Photo Essay: Strolling Through Lisbon

I arrived in Lisbon without a sure idea of what I was going to get out of it. Every country I visit leaves me with a lingering new sense of my place in the world, each one creates a new perspective that shapes my understanding of myself. But Portugal is one of the only places I've visited that was a complete mystery to me before I arrived, and even more of an enigma once I left.

Several years earlier, I had spent a semester studying abroad in Barcelona. I expected to see Spain seeping through every crack of Lisbon's winding streets and small pastry shops, but the country, although impenetrably European, maintains it's own unique (albeit, somewhat vague) personality, like a rebellious child in a suburban high school.

Lisbon is a city of contrasts. The vibrant tiles contrast starkly with the old charm of run-down buildings and dark cobblestoned streets. The people are boastful of their country's history, but not imposing or cocky. Humbled by slower influx of tourists than its neighboring countries, Lisbon carries on without putting on a show. Daily life unfolds like a buffet of nuances. Its beauty is subtle and kept to itself like a secret, but if you go slightly off the beaten track, you'll be surprised at what you find here.

Strolling through the city, I was taken by its simple beauty; old cast iron lanterns dangled from bright yellow archways, tattered clothes hung delicately across old brick walls, people walked down small sidewalks as wide as one's foot, teenagers kissed in the middle of the street, a butcher carried an entire quadrant of a cow to his shop behind a gritty old door... Not the usual sightseeing one might plan to do while in a European city, but it is the regular activities of Lisbon that are most intriguing to watch.

Lisbon is a city that doesn't try too hard; the food is as rich and hearty as the culture, the city as beautiful as its past, and the people as colorful and welcoming as the tile-adorned buildings. While the Portuguese might walk with an air of pride, what they don't have is attitude. Like a sweet sip of aged port wine at the end of the night, I found the city to be quite serene, and oddly refreshing.