I became a tourist for a day.

Granted, I tried not to be too much of a tourist — trying to blend in and not be obnoxious.

A tourist for a day

I visited Lisbon several years ago. We stayed in a suburb, only getting into the city a couple of times. While I have seen some of the city’s highlights, there are many I haven’t been to. Now that I live here, I want to see and experience more of this place.

Of course, some of it is touristy. Restaurants and shops in certain areas cater to tourists. My hostess’ boyfriend, who is Portuguese, warned against the tourist restaurants.

Case in point: I followed my Google map to a ceviche restaurant. As I turned the corner, I knew. Tourists filled the sidewalks. I did an about face and went back the way I came.

A little cafe that served locals on their lunch break was much better. The “prato do dia” was pork in gravy with mashed potatoes and salad. Home-brewed ice tea with lemon and mint. Finished with espresso.

I even complimented a woman at the next table on her skirt. In Portuguese. I think she understood. She said thank you, anyway.

I proudly told my host and her boyfriend about my lunch choice. I may have been a tourist for part of the day, but I didn’t eat like one.

During my outing, I also visited my second museum. (The first was the history of Lisbon museum near where I live.) This museum featured Portuguese painters and sculptors from the mid-19th century to present.

 

A three-hour tour

My biggest tourist event of the day was a three-hour walking tour. Yes. Three hours. We covered a lot. Literally thousands of years of history and several miles, at least, on foot.

It was a free tour through Chill Out Lisbon Free Tour. Our guide, Nuno, is a Lisbon native with a terrific knowledge of nearly everything related to the city, and a good sense of what works with the crowd. How many times has he told the same joke? It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s fresh. And like a good actor doing improv, he kept it fresh. He had to be good, because he lives on tips. (He has a fine art degree, trust me on this.)

Walking tours are nice because you have one-on-one time with someone knowledgeable. You can ask questions. Good luck trying that on a bus tour.

Walking tour guides tell you where to eat, what to see, things to do. Their suggestions aren’t usually as touristy as travel guides or websites.

I expected a shorter tour. Three hours was fabulous for me but too long for others. By the end, we had lost a few who couldn’t continue for time or other reasons.

The tour wrapped up on a hill overlooking the city and the setting sun. It was marvelous. I perched on the wall and took pictures periodically, waiting for sunset.

Looking forward to my next outing

I could have looked for dinner in the city, but I decided to head for home. After all, I’m not on vacation. I live here. I’d rather enjoy dinner out another time, when I can plan where I’ll go and what I’ll do.

Already, I have more museums I want to visit. If I do one a week, I will get to a lot of them. That’s probably even better than the locals. After all, how many people take the time to explore their own city that way?

So even though I was technically a tourist, I tried not to act like one. And next time, I’ll try even harder to blend in.

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Be a Better Writer Tip

I used parentheses in two different ways in this column. Do you see the difference?

The first is providing additional information. I wanted my readers to know a little about the first museum I visited. Adding information in parentheses sets it off without confusing the reader.

The second is an aside. I didn’t need to include that information. It’s not pertinent to the understanding, but it was humorous, and I wanted to include it.

Parentheses are good any time you want to include more information, particularly when it’s more than just a few words or phrase. In those cases, you can use commas or an em-dash (long dash).