Jetsetting to Lisbon
It’s Sunday night and after 7 hours of travel, I’m finally back home after an amazing weekend in Portugal!
A little background on why I went to Portugal. When I was little, I was told I have a godmother, who is actually my extended aunt, who lives in Portugal but who I had never actually. After getting accepted to study in Morocco, my parents decided to remind me of this mysterious godmother and told me I should go meet her while I was on this side of the world. After chatting with her a bit over the summer, I decided to make the trip out this weekend.
After a train ride to Casablanca and a quick flight over to Lisbon, I arrived tired and a little nervous about going to stay with her for a weekend.
Upon arrival in Lisbon, I ended up taking a cab where the driver spoke zero english and charged me double what I probably should have paid. However, it was all okay when I met my Godmother and her husband. They’re both took such good care of me all weekend! When I arrived, we hung out and had dinner of not one but TWO indian curries, rice, indian dessert, ice cream, and pineapples. I also got to meet two of her grandkids who technically are my niece and nephew…. But we agreed to go by cousin.
Friday, my godmother and I decided to go see downtown Lisbon. We went into downtown and went on a tour by Tuktuk, a small motorized rickshaw like thing.
The tour stopped us at a couple really nice sights, which meant it was time for selfies. Turns out she too likes selfies as much as I do! This is just only one more reason why we get along.
Lisbon is also a nice city. Here are some pictures which aren’t selfies!
The Godmother and I spent the rest of the afternoon having lunch and coffee in downtown where she told me lots of stories! She told me the best stories about her life growing up in South Africa then getting married and moving to Mozambique.
On Saturday, we took is pretty easy. Her family and friends took me out for lunch which was super nice. Portuguese food is super tasty, especially the fish. I bet one of my cousins she couldn’t last 2 hours without her phone being on. It was a bad bet because despite her brother and my relentless torture, she managed to do it and I had to pay her ten euro.
Later, we went out to the mall, which was full of Christmas decorations. It made me miss Christmas time so much. Here in Morocco, Christmas isn’t widely celebrated (Duh…. It’s a Muslim country). It was just so nice to see! It made me feel like a little kid again haha.
I got to spend the evening with one of my cousins. We went out for Starbucks, which was such a nice treat! It’s been way too long since I’ve had it! Also Red Cup season exists in Portugal so I got to have my favourite Gingerbread Latte!
He then showed me the area of the city he lives in. Like me, he really likes street art and showed me all of his favourites. We also took a walk around Sporting CP (the local soccer club)‘s stadium which was really cool! I got to see his city which felt much more than just taking a city tour. Here’s some of the sweet street art we saw:
This morning, saying goodbye was pretty tough. We went out for a nice breakfast of Portuguese bread and cheese, and Portuguese coffee. After that, it was off to the airport for me! The flight was a little delayed and the train from Casa to Rabat was a LOT delayed and packed, but I somehow made it home safe and sound.
This was one of the best weekends I think I’ve had here in Morocco. It felt so nice being back among family! I definitely plan on going back. Huge shoutout to The Godmother and uncle, and the whole family for making my trip so memorable.