In late November we had our first conventional holiday for years when we got a cheap Ryanair flight to Lisbon and stayed for a week in a pleasant city centre hotel. It was the first time for both of us in mainland Portugal and our days were occupied by leisurely breakfasts, sightseeing and big dinners. I became an instant convert to Pastel de Nata, the delicious Portuguese custard tarts and we both really enjoyed the food in general.
We navigated the city by tram and underground and on foot. We've both always enjoyed pavement pounding as it's down the backstreets and byways that you really to get to know somewhere, sometimes too well. Of the several museums we visited the one that left the most lasting impression was the Museu do Aljube Resistência e Liberdade. Located in a former Bastille-like prison and at one time a home for the secret police, it's dedicated to the history of the Salazar regime, which had many similarities to Franco's Spain.
Looking back from the vantage point of January 2021 our holiday feels like it took place in a different world, where we were free to travel as we pleased and everything was open to folks with money in their bank accounts. Had I been writing this closer to the time I would instead have been reflecting on how different it felt to be a tourist for a week by comparison with most of our travels over the last twenty years, where we've had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in new cultures and experiences for months and sometimes years. How quickly the World can turn.
