In Lisbon, the sun with light warmth, rayed down onto the amber-roofed city that waved like the sea it was adjacent to with its various elevations found in its landscape. The sky was light blue and the wind matched its tone. I sat at a café in one of those classic tight European side streets, listening to chatter of the passerby, drinking a cappuccino, and eating a nutella croissant while admiring the azulejos found on the facades under those orange roofed-buildings.
Today we were going up to Castelo de São Jorge, which overlooked the city. We walked over the white and black cobblestone that lay over the entirety of the capital and made our way up to the spectacle seen from the streets below. After trekking up windy ruas, we arrived to the queue in front of the aged-beige castle walls and waited for our bilhetes. A family sat, lying up against one of the walls and played songs in an alloy of English and Portuguese, while their white husky sat patiently in front of them, letting the sun do its thing. We paid the four euro entry fee and made our way into the Portuguese fort. Its pines of dark green with their canopies gave us brief coolness as we looked from the patio outward. The city was unequivocally beautiful from up here. The distant ports across the River Tagus revealed themselves as did the rusted-red 25 de Abril Bridge that crossed it. It mocked the Golden Gate of San Francisco. The city with all its elevations made our walk worthwhile. The white stucco and terracotta roofs glimmered in the light. We continued our stroll around the fort, until we had satisfied our palates for history and old stones.
We headed back down to O Trevo, a tiny quiet restaurant off a bustling plaza and recommended by the late Anthony Bourdain to satisfy our other palates. We ordered a couple of bifanas, sliced pork on a bread roll. They were only two euro, so we decided our budgets could afford some crisp fries and refreshing coca-colas.
We spent the next two nights in Lisbon, appreciating the totality of beauty the city welcomed us with.
