portugal - Travel With A Butterfly

At first I hated her. Her dimples were lopsided on one cheek to another, she had a capricious mood where she would shed quiet tears from time to time and then be happy again, she was an inch taller than me, and her eyes were grey.

But the more you become familiar with her, the more you start to find her romantic and magical.

Her imperfections make her seem raw and wanting to be loved, a vulnerability. She’s mysterious, and wants somebody to explore her, somebody who loves her more and more because that somebody finds her edges and imperfections so… perfect.

And the more you spend time with her, the more she opens up to you. She uncovers what you always loved – food, restaurants, energy, atmosphere, gorgeous skies, nightlife, districts, exotic languages, and her elegant body.

Her name was Lisbon, or Lisboa for what her friends called her. She offered everything, from lust to everlasting. Continue reading Lisbon, That Mysterious Girl in Class

Portugal

An “Importoant” Place called Porto

ByRyan Lee

My final stop for my recent Europe trip was in Porto, a somewhat heavenly location in Portugal. Located about a little more than 3 hours north of Lisbon, Porto was evidently colder and coincidentally greyer during the weekend I was there. That said, one of my favorite areas of the entire trip was Bairro da Ribeiro and Cais da Ribeira. Bars and restaurants line adjacent with one another, all of them overlooking the magnificent Douro River that looks as if it’s been sleeping for a thousand years. I remember just sitting at Cafe do Cais and lazily observing the sunset, and thinking to myself what a surreal and delightful place this Porto was.

Continue reading An “Importoant” Place called Porto

Portugal

A Sleepy Little Town Called Faro, Sorry!

ByRyan Lee

Close your eyes and imagine what a sleepy little town would look like. Give yourself ten seconds, then open your eyes.

OK, got a clear picture in your head? I’m sure when you were thinking about the sleepy little town, it’d probably looked something like this:

A gradient sky, a gentle and calm atmosphere, where people are a few and the ripples glide through the water like a kid riding on a slide.

This is Faro, the capital of Southern Portugal’s Algarve region. I first heard about this place when an ex colleague of mine had parents who lived there, and that he would occasionally go back to visit his family. I had never been to Portugal before, but Faro’s proximity to the seaside captivated me. For those who have been following my blog posts, you know that I have an affinity towards coastal cities. Continue reading A Sleepy Little Town Called Faro, Sorry!