Olá Lisbon!

It is the end of a very long weekend, but also the end of my first day in Lisbon, Portugal! The confluence of travel, time change, poor sleep and so on has led to a fuzzy brain and a malaise. So it goes. I still got around and saw as much as my fatigued self could handle before and after getting settled into my Airbnb.

I made some changes to this site after the first post and Instagram is now integrated. I am hoping to post photo highlights on Instagram throughout the days. There is a feed on the left if you are on a computer, but you likely won't see it if you are on a mobile device. My Instagram profile is public for now if you want to check it out.

If you want to see unedited photos from my iPhone camera roll, sans any context, feel free to peruse my iCloud shared album. Expect randomness that includes landmarks, scenic views, foods, unique cars, motorcycles, street art and other things that amuse me.

My first impressions are that Lisbon is amazing, the weather was perfect today, and my Airbnb is near perfect. I am staying in the oldest part of the city, Alfama, which is the only area of Lisbon to survive the earthquake of 1755. I re-read this today to compare to my experience so far and it seems spot on. It isn't a showpiece, it is a place where people live and have consistently lived for centuries. Alfama has charm, grit, beauty, and many rocky, narrow, steep paths.

One quick bit of advice. If you ever find yourself somewhere with luggage that you want to shed so you can move more freely, check out Luggage Hero. I went on the site, found a location, made an immediate reservation, walked in and dropped off my main bag. This made getting around much easier for a few hours before I could check in to my Airbnb. I believe it was checked for 3-4 hours and I paid €5,00. I gave the guy a €2,00 tip because I thought it was a great deal, appreciated him working through the language barrier and want an ally if I want or need anything from his shop later in the trip. Also, I had a €2,00 coin in my pocket.

Hey! I wrote a second post and you just read it. This is going alright.