This summer, I went sailing off the coast of Spain and was also invited to a wedding in Madrid. There was a couple of weeks gap between those events, and it didn't make much sense to travel back and forth between the States and Europe. At the same time, I didn't want to burn through two weeks of vacation time. My resolution was to visit Portugal, which I'd never been to. I was there for a week total, and spent most of the time living like the locals. This is often touted as the holy grail for tourists, but in my case "living like a local" meant commuting to the office, working forty hours per week, running errands, doing laundry and catching up on personal stuff before bed. As you might imagine, this leg of my summer trip was fairly uneventful, save for a Saturday day trip down the coastline.

One of my favorite parts about Lisbon was the pastel buildings that dotted the otherwise white city skyline. The cobblestone streets and blue skies really added to the charm.
Some amazing chili momos that I had at Sekuwa Corner.
Here's a shot of the city from a rooftop restaurant, around dusk.

I've recently been spending a lot of time in Denver playing pool (eight ball billiards), and have started taking it pretty seriously. I didn't want my skills to atrophy too much while in Europe, so I went on the prowl for a place to practice. There was a pool hall next to my hostel that I visited, and while I was disappointed in the table quality, I still have a good story to share.

When I went to leave, it had started to rain. I spotted a guitar tucked into the corner and asked the staff if I could play it, which they graciously allowed. I spent the next hour watching the rain gently fall outside the bar door, playing guitar and enjoying the quite weekday vibe. The owner seemed to enjoy my playing, and even invited me back to play on the weekend when there would be more customers to enjoy the tunes. I took that as a high compliment, and it's a shame that I didn't have the time to take him up on the offer.

On another quest to find a pool table, I stumbled into this maximalist bar. It had six or eight rooms, each decorated head to toe in a hodgepodge of knick knacks. This room was filled with army toys, including quite the collection of GI Joe action figures.
A closer look at one of the shelves full of GI Joe action figures. This bar felt more like a museum, and I could have spent hours perusing their collection.
A street musician plays outside, near a crowd of diners.
Bifanas are a traditional sandwich, made with thin slices of marinated pork on a crusty bread. They're great late-night bites, and I enjoyed mine with a bit of Portuguese mustard, which was a slightly sweeter and aromatic mustard from the region.
Once again, the pastel buildings in Lisbon were very charming. Here we see a rare sample of all four common colors: yellow, white, pink and blue.
A street vendor sells what I assume to be chocolate habaneros. I wish I was in town long enough to buy some of these and make a fresh salsa!

Saturday came sooner than expected, and I took the train down to Cascais for a day trip. Cascais was a lovely little town, and the perfect day trip from Lisbon. It was only about an hour train ride, and I was easily able to fill 6+ hours exploring.

For lunch in Cascias, I found this cool little Mexican restaurant. The menus were printed on this huge, thick poster with some cool portraits on the reverse side. I've found that it's typically hard to find good tacos in Europe, and these hit the spot.
While exploring the town, I stumbled into this quiet little side street.
As you can see, I wasn't the only one who decided to visit the town.

There were a few little beaches dotted around town, though as you can tell from the photo above they were absolutely packed. There was a cool little spot to cliff dive here, pictured just out of frame in the photo above. While I was really tempted to go up and take a plunge myself, I stopped dead once my toes hit the water. As opposed to the bath-warm temps that I was used to in the Mediterranean, these waters were ice cold! I was surprised that so many people were swimming.

A couple of cliff-divers look out on the bay and prepare to make the plunge.
Just off the shore of Cascias was this floating obstacle course. Similar to the cliffs, it looked like a ton of fun. Alas, the cold water kept me away from here, as well.
Sunbathers, swimmers and loungers dot the busy beach in Cascias.
Diners line the bar at Izakaya, surrounded by Polaroids of prior patrons. Faces have been blurred, out of respect for their privacy.

For dinner I visited Izakaya, which ended up being one of the highlights of my trip. This was perhaps the best restaurant I've visited in recent memory. The atmosphere and vibe felt true to a traditional Izakaya, and the patrons and staff both leaned into the friendly, high-energy drinking atmosphere. The food was simply phenomenal, as were the cocktails. I had an amazing evening here, and loved my time so much that I even bought a t-shirt!

A bartender at Izakaya balances precariously on a stepping stool, reaching for supplies that had been tucked into overhead storage above the bar.
Some marinated and grilled squid from Izakaya in Cascias.

That's all from my trip to Lisbon, which felt shorter than most thanks to the typical nine to five work schedule I maintained. Overall, my take was that the city has a lot to offer, both for locals and tourists. The dining and beer culture there seemed fairly unique to Europe, and I enjoyed the diversity of the landscape. I wish I had a bit more time to explore the surrounding areas, and Portugal more broadly. In a way, it's nice to leave a place feeling like there's still more to explore.