Portugal, in memory of ma

Every possible movie you have seen and book you have read and experience you have had of living life without your ma, is all true. It is bizarrely hollow, especially when she goes as young as ours went. She crammed a few lifetimes worth of experiences - harsh and otherwise and scooted. We were left holding the aftermath of a never-ending storm. Dramatic, but I assure you, still does not fully capture the impact.

The most enthusiastic sister among the three of us decided a trip was something we needed to do for ma's 10th death anniversary, and me and the other got on board quickly. So the planning began and since February is not the best vacation time, our choices were limited. I liked the idea of Portugal, it didn't seem to feature in any Bollywood film and I hadn't seen too many lengthy Facebook posts about it, this was incentive enough for me to want to go.

We came to Lisbon from 3 different corners of the world, and with completely different travel experiences - from the uneventful to the chaos of a long layover in Turkey. I landed in Lisbon a day before, actually late in the night, took a cab to the b&b, drank a couple of glasses of the most exquisite wine and tried to sleep.

Woke up to this.

Day 1: Lisbon

I wandered on my own, which was a first in a country that I didn't speak the language. Lisbon is a city of gentle & steep uphills and downhills so walking after a while was a task. I hadn't read or researched anything about Portugal so all was wonderful. The lanes, by-lanes, massive piazzas and the numerous gilded churches kept me occupied for the day.

One sister joined around early evening and the other came a few hours later.

We headed out to dinner, one of us (not me) found a good place to eat, this became her role for the entire trip and she also clued us in on what to see. The other took a ton of pictures. I followed lead. I was quite thrilled with my job.

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Streets were quite empty, February is a fantastic time to visit any place, very few travel. Lisbon did not give out uncomfortable vibes at all but we never explored the unlit gullies, too old to throw that kind of caution into the wind.

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We stumbled upon my first favourite part of the trip. Literally stumbled upon it. And spent the next hour lost in it.

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Day 2: Rest of Lisbon including the fantastic waterfront

Without intention, the BnB we stayed at was walking distance from the Castelo de S. Jorge, all uphill. Explored the castle Jorge and again stumbled upon a restricted archaeological site, (1) the first known settlements dating back to the 7th century B.C.; (2) the remnants of the Moorish era residential area, from the time of the castle’s construction in the mid-11th century; (3) the ruins of the last palatine residence in the former alcáçova (tourist site). And saw a bucketload of peacocks, the Indian connection. As part of the colonisation loot, peacocks were 'exported' to Portugal, it was a strange sight and a stark slap on the face for all of us who think globalisation is something we conjured. For some details do read, 'The Silk Roads'.

Strangely I cannot find pictures to add. So, here is a random one of mine from that day.

Lunch and beer at the steps of the waterfront. Where the ships would sail to meet the sea. The prettiest dock I have ever seen. As I sat there, a submarine slowly came out of the water and went back in, I swear. It was surreal and true. Has that ever happened to you?

Yup, looks exactly like the SF bridge. Not conning you, this is Lisbon. No, the boat is not the submarine I saw.

Saw a lovely lighthouse, which had moat access. We walked a lot, it was a loosely built plan and we made it up along the way. We mostly spent time talking and making fun of each other (time-pass of the siblings), quibbled a bit but not as much as expected and talked about ma.

Btw, Uber'ed everywhere we couldn't walk. The most politest and helpful Uber drivers, they were fantastic. Talked and helped us with places to go and places to eat at.

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Day 3:

Took a ride to see the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, today, I cannot tell you what that means but I remember being so impressed with myself, being at the edge of something. But the word blue to describe the colour does not not do justice to the sight.

Day 4

I forgot to mention that it was really cold throughout the trip and I on the last but one day fell sick. Badly. Fever, cough and a cold. Begged off going out the night as I wanted to be comfortable traveling back home the next day. Slept, woke up to my daughter's call of an upset stomach and worry that she couldn't go on a trip with her friends. Calmed her down and told her to head out and it would be okay. And she was okay.

We said our goodbyes and headed in 3 different directions. As for ma, she is always with us - on trips, in our words, in our kid's expressions, in our anger and in our life. Her imprint is who we are. Good, bad and ugly.