The local's tour of Lisbon

by Brian O' Connell (Ireland)

Making a local connection Portugal

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I’m walking along the narrow streets of the Barro Alto. Some of the streets are so narrow that I worry that I’m not even going to get to the end of it if it narrows anymore. God help someone with a bit of meat on their muscles! But it’s beautiful! There’s street art on very corner and despite that, I can’t help but feel that I am in a very old place. Everything is brightened by a white finish. It is a city that is at once both pristinely white and gritty. A perfect mix for the wanderer who wants to feel that there is always something to explore around every corner. For me, I feel like the rewards of exploring this city are endless. There are endless hills, that seem to keep climbing. You know that by the time you get to the top will be exhausted. But there will always be a reward a the top. Maybe a café or a restaurant that serves a cold beer. And the view is of course amazing. You can see the whole city. The view stretches out over the coastline. And it reminds of looking out onto the Atlantic from my home city – Cork. It reminds me that I am alive. There is nothing but ocean for thousands of miles. One of the highlights of speeding a few days in a European city is the variety of accommodation that is at your disposal. I had the choice of staying in many modern-looking hostels. Where the clientele is always interesting – I meet many people from all over the world. And after the customary pub crawl, we are instant friends. It is the joy of solo travelling. As much as I love the company, it is great not being tied to anyone else. As one group of friends leaves the hostel, another group arrives. One morning, after waking up with no plans for the day, I made my way down to the lobby of the hostel. I began chatting to a young Portuguese man sitting at the breakfast bar. After talking about life in Lisbon for a few minutes, he informed that he was about to take a group out on a walking tour of the city. He promised it would be like no ordinary walking tour. It felt like a great opportunity, since by talking to him, I knew that he was very intelligent and knew so much about the city. We set out from the hostel that morning. It was absolutely roasting that day, and as usual I had not checked the temperature before leaving the hostel. I was completely at the mercy of the September sun. Luckily, the other people on the tour were generous, and seeing my pale complexion quickly becoming somewhat pinkish, they took it in turns to offer me sun protection. Their kindness did not go unappreciated, and I took the opportunity to ask them what had brought them to Lisbon. Again, I was surrounded by almost all solo travellers. And I have to say, it makes such a difference. The solo traveller is definitely more inquisitive than the average tourist. We each took it in turns to quiz Luis on the various spots that he brought us too. At one point, it appeared that we had formed a very well managed queue to ask him our various points of interest. He brought us to the Barro Alto, (the old neighbourhood), and we stood in what looked like a normal square surrounded by the now familiar beige-white apartments. But there were stories to be told, and boy did Luis tell them. ….. We left the tour, each one of us fascinated. And I think the beauty of the tour was that we had more questions at the end than when we started out. Luis had certainly piqued our interests. The trip to Lisbon taught me something very important. When on holiday, find joy in meeting all the different nationalities you are lucky to spend time with. But when it comes to finding out about the city, stick to the local experts.