My hometown is not very big. It is considered a city but that’s for Portuguese standards. Usually there’s not much going on there that gets the rest of the country’s, or even its own inhabitants’, attention. Except for one thing: Carnaval. I think I could barely walk when my parents started dragging me to the [...]

Monumento aos Combatentes do Ultramar
Avenida de Brasília
1400 Lisboa, Portugal‎
Related links:
Dopplr
Wikipedia – Portuguese Colonial War
View Atlas Parasite in a larger map

When it opened for the Expo ‘98, it was really difficult to get inside the Oceanarium. At that time known as the Oceans Pavilion. The lines were huge because some people thought there were babies swimming inside; you would have to wait for at least one hour to get inside and because there were so many [...]

Portugal is the home of some of the most passionate and beautiful music in the world – the fado. The exact origin of fado is unknown (slave music, seafarers’ laments, Moorish songs?), although it can be traced to the early 1800s. The word fado actually means “fate,” so, as you might be able to imagine, [...]

Everyone knows Geneva for being a cultural, diplomatic, and economic center of Europe, right? People also know Geneva for it’s famous lake and fountain. Maybe even Swiss chocolates? The UN? The Red Cross?…Banks?
Well that’s all fine and dandy, but I didn’t go back to Geneva twice just for that stuff! No, it was the Café [...]

This is one of the best hostels I’ve ever stayed at, and I’ve slept on many a hostel bed.
The Lisbon Poets Hostel is cheap (a bed in a room of 4 runs €18 during low season, €20 during high season), stylish yet homey, spacious yet cozy, centrally located, and has a small, friendly staff (headed [...]