I am 21 years old and prior to today, I had never been to Europe. Sure my family is Italian and I was raised within the Italian-Canadian culture, but obviously it isn’t the same.
Before I talk about my first day, I’ll quickly talk about the lead up and my preparation. As you all probably know, I am going to Madrid for a full school year to complete a student exchange, and so leaving for a year meant many goodbyes. It was emotional seeing my family for the last time in a while, and it was even more emotional saying goodbye to my girlfriend, although if everything goes according to plan I will be seeing her in a couple of months when she goes to study in Paris. What I learned from this experience of emotional goodbyes is that time with people, especially your loved ones, is precious and you really value time spent with them when you know that time together is limited. You appreciate every joke and every conversation. Now, no one is dying and I’ll see everyone in a year, but I’ve never been away from my family this long and it will definitely be an adjustment for me, and I dearly miss my girlfriend already.
The plane ride was rather smooth and would have been perfect had the baby behind me not been crying THE ENTIRE RIDE. And once my mom and I arrived in Lisbon and checked into the hotel, it was time for me to get my first real taste of Europe.
So, first thing I noticed, upon riding the metro here for the first time, is that Lisbon is a quiet city. The streets are not bustling with people like in Montreal and there are no maniacs (or sane people, for that matter) yelling throughout the streets. It is a calm, peaceful and relaxing city, something I am definitely not used to.
After exploring a couple of plazas, I got lost in what really makes this city magic: it’s never-ending hills and its narrow streets. I had never previously understood what people meant when they told me to just wander around a city and get lost in it, but I do now. Lisbon is a city built on hills, and therefore every single street has some sort of a slope. Wandering through the narrow, slopy streets was by far my favorite part of the day and by doing such an activity you really get to experience the vibe of the city.
Check out a few street pictures I took:
And look at what I stumbled into by just aimlessly roaming the streets:
And, of course, my favorite scene of the day, this beautiful archway with the statue and the water in the background:
If this is what Europe has to offer, I cannot wait to explore even more of it.
I’m exhausted, off to bed! I’ll post more in the coming days!
Studying Abroad in Madrid!! 