Sunday, March 16, 2025

Lisbon, again // Lisboa, otra vez

My best friend and her family recently visited Lisbon, and I took the opportunity to spend time with them while they were so close. I have vacationed in Lisbon in the past, so this time I didn't have any particular things I wanted to see. We took walks, drank coffee, and talked continuously. In other words, it was a great visit.

In the past, I had considered Portugal as a good place to live if Spain didn't work out for some reason. just like Spain, Portugal offers a non lucrative visa for people who don't need to work, and the cost of living, as well as the taxes, are lower than in spain. but every time I visit Lisbon, I don't really love it. It's nothing personal, it's simply that Spain fits me better. Therefore, I'll keep my fingers crossed that I don't have problems with my visa and can stay here.

The worst Caprese salad I´ve eaten in my life. The restaurant was uniformly terrible, so I didn´t ask them to replace it - I just went somewhere else and bought a falafel so I didn´t starve to death. // 
La peor ensalada caprese que he probado en mi vida. El restaurante era terrible de pies a cabeza, y por eso no pedí otra cosa para sustituirla, tan sólo busqué un bocadillo de falafel para no morir de hambre después.

Lisbon´s trams are super famous and Instagrammable, and I´ve never managed to take one, mostly because I spend all my time there sitting around drinking coffee and Port.  // Los tranvías de Lisboa son súper famosos e instagrameables, y nunca he conseguido coger uno. Probablemente porque dediqué todo mi tiempo a beber café y oporto.
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Recientemente, mi mejor amiga y su familia vistaron Lisboa y aproveché esa oportunidad para visitarles, especialmente por su proximidad. Además, ya había pasado vacaciones en Lisboa y no tenía ganas de hacer nada en particular. Dimos paseos, tomamos cafés y hablamos sin pausa, en resumen, fue un viaje relajante.

Hace pocos años, pensaba que Portugal era un buen lugar para vivir, en caso de que en España no me fuera bien por alguna razón. Al igual que España, Portugal tiene un visado no lucrativo para personas jubiladas, y el costo de vida y los impuestos son más bajos que en España. Pero cada vez que la visito, no me siento en mi salsa. No es nada personal, es simplemente que España me hace sentir mejor. Así que espero seguir una larga estancia como ahora y jamás tener problemas con mi visado.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't give up on Portugal, Porto is lovely!---jonny

de-I said...

I agree with Jonny, try Porto. It's stunning. I have never been a fan of Portuguese food. It has always seemed bland to me. On the other hand, I have loved the coffee and love the concept of the coffee/pastry shop. Especially compared to Spanish coffee.

alexis said...

neither country from a culinary standpoint feels like it is going to really rock your world so indeed, let's keep fingers crossed the visa situation continues to look good