Tuesday 19 June 2018

Jacopo After 8 months!



My life in Lisbon still goes on, still experiencing the Portuguese culture deeper and deeper. The winter in Lisbon has been really mild, with very nice weather and temperatures above the average. This gave me the chance to wander around in Lisbon more and more, discovering new parts of the city and unexpected places, like the Belem monument, built to commemorate the Portuguese discoveries.
This picture doesn’t bring justice to the real size of monument. It’s tremendously huge!
Taking advantage from this nice weather, Lisbon can also offer more interesting places, which are in contrast to the ordinary Lisbon appearance. The Portuguese capital is not only old buildings and nostalgic streets, but it’s also modernity and future. This aspect is perfectly represented by Parque dos Naçoes, built for the Expo ’98. Far from the centre, this huge square, surrounded by trees, parks and just next to the river, wants to represent the modernity of Portugal with the union of all the nations in the world, with a flag for every country in the world.
Despite the mild weather, the Portuguese spring has been crueler, with lots of rain and wind, but Lisbon is very close to the ocean, so it’s normal to have this crazy weather J
So, what about searching for a shelter to hide from this bad weather? These shelters are Portuguese “tascas”, typical restaurant with delicious local food. Portuguese cuisine is really good and I really love it, I don’t miss anymore (almost) the Italian cuisine :P
There are a lot of options, but my favorite one is Bacalhau á Brás, simple but very tasty, one of the main dishes of Portuguese cuisine.

 But the list of Portuguese gourmet is very extensive, but there’s still a lot of time to try more food J
And now with the spring that is ending, let’s wait for the Portuguese summer! :D
Bejinhos,

Jacopo

Sunday 14 January 2018

Jacopo - Check-In EVS Volunteer


Hello everybody! I’m Jacopo, an EVS volunteer from Italy. It’s been 3 months I’m in Lisbon and 9 more months are ahead of me.

My first impact with the city was strange. People and habits are very similar from where I come from, so it was not a big cultural shock for me. Lisbon is a peculiar city, unique in its style, with its “crumbling” charme.
Even if I came in October, the weather was really nice so I even got a chance to swim in the ocean for my first time !
During my three months I had many occasion to get lost in the city that reminds me a lot of my place.



One thing that I appreciated in Lisbon it’s the melting pot that you will find in this city. People all over the world live here, attracted by the positive vibrations of this city, so even if you are foreigner, you don’t feel this at all, instead you feel part of the world !
Another really nice thing of Lisbon are the miradouros, where you can basically see the whole city
below you.


But Lisbon is not only about having fun! My volunteering in Check-IN has been really various these months, with tasks such as sending emails, searching for partnership, local events promotion and creation and even postcard decoration.
So, let’s see what Lisbon has in store for me for the next months, waiting especially for the spring!
Bejinhos!