RE: Travel question (Portugal?)
Portugal is a lovely place. I got some distant relatives in the south.
I spend some time in Lisbon every year. Air Portugal has this nice deal that you can spend up to 3-4 days stopover in Portugal for free, so when I fly to Brazil from Europe, I always try to spend some time there. And I've seen a lot of it between Lisbon and the south. I've never been north of Lisbon.
To add to what Raion said:
- If you push the beggars back, they will stop. Don't let them cross your boundaries.
- Basic English works in most places - to get a place to sleep or food but not much beyond that. As usual, the youth is usually competent in English.
- If you go for a travel guide, you must indeed go for a European Portuguese one. If you use Brazilian Portuguese phrases, everyone will understand you but you won't understand them back.
What I like:
- The food is terrific. It's not abundant, fresh and varied like you get in Latin America, but it is the best you can get in Europe. There's a gradient between Moscow and Lisbon and the food only gets better as you go west. The time I lived in Moscow was difficult, food-wise. Eat cod. My Portuguese grandmother used to make a fantastic cod. It would override your satiation reflex and you could eat literally until you got sick.
- The weather is fine, besides the eventual summer heat wave.
Lisbon:
- The Portuguese are very proud of their sailing history and their empire. Lisbon is full of landmarks from the era.
I recommend the Jerónimos Monastery, for example. Belém tower is nice, too.
- An evening enjoying nice Porto wine and listening to Fado is mandatory. It can get you to tears even if you don't understand a word of it.
- Portugal retains some manufacturing capacity. I always get my socks in Lisbon. When you go down to the docks, you can find lots of small shops and sometimes you can get Portuguese-made socks for 1 euro a pair. They are excellent! You are also able to find Portuguese-made shoes, clothing, etc..
- The Lisbon Oceanarium is a fantastic destination for a family trip.
If you are not venturing far from Lisbon, try to go to Évora. The city centre is in a beautifully preserved citadel, and there are Roman ruins, too.
If you go south, my family is from Faro and it's a good region if you enjoy the sea. You can also drive from there to Sevilla or Málaga in Spain. Málaga is quite packed, not my cup of tea. But Sevilla is lovely. Just avoid the heat of the summer.
I love Portugal. It is still Europe, but without much of the haste of "must-grow-the-economy-at-all-costs-and-work-12-hours-per-day". Not super rich, not poor. You get a lot of the nice things you would find in a place like Brazil without... being Brazil. You can travel way more relaxed because it's not infested with crime. It is a relatively wealthy country without being obscene. They got a few of the downsides of all countries that kept a colonial empire and tried to make the colonies part of the mothership, but absorbed a lot of the culture, the cooking, the ingredients, the music.
If there's a country that can be perfectly described by the word "nice", Portugal it is.
It is just nice.
Switzerland is gorgeous, but too sterile and very expensive.
Germany is quite diverse, the culture is rich and they do enjoy when you spend your money there. But it lacks in spontaneity.
The northern countries are great, you get to enjoy the outdoors and nature. But food is subpar. And it is cold.
I love Russia. Russians are great, super welcoming, you get to have fun, the cultural life is incredible. But Russia is Russia. Never seen such wasted potential in a country. It has been all about wasted potential for centuries.
Portugal is... nice. Not super rich, not poor. Not very hot, not very cold. Not huge, not tiny (for European standards). Quite influential (due to their former empire), but also geopolitically irrelevant.
If you know a bit about Latin America, I'd compare it to Uruguay.
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