{"id":276,"date":"2022-07-30T21:35:52","date_gmt":"2022-07-30T21:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/30\/first-days-in-lisbon\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T22:32:05","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T22:32:05","slug":"first-days-in-lisbon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/30\/first-days-in-lisbon\/","title":{"rendered":"First days in Lisbon"},"content":{"rendered":"

July 13, 2022<\/i><\/p>\n

Portugal is burning.<\/i><\/p>\n

Record heat marked our first days in Lisbon.\u00a0We\u2019d come to this city hoping to get lost in the narrow streets and alleys of the historic Alfama district. We\u2019d rented an apartment near a metro station in an area of the city on the outskirts of downtown. We knew we\u2019d have to walk or ride into the historic center, but the weather was not cooperating. Our first day, we had to seek refuge from the heat by late morning. The next day, we set out early, hoping to explore the Alfama before we melted into the pavement. Our first destination was a viewpoint (called a \u201cmiradouro\u201d in Portuguese) overlooking the city. We schlepped up a steep hill from the bus stop, and found ourselves looking out over the city. Trees shaded us as we marveled at the tightly packed red-tile roofs and white-washed walls of the buildings below. Further out, the river Tagus (Rio Tejo) flowed under a bridge that looks like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The bridge, I\u2019d later learn, is the\u00a025 de Abril Bridge<\/a>\u00a0built in 1966.<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/figure>\n

From after taking in the view, we wandered our way down through the narrow streets of the Aflama. Soon, I\u00a0began to sweat. After a few twists and turns, we decided to aim for a monastery, which I thought would be a blissfully cool building to explore. The entrance stood at the back of a courtyard.<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/figure>\n

At first, the shade of the courtyard, a stone fountain, and water canals around the perimeter drew me in. I imagined sitting on the bench with cool water flowing behind me, the sounds of the people and cars outside fading behind the tall stone walls.No sooner had I sat on a bench than I realized that the canals had no water and the fountain too was dry. Having these features without water made me feel hotter than if they hadn\u2019t been there at all. This wouldn\u2019t be the respite I\u2019d imagined.<\/p>\n

Hoping for cooler temperatures, I entered the sliding glass doors of the monastery. But, alas, there was no air-conditioning in the entryway and the stone building didn\u2019t keep the interior much cooler than outside. By this time, I was hungry and beyond hot. In the sweltering heat, I couldn\u2019t even pause to consider the significance of the historic building or follow my curiosity about the Azul tiles inside. We\u2019d talked of spending the afternoon at the beach, and now allI could think of was\u00a0cool water and ocean breezes. We abandoned our valiant attempts to marvel at the historic center of Lisbon, wound our way out of the Alfama, and found a ride-share to a beach resort on Costa da Caparica.<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/figure>\n

Our Airbnb host had recommended a resort called\u00a0Borda D\u2019Agua<\/a>.\u00a0We arrived so happy to see a breezy restaurant on the sand with thatched-roof umbrellas and chairs to rent. We ordered lunch (a salmon salad for me) and spent a blessed hour or so in the cool restaurant. Later, from rented lounge chairs,\u00a0we basked in the breeze and ran across the scorching hot sand to the cold water.<\/p>\n

What we didn\u2019t know was that all around us, Portugal was burning. The small country was currently battling\u00a0272 wildfires. Towns to the south of us were reporting\u00a0the most extreme heat ever recorded in Portugal (47 degrees Celsius, 117 Fahrenheit). The government had declared a state of emergency.<\/p>\n

At the beach, we knew none of this. We\u2019d heard about some fires, but hadn\u2019t seen any evidence of them until our train trip\u00a0back to Lisbon. From our air-conditioned train car, we saw a pillowy plume of smoke rising from the distant horizon. Wanting to know more, I searched online when we returned to our apartment. \u00a0There, I learned about people dying from the heat, fires sapping emergency management resources all over the country, and everyone prohibited from entering any forests for any reason. Portugal was burning.<\/p>\n

I wondered if we\u2019d\u00a0chosen the exact wrong time to visit Portugal. We knew it\u2019d be hot, but not like this. Would we spend our entire vacation indoors without seeing or experiencing the wonders of Portugal? Sure, I\u2019d wanted some time on the beach during our trip, but not the entire two weeks. Soon, we\u2019d be heading to Porto where it sounded like temperatures would be somewhat lower. I crossed my fingers, hoping this would be true.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

July 13, 2022 Portugal is burning. Record heat marked our first days in Lisbon.\u00a0We\u2019d come to this city hoping to get lost in the narrow streets and alleys of the historic Alfama district. 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Record heat marked our first days in Lisbon.\u00a0We\u2019d come to this city hoping to get lost in the narrow streets and alleys of the historic Alfama district. We\u2019d rented...","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":275,"url":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/2022\/08\/01\/last-days-in-lisbon\/","url_meta":{"origin":276,"position":0},"title":"Last days in Lisbon","author":"Monica Williams","date":"August 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"July 24, 2022 Sintra, Portugal A few steps into the cave: darkness.\u00a0I couldn\u2019t tell the difference between eyes open or closed.\u00a0Silence pressed upon my ears. I smelled dampness. Reaching overhead, I felt the cool stone ceiling. Reaching out right and left, my hands meet ruddy stone walls. 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And still, gliding off the chairlift, their cottony down presence pulled me toward the ridge. Thick whiteness filled the valley below. 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Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing Ever a child can do! 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I\u2019m riding the Aurora Winter Train for the 12-hour trip from Fairbanks to Anchorage.My traveling companion has also joined me. We\u2019ve found our seats, and I watch the other passengers board.\u00a0\u201cHave you seen any bears?\u201d a woman asks\u00a0a couple sitting a few rows ahead of and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/category\/travel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":657,"url":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/23\/birthday-letter-2007-i-wanted-us-to-be-parents\/","url_meta":{"origin":276,"position":4},"title":"Birthday Letter, 2007: I wanted us to be parents","author":"Monica Williams","date":"April 23, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"On a second reading, I found, tucked near the end of the first handwritten page, two lines that prickled with the static of a new dilemma. Sixteen years ago, this new problem threatened to end our five-and-a-half-year marriage, but I'd written only those two lines.","rel":"","context":"In "Essay"","block_context":{"text":"Essay","link":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/category\/essay\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monicajwilliams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Kenai-fjords-boat.jpeg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monicajwilliams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Kenai-fjords-boat.jpeg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monicajwilliams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Kenai-fjords-boat.jpeg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":281,"url":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/2021\/08\/24\/alaska-day-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":276,"position":5},"title":"Alaska, Day 6","author":"Monica Williams","date":"August 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Scene: A coffee shop called\u00a0Resurrect Art and Coffee. I sit in a leather armchair, finally warm after a damp day. Wood shelves lined the walls, and they were filled with all sorts of local creative works: paintings, greeting cards (my downfall), jewelry, used books, and even a small line of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/category\/travel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monicajwilliams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/660367305722773504_0.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monicajwilliams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/660367305722773504_0.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monicajwilliams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/660367305722773504_0.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monicajwilliams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/660367305722773504_0.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monicajwilliams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/660367305722773504_0.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":415,"href":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276\/revisions\/415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monicajwilliams.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}