Yes, you guessed it! The writeup above was generated by none other than ChatGPT. Having kept my post-pandemic travel relatively low, I had run out of inspiration to write. Add to that rampant spread of mainstream travel content creators on social media – with every Tom Dick & Marry having their own channel, with videos from Bali to Balochistan. And blogging about some walkable European city, accessible to me thanks to my travel privileges, felt a tad repetitive. So, I thought, why not have this transformer agent transform my blogs. I prompted it to read through my posts and pick any city to write about, in my style.
Turns out, it didn’t think too far and picked Lisbon – a city I happened to visit. Hence, why not present my firsthand account as well? And so, if you have stuck along this far, reading the artificial tale from ‘Chat-Jee-Prady’, what’s a few more paragraphs of the real “Pravel” story!
P.P.S – I have to say the AI really went overboard with the romanticized descriptions. Or did it? Do I actually write like that? Also, did you really think my story would be that short?
& yes, that image is also AI generated – Go Adobe Firefly!
This trip was undertaken on the July 4th weekend of 2019 – back when energy levels were higher but vacations and WFHs were lower. So much so that I decided to squeeze in 2 cities within a long weekend. The main purpose was to meet my childhood buddy Abhimanyu at Lisbon, after multiple missed opportunities in the preceding years.
The journey began in the city of Porto, where I landed on a warm overcast morning. I took the streetcar into the city and checked into my hotel. After a quick shower and a cup of delicious European coffee, I was up and about, ready to begin exploring. Believe it or not, there was no rest involved. One of the best things I had discovered from my previous visits to Europe, were free walking tours – which are a great way to explore the city with a group, guided by a local volunteer. I quickly checked a popular site and found one for that afternoon.
Now, if this was one of those travel influencer vlogs, I would have made a nice little plug for that website at this point and told you how friendly their team is. And then I would have endorsed a new organic skincare product and a VPN app to use while traveling. Okay, maybe the skincare company wouldn’t have signed me up. I digress! But seriously, I cannot stress how much the travel content has blown out of proportion on social media.
See, the AI agent part would have probably not generated this rant!
Anyway, the tour began at the UNESCO heritage Sao Bento station, which has a rather elegant hall covered with azure tile murals. Whether the trains originating from here were as nice, would be found out the next day. The tour continued through the curving, narrow streets of Porto, covering historic monuments and marketplaces, whilst also offering stunning views of the unique hilly terrain of the city with beautiful architecture not only all around, but over and under my eyeline too. The tour ended atop the Porto Cathedral, with our spirited guide narrating stories about António de Oliveira Salazar and his influence on Portugal.
Sao Bento Station
The hilly cityscape of Porto
While we touched a good part of Porto’s inland marvels, there was one point that was not in the tour itinerary. A point that I just about caught a glimpse of earlier. A point that made me and thousands of other tourists want to visit this rather underrated city. After stopping for a quick snack, I swiftly strode towards the iconic Ponte Luis I – a magnanimous steel bridge, which features in almost every poster of Porto. This is a towering structure across a gorge with the Duoro river flowing underneath and adding to the charm of this sight are thousands of orange tile roofed houses, decorated all over the hills.
I directly went to the upper level of the bridge, which was for pedestrians and the sleek yellow streetcars. The lower level was fittingly meant for the lower form of transportation – cars. I slowly walked across the span, absorbing the beauty of the stunning landscape along the river that snaked into the sea, far in the horizon, which was manned by the sun, ready to end its shift and set into the sea. And I absolutely wanted to capture that moment, from the exact tourist trap spot doing the rounds in social media. So, I climbed the stairs on the other side of the bridge, to reach the Jardim do Morro hilltop garden. I was sweaty and out of breath, but I got those gorgeous sunset shots of the vista. My own selfie though was tarnished by the effects of July’s humidity.
The Duoro river flowing under the Luis I Bridge
I spent the twilight enjoying a hearty dinner with a glass of Porto’s namesake Port Wine. I was grateful to my tour guide, who’s story about British tradesmen accidentally discovering this rich sweet wine ultimately reminded me to get one. Overall, this was a uniquely European experience, hard to replicate in USA – no need for reservations, no need to drive 20 miles to a shabby strip mall with 2 outdoor seats facing the parking lot full of idling cars zooming past – Simply pick a place when hungry, sit back, relax and enjoy fresh delicacies, with a view of the beautiful settlement slowly light up, as darkness invades dusk. It was getting late though, and I needed to get back to my hotel to respect my jetlag. As I got one final glimpse of the bridge, to my dismay I heard the Bollywood number “Aankh Maare” from Simmba, blaring from a loudspeaker – only to find a bunch of kids dancing wildly on the banks. Perhaps not a part of Porto’s ancient heritage!
Dine & Wine with a view
Shimmering at night
The next morning, I power walked my way to steal another peek at the bridge from a new point with different lighting. I saw what lay on the other side, but more importantly I got non-sweaty picture of myself. I also sighted a couple of other attractions enroute the train station. I had reserved a seat on the Alfa-Pendular train – Portugal’s high-speed rail – which uses a self-tilting mechanism to navigate hilly and curvy terrains. This model was infamous for its inaugural run, when it got stuck at a tilted position with journalists onboard. I had previously ridden this trainset in Switzerland and felt a bit dizzy. Not sure what I was thinking while booking this again, because this ride was no different. But it was relatively short and most of the journey wasn’t all that scenic. I may have dozed off for a bit, despite this being a rare rail ride, in my car-dependent midwest American life.
The other side that no one shows
Alfa Pendicular High Speed Rail
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Pravel 