JACOB JR, MY JEWISH WORLD. STROLLING AROUND THE LISBON/PORTUGAL. WINTER 5777.

Tuesday, Av 19, 5779. August 20, 2019.

Lisbon - Portugal.

Shalom! World.

I could argue that this a particularly good moment to visit Lisbon, and for a few paragraphs i will, though the truth of the matter is that i don't think Lisbon needs any recommendation beyond the blessed fact of it. It warranted attention and favor years ago and will warrant them years hence.

As for now, well, there's a clear economic rationale. Times aren't flush, and Lisbon presentes a noticable price. It's faded imperial glory on the cheap: Western Europe marked down 20 to  30 percent. And Portugal's economic woes - it's currently in a fiscally austere league with Greece, Spain and Ireland - have in some sense unleashed a creative spirit among its people, who are taking chances, improvising and, as it happens, trying to boost tourism. Outside Money is one answer to inside need.

While the sort of checklist you carry in Venice or Berlin can be thrilling, it can also be oppressive, a gilded prison of obligations. Inn Lisbon i have freedom. I can Sprint into a random café to wait out a sudden downpour, discover that a like the progressive English folk music pouring gently from the speakers, learn that the house White wine is utterly drinkable and just 5 euros a glass, and decide to  stay for an aimless hour.

In Lisbon it occured to me that maybe our favorite places are simply those in which our expectations are routinely exceeded, happenstance cuts in our favor, and it doesn't matter which fork in the road we take. It leads somewhere we're happy to be.

The Avenida da Liberdade, Lisbon's grandest boulevard, where you will be rewarded  with the view of Liberdade and all the trees and 18th - and 19th-century buildings skirting it as it descends toward the city's main square.

Shalom! Aleichem.

Cultural Support:  Jacob Jr Benleumi, Advisory, Consulting and Education. International Relations Analyst.