Lisbon by night

Rua Augusta

Carcavelos

Chiado

TAP

I was that crazy about going back to Lisbon, so crazy about Portugal and anything that was Portuguese....that I even chose a route just to fly with TAP. Please don´t laugh, but I wanted to hear Portuguese again....in the airplane. I wanted to see smily faces and nice people. So, when I went to Lisbon, I stopped for a few hours in Munich - nice airport - free Internet, free hot chocolate, cappuccino, coffee, coffee with milk, tea etc etc etc. I loved it. I even forgave TAP for being one hour late - hey, it was normal :-) That day of mine was purple as a lavender. This flower has started to haunt me and I love it. The conquest of the day in the airport was a delicious Lindt chocolate with blueberries and lavender...hmmmm....useless to say how beautiful it was.

When I got back to Romania, I had to fly to Budapest - even now I cannot understand why TAP flies to Budapest and not to Bucharest!! please explain! I am sure they would make more money if they were to come directly to Romania. Anyhow....I had a BIG, lovely surprise. I have a friend who works for TAP. He asked me to give him my flight number and hour....before leaving...

I was all alone in the airplane, I was a little bit upset as I didn't find a window seat and I was sitting in the last row. I even started to cry, but kept talking to myself, hey Monica, everything is ok...everything is ok. Then a flight attendant comes to my seat and she says in Portuguese - "are you Monica?", "Yes", "you have to go to the front of the airplane and get to speak with the captain". :-)) oh yes!! I met the captain, I was there for take off and also for landing, I didn't have a window seat, but a WHOLE panoramic view. Even though my Godfather was a pilot and I remember sitting next to pilots when I was young, I didn´t realize how was it. I was invaded by a cocktail of emotions. Good ones for the beauty of flying, for seeing the sky, for getting nice, simple explanations...the bad ones I tried to ignore. I told myself then, that if I were a man, I would have definitely work as a pilot. Even now I am thinking about this. It was magic. What can I say? Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I LOVED IT! I felt so pampered. All those men wanted to offer me the best information, the best drinks and food, I even received a pack of TAP cards....I saw Budapest from above and asked if I could go back to Lisbon for free as I didn´t like the grey sky. I was missing Lisbon already. I wanted to go back. The pilots told me that they would never exchange Portugal for anything else. Neither would I. My dear Portual, I love you much and I miss you. Beijos grandes! I will be back soon. Love

Thank you to all those who met me, helped me, walked with me, took me to beautiful places, made me laugh, forget and smile and enjoy my stay in Lisbon. Thank you to all the ones who were far away but were thinking about me. :-)) I love you all! May life always offer you love and beautiful encounters.

My dear, romantic Lisbon

...at sunset....

...there is a story behind these pictures. And because I found it special, I will share it with you. I was in Alfama, Porta do Sol...., I was saying goodbye to my dear Lisbon and decided to go to Chapitô and all those beautiful places that I love, for a last sunset glimpse before leaving. I went close to the castle, and there was where I met a French guy, tourist, walking and asking in Portuguese which was the way to the castle. Of course one could tell he was French so I told him in French which way to go. Actually we asked a black guy, a guardian to an entrance to the castle, to tell us how to get there....he said ... "oh no, you are not allowed to go through this entrance as there are some archeological sites...:"....ok....we said goodbye, I walked a little bit more and then I went back to that entrance and asked the guardian-"really, can´t I get to the castle through this entrance? and he said Do you want to? Why?? I said "of course I want to...I just want to see the view...." and he looked at me and said "ok, you can go. Normally you should have a special pass because there is an archeological site....but you can go to see the view". I felt like kissing him, I was sooooooo happy, there was a silent, beautiful and gold sunset....I could hear only the sound of the wind....and I was allowed to get this view over the city-over Graça and all the beautiful, old houses. Thank you, sir. The guy was from Angola. God bless him! He really made my day. I stood there all by myself, watching, talking to the Universe, making peace in my heart.....I felt loved and blessed. Such a small thing made me so happy. Thank you!

Feira de Ladra

I love Feira de Ladra, with its relaxed "attitude", good energy and beautiful view. I love bargaining, I bought myself a pair of huge, beautiful earrings, a lovely ring (that was instantly adjusted to the size of my fingers), and to be honest I would have bought the whole place and take it with me back to Romania. This blog is about beautiful encounters, this is why that day couldn´t have missed that opportunity neither. A green, glass glass wanted to be bought (similar to the ones used in the Masonic rituals). I instantly started to think about Dan and Doris, my dear Romanian friends, crazy, beautiful souls......after less than one hour, we go to Graça - lovely Graça. I was taking pictures and instantly I feel that I see a familiar face....and there we go again.... Dan says "Moni?", I say "Dan?". Oh yes, we were bumping into each other, just like that, in the middle of the street, without any prior rendez-vous. :-)) of course, Dan was offered the nice green glass, who apparently was waiting for its owner :-), I couldn't believe it. :-)

Touristic Lisbon

Pasteis de Cerveja - authentic recipe from 1924 - just across Pasteis de Belem!

Adraga

Ayayay Adraga, as my dear Rita said, after I posted pictures on Facebook - she, ironically spending time in Bucharest, and me, being in Cascais. Adraga was a nice surprise received from a friend of mine-thank you!! I knew the beach, but was so happy to go back again. It was a beautiful late afternoon and I desperately wanted to get to swim as I felt the water of the Ocean and realized that it was warm enough to make me enjoy the swim. The only problem was that it was very agitated, there were huge waves and the life guards kept screaming at people-get out of the water, get back to the beach.

I am fascinated with water, I have always been. I feel that strong connection with it every time I am close to the Ocean. So you can imagine I had to get in. I said to myself-I am not afraid of waves (which is completely true) and I can get in. The only problem was that I didn´t realize that the waves would be that big and that I cannot just stand and wait for the wave to come and I should better swim underneath the water. The wave arrived, it grabbed me and took me with him. I panicked so badly, I was underneath the water and I thought for a moment that I would never get back and that I would die there. It was crazy, it was not that dramatic, but I felt that I lost control. I managed to get out and from that moment all I felt for the Ocean was respect - for its power and beauty - it was my lesson that I had to learn. I felt sorry that I didn´t have the courage anymore to get in. At least it was sooooo warm and beautiful. I loved my tanning day. I love you, my dear, beautiful Ocean.