After years of wanting to live abroad, I finally found the opportunity to work remotely from Lisbon for a couple of months. Although it was very difficult because of work and covid, as soon as I finished my first two Professional Level ACA exams, I hopped on my first flight in months, bound for Lisbon.
I am Portuguese and have spent a lot of time in Portugal, so to an extent I knew what to expect. I had been looking forward to the lack of hay fever, mosquitos, and rain, and was very excited to practice my Portuguese and eat delicious food, but some things I wasn't expecting about Lisbon include the abundance of dealers and French people and how expensive cherries are!
How I made friends
Although I have some family and friends in Portugal, few of them live in Lisbon and I wanted to use this opportunity to meet new people and create a new (albeit, temporary) life. The question I get asked the most is: how did you make friends in Lisbon? Although I had planned to use Meet Up to meet new people if need be, it wasn't necessary in the end. As soon as I arrived in the city, I went on a free walking tour, which I'd strongly recommend as a great way to find your bearings around a city and learn a bit of the city's history. Lisbon is filled with history and culture and not only did I learn a lot throughout the tour (including about the Revolution of Carnations, the Inquisition, and the Lisbon Massacre), but it was also here that I met my first friends - two Brazilian girls whom I instantly clicked with. After the walking tour, we arranged to meet for drinks in the evening at a viewpoint (Miradouro da Senhora do Monte), where we enjoyed the sunset with a drink in hand. (It was also here where we saw many dealers running away from the cops but it was part of the authentic experience).
The next day, I intended to have brunch at Heim Café, however it was too crowded so I went to LX factory instead. This little change of plan impacted the rest of my time in the city as it was here that I met a German girl who ended up becoming one of my closest friends in Lisbon. After brunch, I had a surf lesson in the afternoon at Praia de Castelo, where I met a Swedish guy and a French girl. That evening, I wanted to go to Alfama to see fado (typical Portuguese music) live as it was on my Lisbon bucket list and so I invited everyone I'd met until that point along, and after that went with the Swede and German girl for drinks at a bar. It's important to note that in the UK, bars and clubs were still closed so I was very excited to be able to drink, dance, and meet new people after months of being in a lockdown. Here, we saw three French guys dancing impeccably and after the bar closed at 10:30pm due to covid restrictions, we started talking to them, alongside two other girls (a Russian and a Romanian). This odd mix of people became my main friend group for the first week and we had a lot of fun; we explored the city, danced by the river, went for drinks, and even celebrated a birthday with a house party (my first in months)! Most of the group were only staying for one week though, so after a big group dinner and dancing, I bid farewell to most of the friends that I had made.
Although I'd met a few others who were staying for longer, I was heartbroken that everyone was leaving and I remember exploring the 'Castelo de São Jorge' alone on the Sunday as I rued my friends' departures. The only other time I've felt that same bittersweet feeling was after spending two weeks in Cape Town as I'd spent everyday with the same group of people and had so much fun, and then it was all suddenly over. Luckily, after having spent a couple of days in Porto, my German friend decided to return for a bit and introduced me to some people that she'd met whilst in Porto who lived in Lisbon, and thankfully I got along with them and they ended up being my main friends until I eventually left in late July.
I was extremely lucky in that I was in Lisbon throughout the Euros, which made meeting people and socialising much easier as there was always a motive to go for drinks. At the same time, covid cases were increasing rapidly and often restaurants and pubs would close early, meaning that we'd have to go to people's houses or to the riverside for entertainment. Regardless, there are many Facebook group and apps that can be used to meet people in new cities if you are struggling to make friends out and about.
My day-to-day
I lived by Cais do Sodré, which logistically is ideal to reach the bars in Bairro Alto, the touristic sites in Baixa, the beaches in Cascais, and the palaces in Sintra, whilst also allowed me to go on my runs along the river. Furthermore, whenever I walked anywhere I would look down the street and see the river at the end, which brought me a lot of happiness (especially on Rua do Alecrim). Although my summer in Lisbon was mostly spent socialising and exploring, I was working remotely and so had to figure out somewhat of a routine. It roughly looked like this:
Morning: 5km run along the river in the morning (this very quickly lost its priority)
During the day: several hours of work, intermitted by coffee breaks and lunches with friends in Time Out Market or in the city centre
Afternoon: exploring the city and watching the Euros
Night: going to bars, house parties, or to the riverside for drinks
My 'routine' was also very disrupted by my eagerness to explore the rest of the country; although I did spend time in various other Portuguese cities, including Porto, Peniche, Olhão and Setúbal, I had planned to visit many more (including Braga and Coimbra) but ended up hanging out with friends instead as I rationalised that I could always visit those places but I wouldn't be with most of these people in a few months. Regardless, I remember arriving back in Lisbon after spending a weekend in Porto with my cousin and as I walked along the river at sunset, I couldn't believe how lucky I was to be able to make a life in this stunning city; it was one of those moments in which I paused and really appreciated life.
At the end of my stay in Lisbon, I spent the weekend with a group of friends in Algarve, followed by a week road-tripping across the south of Spain. I'd planned to revisit Portugal in August, however on returning to the UK from Spain, I caught covid which meant I couldn't travel. Nonetheless, I'm planning on returning at the end of September if all goes well!
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