You can get so stressed in your day job.
You can get so depressed at times.
And then, when you travel...
You can just forget about all that and be free.
You can do what you want.
You don't have constraints that everyone's everyday life brings.
It's... Iit's like medicine!
José Saramago once wrote:
"We always arrive in the place where someone is waiting for us."
What if, however, that someone is a city?
After all, do cities not have hearts?
I believe they do.
Some a warm and some a cold.
But each has its own essential personality.
Do you arrive at a city which is waiting for us?
It’s how I felt about Lisbon.
It has been waiting for my visit.
One thing I knew about Portugal of course,
was football.
But I didn't have to tell you the truth,
a specific idea of Lisbon.
Something more exotic.
Something very interesting.
And the people?
They have the same flavor as the buildings.
They’ve been built up, torn down, burned down, smacked down and built again…
Only to remain strong.
I was right at home.
From the very first time
I felt like I was in my house.
I liked the people.
Some say they are sad or strange,
I don't know... I felt at home.
This comfortable feeling left a mark on me.
Few cities can leave a fingerprint in your identity.
I love the smells, I love...
I love the broken pieces, I love the old pieces,
I love the new pieces, I love the smelly streets,
the weird corners in Alfama,
with lots of possibilities to get lost.
This city has a personality that loves the ocean,
that loves fish,
loves wine, loves music and to dance.
It's a city that loves to be outside.
There are many public spaces.
There is so much life in the streets.
It's a city that feels like a village.
People live in the neighborhoods just as if it was in a village.
Here people to people contact is what matters.
One of the things that caught my attention
was the cafes
and to see so many people willing to have a coffee.
What were they talking about?
Why did they drink so much coffee?
I didn't know what these people cooked all the time,
but everything smelled delicious.
Always!
Amazing people, amazing culture,
amazing history and...
That's how I live my life.
I live and breathe culture and history
and that's exactly what Lisbon gives you.
It's the sense of freedom, it's the sense of culture
and that feeling it's just irreplaceable.
Friendly people of all colors, religions, cultures living together in peace.
Lots of green spaces with places to sit,
read, sleep, do sport, meditate...
Live.
Free Wi-Fi all over the place.
Good to travel by bike and on foot,
but also big enough to be cosmopolitan.
You have this sort of very young hip population in Lisbon
on top of these really old buildings.
It's really cool to see life moving forwards
as buildings stay stuck in time.
There are clocks spread all over the city
and all point to different time.
The old stores where people
are still handwriting the bills on pieces of paper.
It's just like travelling back in time.
The modern life didn't destroy the core of their identity.
The city kept its character.
I could imagine myself living here!
This city embodies what I feel like
and what energy I want to surround myself with.
I didn't want to live my life
stressing and worrying about the money I make.
And I think that's the kind of feel the city gives me.
Someone once said:
"- When you do what you like, that is freedom.
When you like what you do, that is happiness."
When I think of Lisbon, two words come to my mind.
Which are... Happy place.
Lisbon is my happy place.
Lisbon, would you come with me?
All I have to offer you is me!
All of me.
It's possible to have pure happiness
if you're doing something you absolutely love.
And it teaches you that you need to concentrate on that
a lot more than you do in your nine to five.
And just take time for yourself,
be yourself and do what you like doing.
After all, nothing lasts forever... And you should enjoy life!