Unplanned Hike in Lisboa.

So I had today planned. Art gallery list (courtesy of Gates Gallery). Check. Google map markers. Check. Sketchbook. Check. I made my way into the city and walked up Rua do Alecrim to the first gallery on my list and BAM. Closed. Of course. Mondays. The universal day that galleries throw in the towel. Luckily there were still ooooodles of nooks I wanted to explore. Namely, Bairro Alto during the day. And I was off...

Inside my head I dared myself to walk up and down every single little alley and every little nook I saw. A tall challenge some might say. One that was met? Hmmmmm. I realized shortly after making this deal with myself that it was nearly impossible to complete the task at hand without a plethora of reminders and markers on where I had been. Breadcrumbs perhaps? So I altered my challenge a bit into daring myself to get lost every day that I was off on an adventure. One of my all time favorite things to do back home whenever I had the chance. And so I did. I made my way through ooooodles of streets in Bairro Alto, stopping at every little shop that caught my eye, making mental notes of every place I had been on a Saturday night and taking photos of every building, sign and bit of graffiti that caught my eye. I walked up. I walked down. Down some more. Up a long ways. Hilly? Just a bit. But absolutely lovely every step of the way. I somehow made my way up down and around and underneath the bridge that connects Rua do Alecrim to Chiado. It was bananas! A complete other side of town that I had not yet explored and somehow made my way back to the starting point. End of the journey? Absolutely not, I ended my day with a galao and a coxinha at the Brasileira, which I have found has become a daily stop in. Let's see where these feet take me tomorrow...