Prisoner of Hopes

Category: Perspectives

  • Of Castles and Cathedrals: Travel Goals

    Today we set out to find a castle. Castelo Sao Jorge casts a shadow over Lisbon. It is only a few blocks from our apartment (supposedly). Yet we have been in town for several days and have yet to see its walls except from afar. And in those instances it seems very, very far away.…

  • Museum Overload: Travel Goals

    Today we ride the metro for the first time. It is clean and bright. I wish for the millionth time that my city would embrace public transportation, but probably not in my lifetime. Midwesterner’s have a lifelong love affair with their automobiles that precludes discussion of public transportation options. We exit the metro station into…

  • Patron Saints and National Heroes: Travel Goals

    An afternoon visit to Sao Vicente seems to be a relaxing compliment to our morning visit to the market, so we trek back up the hill to the monastery. Tuk tuks line the area in front of the church and we carefully make our way to the entrance and pay the five euro fee. We…

  • Inside the Fiera da Ladro or How We Make Out Like A Bandit at the Thieves Market: Travel Goals

    It is Saturday morning and we make a slow start. We wander up the hill toward Sao Vicente da Fora and immediately notice an increase in pedestrian traffic. Every seems to converging in the alley that flanks the monastery. Trying hard not to be flattened by the endless parade of tuk tuks, we follow the…

  • Journey to Belem: Travel Goals

    The journey to Belem, the birthplace of Portuguese exploration, begins with a little exploration of our own. The walk through Alfama had fewer mistakes and backtracks than our walk yesterday. We celebrate our progress. It is now time to conquer the bus system. We look for the 728 bus stop and with some assistance from…

  • A Walk Through Lisbon: Travel Goals

    The air is crisp and cool when we leave the apartment. Already feeling accomplished as we finally figure out how to use the light in the stairwell and manage to find the electric release latch on the door to the street, we walk with confidence into the unknown. That is short lived. When you walk…

  • First Encounters: Travel Goals

    After a quick shower and change of clothes, we are off to enjoy the city. Well, if I am being honest, we are out walking around to keep ourselves awake. We have found that if we can stay awake the first day until evening in our new location that there is no jet lag. So…

  • Departures and Arrival: Travel Goals

    When we travel, I find that I spend a lot of mental energy playing endless versions of “how to beat the airline” in my head. It starts with trying to decide which flights to pick and which ticket options we need. I only have a few requirements: the tickets must be affordable, we need to…

  • Travel Goals

    Travel goals. Perhaps because my parents made regular vacation a priority, even when money was tight. . .perhaps because my husband loves travel as much as I do. . . Whatever the reason, a life goal of mine has been to travel the world. Little by little, my husband and I have sought experiences that…

  • Not in Kansas Anymore

    It is no secret that I love to travel. Each adventure changes me. I believe it makes me more empathetic and allows me to think more broadly than my otherwise limited experience would. I now have a great sympathy for visitors who struggle to understand our customs and strange ways of being. Even the simple…