In 2018, I spent 3 months in a residency in Lisbon. I was not sure what to expect, and I must admit that I knew little about Lisbon and Portugal altogether. But Lisbon was a definite and obvious choice for me, perhaps because of its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean which has been dear to me since childhood.
The heat was scorching, and I spent most of my afternoons reading in Santa Clara’s garden, looking from time to time at the sun’s glimmerings on the Tagus river. It was only early morning or later in the day that I would resume my wanderings into the streets and hills of Lisbon.
I really wanted to become intimate with the city and its inhabitants, I even took Portuguese lessons before my departure. In vain. I realized that my abilities to learn a foreign language had not gotten better with age.
I was instinctively drawn to the city’s details, its surfaces, its textures and colors. I never got into really knowing its population, realizing that it was quite a stretch for my introverted character, but I really felt immersed in the city. I could sense its vibrations into my bones.
In a way I guess I managed to feel Lisbon on an intimate level, connect with her beyond the touristic look and listen to the voices beyond its walls.