Originally Posted by kilgoretrout

you last heard from me in june, when i was about to leave with my girlfriend, the indominatable mlle. laine, for europe. six weeks, seven destinations, eleven plane rides: we're back. it wasn't quite a whirlwind tour, since we had about a week to soak up each place, except for lisbon.

i am preparing ten threads that i will post in august and september. this is the fifth.

KILGORE IN EUROPE :: Photo Schedule

01 -- LONDON (Part One)
02 -- PARIS (Part One)
03 -- ROME
04 -- MADRID (Part One)
05 -- PARIS (Part Two)
06 -- LISBON
07 -- MADRID (Part Two)
09 -- PARIS (Part Three)
10 -- LONDON (Part Two)

the photos in this series were taken by myself, except for those taken by mlle. laine, which are noted.


LISBON

forgive the obvious analogy, but lisbon is like a bottle of port: it tastes better after having aged in our memories. lisbon, unfortunately, was the victim of bad timing. we spent only two and a half days there at the end of our trip, so we were tired and kind of homesick. it was a weekend in the middle of the summer, which meant that the city seemed half asleep. the traditional downtown area, the baixa, gave off a rather incidental, stagnant feel, and other parts of the city were sluggish.

despite our initial disappointment, though, lisbon has grown on us. its hills, crisp nights and water views are beautiful, its food is delicious and it has an intriguing nightlife composed of tiny living-room-sized bars that sell takeaway beer. i would definitely like to go back, perhaps in the spring or fall when the city is livelier.

a note about these photos: our first full day in lisbon (a saturday) was so perplexingly quiet we spent the evening in lisbon's branch of the giant spanish department store, el corte inglès, the only place in the city that didn't feel shut down for the summer. this was bigger than any of the locations we visited in spain: it was more like a mall than a department store, complete with a multiplex cinema in the basement. on sunday, an even quieter day, we decided on a spur of the moment to hop on the train and take it to estoril, in the eastern suburbs of lisbon, which we decided to visit because of a vintage 1920s postcard advertising mild weather and beautiful beaches. lo and behold, when we arrived, it seemed as if le tout-lisbonne was hanging out along the seashore. it was one of the more memorable days of our trip.

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