Fam time in Lisboa

After 2 months of living in Germany and 3 weeks of wedding related festivities with the extended family, it was nice to have 5 days with my parents and sister to debrief on everything. We arrived from Porto via a 3-hour train ride to Lisbon.

It was interesting to return to a city I already knew 7 years later. Here are my impressions from 2012. In 2012 I had to explain what AirBnb was:

For Lisbon, we decided to try airbnb.com for accomodations, wherein you pay to have someone´s apartment. It´s similar to VRBO, but the minimum stays are much less and the prices are less.  

How times have changed. We stayed in  an AirBnb in Lisbon again as AirBnb is now our default choice. Lisbon has transformed over these last 7 years. In 2012, it was in the middle of the Southern European economic crisis. While there are still abandoned buildings in Lisbon, it is much less than before and an Uber driver told me that the government plans to introduce a new measure fining owners of vacant properties. "Either live in it, or sell it" is the message. Hipsters have also flocked to the city as have startups. According to a close expert, Lisbon is the 4th most popular city for European startups after London, Berlin, and Paris. Its low cost of living must make it attractive for startups on a budget.

Electric mobility has also made its way to Lisbon, much to the dismay of my sister and dad, although we did take electric bicycles to Torre de Belem and my dad tried a scooter.

Scooters have definite drawbacks. They can clutter sidewalks if not properly managed, and they can be dangerous if scooter riders ride quickly on crowded sidewalks or ride erratically in the street with cars. However, in terms of energy efficiency as measured by energy used per meter per person, nothings beats electric scooters. They are light-weight and are powered by electric motors, which are more efficient that internal-combustion engines and more efficient than the human body. A human eating food and then riding a bike requires more energy than a solar panel charging an electric scooter.

If we can solve the safety and aesthetic problems mentioned above, electric scooters can play an important role in solving the Last Mile challenge in public transportation.

"Last mile" has also been used to describe the difficulty in getting people from a transportation hub, especially railway stations, bus depots, and ferry berths, to their final destination. When users have difficulty getting from their starting location to a transportation network, the scenario may alternatively be known as the "first mile problem." These issues are especially acute in the United States where land-use patterns have moved jobs and people to lower-density suburbs that are often not within walking distance of existing public transportation options. Therefore, transit use in these areas is often less practical. Critics claim this promotes a reliance on cars, which results in more traffic congestion, pollution, and urban sprawl.

Getting off my soap box, we had an excellent time in Lisbon. We pioneered a new travel technique that consisted of:
9 am - 1 pm: tourist activities
1pm - 2:30 pm: Lunch
2:30 pm - 6/7 pm: Relax at home, movie, siesta, painting, etc.
7pm - midnight: walk around and dinner

This schedule was necessary due to the August heat of Lisbon that was in the high 80's low 90's from 1 - 6 pm everyday.

Waterfront at sunset

View of MAAT and 25 de abril bridge. I will be back in Lisbon early October so I will take my coworkers to the Electricity Museum here. 

Electricity museum where we learned that my dad doesn't conduct electricity

Padrão dos Descobrimentos

Torre de Belem. World's longest standing sand castle. 

Walking through Alto Bairro. I got a pair of socks with clothes hanging on lines as it is quite a common site in Lisbon. 

We decided that Lisbon is the baby of San Francisco and Rio. It has 7 hills like San Francisco, trolley cars, a red bridge, startups, and fog. Like Rio everyone is speaking Portuguese and it has a Santa Teresa feel with the little alleys and architecture. All sidewalks and streets are cobbled stoned with little tiny precisely place square rocks.

Almada at sunset from the top of the elevator.

Jerónimos Monastery

Mirador Santa Luzia at sunset on our last night. 

Family time was great. Sometimes the non-moment moments are the best like playing hearts on the train or after dinner, watching our mother trying not to be amused by our father when he does his fake posh accent or some silly antic, telling my sister that we are playing lava monsters and then promptly pushing her into the lava. Everyone left this morning for 6 am flights while I slept in. Now I am on my way to my friend's wedding in Geneva and then back to Washington DC. It's a bitter sweet feeling to have a vacation ending, but I wouldn't change anything. 

The End