Prisoner of Hopes

Tag: Lisbon

  • Class: Travel Goals

    The Palacio Fronteira was an interesting stop on a lazy day. We are not usually guided tour fans. (We prefer a self paced visit.) So with some hesitation, we joined the guided group and entered the house of a man who was raised to nobility due his service to the king on the battlefield. The…

  • Acting Like Children: Travel Goals

    I love a good park. Parque das Nacoes was created in 1998 as the site of the Lisbon World Exposition. It is a large modern park along the banks of the Tagus. After several failed attempts to exit the Oriente metro, we eventually found our way to the central section of the park. We had…

  • Piddling At The Park: Travel Goals

    Some days you just need to piddle. I am an expert piddler. Before you get concerned, let me define piddling. To piddle is to stay busy doing nothing in particular. You set about your day doing things that catch your interest, but that are not particularly useful or productive. Piddling is best done at a…

  • Everyday Gourmet: Travel Goals

    Gourmet: high quality and/or rarity, crafted to deliver exquisite taste and presented in a pleasing fashion. Thus begins our daily adventure. We have no destination in mind other than to seek out high quality experiences and/or rarities. Our first stop is the market. I am disappointed that there aren’t a lot of stalls. We give…

  • Ado at the Zoo: Travel Goals

    I love zoos. When I was a kid, my parents would take us to the zoo for the whole day. St. Louis has a world class zoo. It is free and available to everyone in order to promote conservation and love of animals. As an adult, I still visit the St. Louis zoo as often…

  • Cinderella in Wonderland: Travel Goals

    As a little girl, I read countless fairytales. Cinderella going to a ball in a carriage made from a pumpkin requires imagination. The carriages in the Museu dos Coches are beyond imagination. I walk around the fantastical creations in disbelief. Kings and queens used these rolling masterpieces to make a grand entrance. I don’t know…

  • Hills to Climb: Travel Goals

    There is a train strike in Portugal. Any plans to venture out of Lisbon are on hold. Because we are in town for a month, we don’t feel much pressure. The day will unfold as it will. We take the metro to Restauradores and try to find Foz Palace. From the outside it looks like…

  • When Your Train is Going Nowhere: Travel Goals

    We get up early and head to the train station for a trip to the seaside. I have maps on my phone and lists of things to do. We head into Cais Sodre station and notice that the gates to the train platform are open. The trains aren’t running. A quick translation of the schedules…

  • Lost in Lisbon: Travel Goals

    We start the day with confidence as we no longer feel lost in Alfama. We don’t know all the roads but we can identify landmarks that keep us moving along the rabbit warren of streets with at least some confidence we will end up near the river and reasonably close to our destination. We even…

  • Beauty and Destruction: Travel Goals

    The Museu National do Azulejo is not much to look at from the outside. Looks can be deceiving. The inside of the museum is a treasure chest. Tiles from across Portuguese history are on display in the rooms of this former convent. Beauty awaits at every turn. Tiles in colorful scenes from the Bible line…