The
background of the story:
In 2013, I
lived and studied in Coimbra in Portugal because I was doing an Erasmus over
there. During that
time, I don’t know why but the only travels I did were to France and when it
came to Portugal I knew only about Coimbra. This was
kind of bad I thought and I had to do something about it. I couldn’t be in
Portugal and not know any other cities.
So, during
one of my trips to France I decided that I needed to go to another city instead
of Coimbra when I would be returning.
The problem
was that I would be travelling on my own and that I would have to visit the
place on my own. I Never did That before and I was a bit stressed by having to
do it without any friends, but the end
of my stay in Portugal was getting near and I would not have got the needed to
do it another time!
Plus, there
was a city that I really wanted to visit and now I finally had the opportunity
to do it! I would be
going to Lisbon on my own.
Pre-planning:
I am someone
that loves touristic places and would rather go to a place very crowded rather
than somewhere where public transports won’t be able to bring me to.
After some
quick researches, I decided that if I wanted to be able to visit all the
touristic places on my own I needed to live in the city center.
My budget
was not very big at the time so after a couple of calls I had to settle for a
Youth hostel. I now had
somewhere where I could sleep, I just needed to know how to get to the hotel in
order to go to Lisbon stress free.
I found out
that from the airport I could go to the city center using a bus or a train. I was now
ready to go to this new place on my own. My trip was
going to last a bit less than 3 days in total. I was going to land on Friday
night and was departing on Sunday Morning.
Day 1:
I landed in
Portugal quite late because I took a low-cost airline that was departing from
an airport that was quite hard to attend if you didn’t have a car.
I had
initially plan to get to the youth hostel by using the train, then the bus but
after I still would have needed to walk like 2kms to go to my hostel. My
battery was running low so I decided that the best option was taking a taxi. it
would cost me a lot more but at least I would be able to get to my place like
two hours earlier. Furthermore, my booking information were on my phone so I
had to make sure that I get to the youth hostel in time.
I got over
there I checked in and once again I was on my own. Of the eight beds, available
2 were taking but the occupants were not there. I took a shower and just went
downstairs to get to know the neighborhood. There were some really good
restaurants around the hostel and I spent my night in an Indian one. It was
really good and cheap, and I would go on to eat there the two times the next
day because I wanted to get a taste of everything on the menu. I got back to my
hotel and I was still on my own. In Lisbon, the only people I talked to on the
first day were the taxi driver, the waiter of the Indian restaurant and the guy
that give me the keys to my room. I thought about maybe going out. In the
horizon, I could see a party on a rooftop, but the clothes I had with me were
too casual. I went to sleep
Day 2:
I woke up,
and I went to have breakfast. The people from my room were still not there.
they had slept somewhere else I would later find out.
In the
dining room, there was a huge table full of people having breakfast and there
was an empty seat. I went in the other room where there was no one and have
breakfast on my own. I ate and I go down in the lobby and I realize I have no
idea of what I should do in Lisbon. I got told Lisbon was nice and the food
delicious but I was a bit in no man’s land when it comes to what I had to see.
I walk a bit and I fall on a group of people. So, for once that day I decided
that I needed to interact a bit with the others. They were doing a guided tour.
I joined them. we walked like three hours. At the End, it was free but we all
tipped the guide because he had really put in an effort and was very friendly.
He then gives me a list of places I had to visit. My plan for the day was
to go to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos. This place is so nice, I recommend
everyone to go and see this place at least once in their lives. On my way to
this monument, my phone fell off my pocket. I really only notice that the
moment I wanted to take a picture of this wonderful place but couldn’t find my
phone. I walked back on my path and asked about 50 people if they had found a
phone on the floor, and in the end, someone did and they gave it back to me. I
was so happy. I went back to take pictures of this wonderful place and started
to interact with other people, taking pictures for them and with them. In the
end, it was quite a good day. I returned to the hotel, went to eat in my Indian
restaurant and when I got back to the room there was my roommates for the first
time. They had been travelling to other cities by car and in the night, they
just slept in their car which explain why they were never in the room.
Exhausted by
this day, I went to bed
Day 3:
Day three
was about me packing my stuff. I woke up super early and took the first train
to Coimbra. On this train, I will happen to meet a girl that would later become
my girlfriend but this is for another story.
What did
this experience taught me about me and what I will do next time I travel on my
own?
Like I
usually say I was born on my own furthermore I grew with no siblings around so
I didn’t know why I was kind of scared to travel on my own.
At the end,
I did try to talk to others but I didn’t do it enough I guess. I talked to
others to get directions but I didn’t really get to socialize with no one which
was quite unfortunate.
At one
point, I really talked to lots of people because my phone had fell from my
pocket and well I had to ask everyone if they had seen it but I think that
otherwise I stayed in my comfort zone and didn’t try to put myself in dangerous
situations.
I wanted to
go out at night but didn’t have nor the clothes nor the confidence required at
the time to do it on my own. I guess the part where I lost my phone was a
defining moment because after that I felt more confident in myself; Following
this trip I really started to talk more often to people, I would per example
oblige myself to talk to a stranger per day, to go out to clubs on my own and
just to open myself more to others. Being alone and traveling alone doesn’t
necessarily have to mean that you will stay on your own all the time. it is up
to you but travelling on your own is a great way to knowing new places and
people at your own pace and it is something that I now enjoy doing.
