Where the shine wears off

There's more to a destination than what the guidebooks say. Away from gilded palaces, chic shops, and overpriced cafes is real life.

This is the typical tourist experience in Lisbon. Photo by Peter Majerle

Our first destination together will be Lisbon.

Close your eyes and picture Lisbon. I’ll bet you see a quaint trolly trundling down narrow lanes. Maybe you hear melancholic melodies spill out of a fado house and into the cobbled streets. You might even smell grilled sardines, tangy ginkgo fruit, and roasted chestnuts. It’s like living in a postcard.

This is not a postcard. This is where the real Lisbon begins. Photo by Peter Majerle

Except that nobody lives in a postcard.

I want to drink with longshoremen, gamble with Angolans, and sing with street performers. I want to take the metro to the last stop and walk home. Walk into a nameless restaurant and order something I don’t recognize. Debate old men in the park. Get lost.

I don’t want to visit Lisbon. I want to live it.

Join me on this journey.