most delicious and tasty Portuguese treat. And yes, I had 3 in the 1st 24 hours in the city. With the boost of sugar and caffeine, we met up with Guru Walk, a free walking tour. For the next 4 hours, or awesome guide, Bruno showed us the sights, sounds and history of Lisbon. I’ve done these walking tours in 8+ cities across several continents and I find them a lovely way to get a lay of the land. I often start with them on the day of arrival so I’m more aware of my surroundings and what to do later in the trip.
By afternoon, we met up with Ali who was traveling from San Francisco. We checked into our fantastic Airbnb, got food at a local market and set off exploring. Michele and Ali are both experienced travelers / city-dwellers so it felt easy to scoot around town with them, even if we didn’t really know where we were going. English was widely spoken and our broken Portuguese was (mostly) politely excused.
By far the highlight our our time in Lisbon was the epic dinner at Arkhe, a vegan / vegetarian Michelin restaurant. The Chef’s Menu was outstanding, the food was art! The whole vibe was incredible and I would include this as a “must do” for any future trips to Lisbon.
Sintra, a short train ride from Lisbon
Castles, castles and more castles. With fantastic view all the way to the coast
Sintra
We almost didn’t go to Sintra. We slept in that morning and didn’t have a solid plan for the day. I actually loved not planning the day because it’s so opposite to what I normally do. With a train > uber > tuk tuk > metro back to Lisbon we joked that we took nearly every form of transportation to get there and back. Which was totally part of the fun. The castles were busy with long lines so we actually spent more time walking around the grounds. We had packed a big lunch of were happy to sit at the top of a lookout and enjoy our snacks. We explored a bit in town and really loved being outside. The trees, lakes and garden were so diverse that we forgot how close we were to the city. How interesting to be in an area and imagine the lives of the inhabitants there from the past few hundred years.
Cascais, a beach town for locals as well as tourists.
The wave design (alllll those little cobblestones!) on the streets were super cool!
Cascais
After city and castle explorations, we were happy to spend our last full day of the trip at the beach. Cascais is a 45 mins train ride south west of Lisbon and this day we were better prepared. We got up earlier, prepped our snacks and took the train with surfers, families and couples to the charming beach time. We watched groups of men play a mix of volleyball + soccer. There was a net and the ball was volleyed back and forth but the players couldn’t use their hands. I randomly cheered at a good play and giggled as the yelling in Portuguese sounded much better than yelling in English. We dipped in the freezing cold water which left out legs numbs and heads dizzy on the walk back to shore. We had the BEST vegan donuts and ice cream at Scoop ‘n Dough before heading back to Lisbon.
The most important things I learned while on this trip:
Planned for the unplanned - Sometimes the unplanned days / hours are the best, with the most enjoyable moments. The view from the top of a hill with the feeling of your heart racing in your chest. The smells of a cafe down the street. The bright pop of color from the flowers and tiles. The breeze blowing through an open window at the Golden Hour while reading a book. I intentionally tried to plan less this trip. I didn’t book all the tours, tickets, events like I normally would. I wanted to flow with the day. It was an act of trust, of patience and of getting out of my own way to let the magic flow. Be open to possibilities.
Less is more - I originally invited 20+ women on this trip. I wanted a rager, I wanted a big turnout. If I could be really honest, I wanted to be surrounded by women who loved me to demonstrate by worthiness as a friend. Turns out, between work, school, kids, family, money and the usual reasons someone gives when they say “no”, only 2 woman could join me. And that was perfect. In the beginning of the planning process I said, “whoever is supposed to be there will be there.” And that’s who showed up. To have more than 4 people would have been a huge pain, longer lines, slower on public transportation, trouble getting reservations. Turns out, not every event has to be huge and packed to the gills with people. Putting this in writing now to remind my future self.
Laughter is the best medicine - We laughed a lot on trip. In large part because both Ali and Michele are funny and creative women. At one point Ali said, “It feels like I have a front row seat to the Slotke Sisters show!” (Which, would be a darn good show…especially with Michele as the writer) How good does it feel to be laughing about European attire, language barriers and accents, misplaced metro cards, people we used to date, and yes, childhood trauma and how weird our parents are. So good, so needed. Laughter is so important.
Take the trip - Even if it’s not the trip you imagined, not the trip you think you want, make it happen… it will be the trip you need. I didn’t poll my friends to see when they could travel or where they wanted to go. I said, “I’m going to Portugal May 20th weekend and I’d love for you to join me. If you can’t, bummer, I’ll miss you. If you can come, we’ll have a blast.” By living life on my terms I started my 40’s just the way I wanted to. Travel is a big part of who I am, my identity of being curious and my and love for exploration. The push out of the comfort zone, the return home to myself. Get out there!