Travel Muse Magazine
Stories, tips, & joy.
Category: Lisbon
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A Guide to Birdwatching in the City of Adorinhas
One of the very first things I noticed when I began my study abroad in Lisbon, Portugal was the aerial dance of Adorinhas, or swallows. Each evening they would take to the skies like miniature fighter jets soaring through the colorful rows of houses and purple jacaranda trees to feast upon insects. Like many birds,…
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Beyond the Palaces of Sintra, Portugal
There are two things I love most when I travel: historical significance and spectacular views. That isn’t to say I dislike other aspects of traveling, like eating wonderful food or meandering through different cities while shopping, but nothing quite compares to impressive views paired with an equally impressive history. And that’s exactly what Sintra offered…
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The Open Door: My Braid Salon Experience While Studying Abroad in Lisbon
The woman standing outside the salon on Rua do Forno do Tijolo had long blue and purple braids. She smiled at my friend and me like she’d been expecting us. She stood next to the open door to the salon, and it would stay that way all afternoon. Inside, four women worked, Afro-Brazilian and Guinean,…
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Three Corners of Lisbon: One Revolution
At midnight on April 25, 1974, a radio station broadcasts Grândola, Vila Morena, a folk song banned under the current dictatorship. It was the signal. Junior military officers across Portugal, fed up with Salazar’s forty-eight-year Estado Novo and its unwinnable colonial wars in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau, started moving tanks toward Lisbon. By morning, everything…
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A Guide to the Oldest Church in Portugal: Se de Lisboa
The church has a deeply rooted place in Portugal. As I have traveled to different cities across this beautiful country, each city has highlighted a church that contains historical significance worthy of viewing. Whether you’re religious or not there is no doubt that Christianity plays a significant role in the everyday lives of the Portuguese…
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My Top 7 Favorite Things I Did in Portugal This May
My time in Portugal has been great in terms of the variety of things I’ve seen. This May, I realized that travel is not only about seeing the popular places (though I did do that), but also about appreciating what these moments show and teach. Through the varied experiences of books, food, performance, and landscape.…
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Literary Travel Guide to Lisbon, Inspired by Chris Pavone’s “Two Nights in Lisbon”
I’ve always been drawn to mystery novels. The kind that makes you double-check locked doors and reread sentences, searching for what you might have missed. So as I started preparing for my own trip to Lisbon, I picked up Two Nights in Lisbon, expecting nothing more than a suspenseful story to pass the time. Instead,…
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Museum Cafés for Art Lovers: London to Lisbon, Paris to Ann Arbor
Warm, buttery air envelopes me as I open the door to the UMMA Café, a hint of cinnamon acting as the exclamation mark to the comforting welcome from the cold winter’s day. This coffeeshop inside the University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor, Michigan is my favorite place to grab a coffee on…
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My Week in Lisbon: Advice for an Excellent First Trip to Portugal’s Capital
From the heavenly floral bouquet of blooming Jacaranda trees to fresh salty sea breeze, there’s nothing like actually getting to Lisbon and finally experiencing the beauty of this ancient capital city in person with all your senses. Instagram might have pointed out its loveliness, but being there, eating the food, seeing the bright colors, and…
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DIY Walking Guide in Lisbon’s Famed Alfama
Crimson tile roofs juxtaposed with bright blue of the river Tagus, framed by the purple paradise of jacarandas and magenta bougainvilleas, all accented with blue and white azulejos. It’s hard to believe the views from Lisbon’s miradouras are real when you see them with your own eyes, no Instagram filters, no editing. They’re really just…