A couple of hours later, I arrived in Lisbon – the city that was mutually inclusive on Abhimanyu and my circles of unvisited Euro-destinations. And today, the city the AI overlords made me visit. After checking in and a quick walk around the block, I reunited with Abhimanyu, and we wasted no time in venturing out. From this point on, I will have to be cautious about taking artistic liberties in my narration, as the content can be fact checked by someone with a razor sharp memory. Just kidding, I don’t hallucinate. Or do I?
Not too far from us was the Praca du Comercio – arguably the most popular spot in the city. It is a huge, open public plaza, right by the water, surrounded by vintage market buildings, painted in vibrant yellow – a color we would see a lot more of. The pleasant sea breeze added to that gave us the perfect setting for catching up over a gentle evening stroll. Our chitchats and gossips transcended from years to decades, while the bright golden hour sun descended into oblivion. We may have bored it with our infinite internal jokes. We were soon hungry and needed some food to fuel further conversations. The two Desis decided to try something local – i.e. the local version of Indian cuisine. We found a stereotypical international Indian restaurant with orange walls and paintings of Maharajas on elephants, bang in the prime market street. The food wasn’t bad. Maybe it was the Goa effect?
Praca du Comercio
25 April bridge in the distance over the Tagus river
The next day was the finale, and we had a packed agenda. It did not help that the fatigue had finally caught up with me. I still managed to garner energy to wake up and power through. It was not for work after all! We started off by climbing the Elevador de Santa Justa, which ChatGPT already gave you a description of. And yes, the sweeping views of the City’s hills adorned with terracotta rooftops were stunning indeed. A quick brunch later, we walked west to the Insta-worthy Rue Duarte, a narrow and steep cobblestone street with a fiery-yellow funicular rail plying up and down. We got a few shots of those, and a few of the iconic trams of the same color, clunking along the streets. Lisbon’s color scheme alone, was enough for me to start falling in love with it.
The hills of Alfama from the Elevador de Santa Justa
The old school trams of Lisbon
We did have to ditch the cozy pedestrian ‘Rua’s of the city and call an Uber to visit the nearby town of Sintra – which was home to the picturesque Palacio Nacional da Pena – a quirkily colorful-yet-regal castle atop Mount Sintra. We completed a well-paced circumambulation around the palatial premises, clicking pictures and making up presumptuous stories about its history. Considering most internet images are drones shots showing this castle precariously perched on the summit, it was a tad disappointing to see it from below. Anyway, we then visited the lively market square below for some ice cream before dashing off to the nearby Cascais beach, in pursuit of soaking up the final sunset of this trip. We sat on a platform overlooking the coastal riviera and got a chance to breathe. But not for too long as we had to catch a train back to Lisbon.
National Palace of Pena
Sintra city center
Cascais beach
We managed to find enough room to stand near the door of the crowded evening train. But we weren’t complaining as we were facing the seaside. Enroute, we caught a closer glimpse of the 25 April Bridge, which struck a resemblance to SF’s Golden Gate bridge. And on a hill behind it was a statue that looked like the Christ-redeemer. Anyway, we were back in town just past sunset, still determined to squeeze in a walk around the charming Alfama district –mainly to avoid having all-FOMO afterwards. Even in the dark, the allure was definitely evident. After walking a few of the meandering (ChatGPT already used ‘labyrinthine’) alleys, we decided to retire for the evening. We found a cute little Tapas restaurant with outdoor seating. This was a good spot to unwind with a beer, some food and well, a live stream of the Australia vs South Africa cricket world cup game! We caught the last few moments of action and saw Australia lose – the only entity in yellow that I despise. I wasn’t too worried though, as India had already qualified for the semi-finals. What could possibly go wrong?
Tapas with some cerveja
A final walk around the Rossio market area was all my legs could garner strength for. With an early morning flight to catch, it was, alas, time to declare an end to this trip. After enjoying Portugal’s city of seven hills, it was time to take the long multi-stop voyage back to Ohio’s city with the same title. There was a small sense of accomplishment, having covered so much in a crammed 3-day transatlantic trip, even at age 30. However, I must say that feeling has been slightly shaken up now, after reading ChatGPT’s imaginary version of my visit. Apparently, there is so much more to see and experience in Lisbon. This could well be a case of foreshadowing by AI and maybe there is a case for another dedicated trip to this beautiful city after all!
P.P.P.S – Should I have used DeepSeek instead?
Pravel 