Over the February school break, Jericho High School junior Maxwell Gershwind traveled to Lisbon, Portugal, to visit his older brother, a junior at the University of Pennsylvania who is currently studying abroad for a semester in Lisbon.
Here’s Gershwind’s report on the “ awesome experience” of his trip.
My first day in Lisbon included a food tour through the city with a tour guide named David, who was an excellent guide and very knowledgeable. He took us all around the city of Lisbon and showed us some of the best restaurants the city has to offer. We had food ranging from sausage to octopus dishes and so much in between. All the restaurants David took us to were absolutely delicious, he knew what the tourists would like to try and which local foods to highlight.
Also on the agenda were some monuments, landmarks and statues throughout the city. I learned it is one of the oldest cities in Europe. Who knew? We actually visited one of the oldest cathedrals in Europe, called Sé de Lisboa, which is over 875 years old. That was extremely cool to see because you just don’t get that kind of history in the U.S. as commonly as you do in Europe.
We stayed at a beautiful hotel. My room was quite big, and also had a huge bathroom. I had a mini fridge to keep some snacks in and collect our leftovers. There were two big beds that my brother and I slept in as we shared a room. There was a very nice outside area on the roof to sit, chill out after a long day and take in a nice view of the city. We wound down there every evening after long days of being tourists.
The second day, we went to lunch at a place called Penalva De Graca, which was located in the heart of Lisbon. It was super casual and lowkey, like a hole in the wall kind of place. I can’t say how good the food was because it was the best food I have ever had overseas. First, we started with something called pica-pau, which consists of fried beef served in a garlic and mustard gravy with vegetables and it was so very flavorful and delicious. Overall, I would give this a 7.8 out of 10 if I were a critic. It was very tender. We also got another appetizer, which was shrimp topped with garlic and oil. That shrimp was the best shrimp I have ever had. Wow! It melted in my mouth. Overall, I would give the shrimp a 9.4 out of 10, which is a pretty high score. For the main course, we got huge tiger prawns, which were also amazing. It came with a butter sauce to dip in, which was so delicious and really added flavor. This wasn’t as delicious as the shrimp, but a close score would be in order.
On the third day, we walked around all of Lisbon. Let me tell you, make sure you’re in good shape if you do this because like most of Europe there are plenty of hills. You will get tired easily, but on the positive side you burn off all your calories from your previous meals. Taking in the sights and being in a foreign country was an experience filled with many memories and it was so cool to see the buildings and architecture and cultural differences from there compared to Long Island.
The thing I loved most when walking around Lisbon was the way everyone was dressed, they dress immaculately and have extremely nice fashion sense. Like many Europeans they’re in amazing shape; it’s almost impossible to find someone who isn’t fit or into fitness. Maybe it’s the lifestyle of walking those hills all the time?
Overall, my trip to Lisbon was an amazing experience filled with memories and meals to last a long time. This also made me think about when it’s my turn to go abroad, if I will and where I would want to go. For anyone who is going to do a European trip, make sure you stop in Lisbon, it is an awesome city!
