Lisbon, Portugal

I feel bad for sales people. I am, what's known in sales, The Worst Customer.  I hem and haw, I analyze to death, I look around. They have no way of knowing this so I listen. Yesterday, a woman tried to sell me glass tiles with a ceramic tromp l'oeil effect which were wired to do some Back to the Future II shit. Tap once, a digital screen emerges to control the thermostat. Tap again, and it becomes a stop-watch. The perfect feature when you want to time how fast it takes for your living room to cool down. "We want to dissolve the need for electric fixtures in a room, giving it a seamless look." Yeah but, azulejos tiles also control temperature and are whole lot prettier.

Lady in red (and in azulejos tiles)

Have you ever stepped into a shower where the walls, floor, and ceiling were in tiles? Didn't it feel like you were in Europe? Now take that bathroom and feeling, times it by 101415424 (that's an actual estimate, let me know if you want the figures), turn the ceiling into the Mediterranean's blue sky and you'll have Lisbon. Cities that take a tradition and run with it have a special place in my heart. Though I claim to be optimistically pessimistic, I'm hopeful these cities will withstand the often complementary colours of our times.

Good

Bad

Bad

Good

Crazy good ad campaign

I should quiet my worries for Lisbon though. No matter the psychology behind today's colours to get you to buy this! visit here! eat this! seldom did it feel this way. (The exception: Pantone Old Gold 15-0955 TCX in the form of pasties de nata. It'll be easier if you give in now.) The city pulls off bright colours like the one man we all know -- the man who can rock a pink shirt. For me, this is what makes Lisbon perennially modern. With or without those tiles from the future, as it saves the ones from its past.

Length of Stay

One day and a half

Docking Index 

       

Eight anchors -- begrudgingly. I kept my love for Lisbon in check writing this post. Had I not, you might have wondered if I was in l.o.v.e. Truth be told, I'm head over heels -- NINE! My first!! -- I just can't explain what is it that I love so much about Lisbon -- SIGH. Fine, eight. Was it love at first sight? But for a place?? I don't know. What I do know however is that like love itself, you gotta keep things in check. Doesn't it suck being older and wiser when it comes to matters of the heart?