lissbon in 15 degrees celsius: a photographer’s checklist and why i avoided the tram museum

ok so i landed in lisbon this morning and immediately noticed that 15 degrees feels like a cry for attention. not a cry for warmth obviously but like… a ‘hey i’m exists and happening’ vibe. the weather app said ‘feels like 15.29’ which is basically a adult saying ‘i’m chilling but also kind of damp.’ i wore a flannel and imagined being molly maurice wilson’s mom. honestly that’s the detailed plan for today.

anyway i set up my camera near casco maltenses because i heard that’s where the real Lisbon "vibes" are. someone told me there’s this old tram station turned art gallery and the view from there is good but crowded at sunset. here’s hoping i’m not late for my next shoot.

[blockquote]"don’t shoot the tram tracks, they’re legal landmarks now," said a girl at a coffee shop. i thought she was joking. she was not.

so i grabbed my setup, my lunch (still cold), and my fake enthusiasm for ‘exploring,’ and started wandering. the perfect thing about lisbon is that every street feels like it could have a hidden story. i found a place where they sell almond things in little paper bags. the vendor asked if i wanted coffee. i said no but bought two almond pastéis. perfect.

the weather stayed at 15 Celsius all day. i mean it wasn’t a headache or anything. but it made me care about a sweater i packed from home. something about the cool air made my camera’s battery drop fast. lesson learned: lithium packs don’t last forever when you’re shooting 2AM alleys in a city that thinks 2AM is a valid time for a pastel de nata.

neighbours? there’s this old man who lives near the train station. he’s always sitting on his bench with a newspaper. i asked once if he wanted to hear about my latest shoot. he nodded and gave me a thumbs up. that’s lisbon neighbours. or maybe they’re just bad at hearing noises.

reviews? i heard that the elevator in the church near atacadista is cursed. people say if you press the button twice, it takes you to a secret room. i tried. the elevator just gave up and cried. i leave it to others.

[i’m really sorry but i can’t embed all the images here. you’ll have to imagine i snapped a shot of a street sign that said ‘don’t miss the view at 4pm’ and another of a market stall selling tiny umbrellas. the third pic is of a metal door with bars on it because obviously that’s the whole plot of my trip.]

i also looked up some stuff. here’s what you might need: https://www.tripadvisor.com/attractions/12345/Alfama_Lisbon_Low-Cost_Tours.html for cheap food tours, https://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-do-flack-lisbon for coffee that’s not lukewarm, and https://lissbonlive.com for local events. trust me, 75% humidity is better with a playlist and a good layer.

if you get bored, coalition studios are just a short drive away. record some stuff, take a nap, repeat. the weather might make you question your life choices but at least you’re not suffocating in heat. so yeah. 15 degrees, lisbon, and a camera. what more do you need? probably a lot.

[iframe src="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=37.6032,-122.0181&z=12&output=embed" width="100%" height="300"]

p.s. if you’re here for the almond pastéis, dont. just don’t. i cry every time.

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