How it all began…
On a wing and a prayer!
When I first moved to Lisbon, I didn’t speak any Portuguese, and my Bachelor of Arts that specialized in 20th century European history had barely touched on what had been going on in Portugal. I had taken an entire undergraduate course on the Spanish Civil War, but I don’t remember once hearing about Portugal…and the fact that it was neutral during World War Two? The fact that it had a dictator for 45 years? The fact that it was the first and largest colonizer force in 14th century age of discovery? It is a blank. I almost feel like I knew so little about Portugal (coming from Canada) that it had kept itself secret, behind a mysterious veil that I had to be ready to uncover at the right time.
I had backpacked through Portugal as a solo traveller in my early twenties and Lisbon had left a lasting impression: its magical light, the mournful music of Fado sung throughout the dimly lit alleyways of Alfama, the hills and stairways that made any journey far longer than planned…I had memories of the city, but they were somewhat hazy. Perhaps because I had also drunk a lot of port and stayed up until dawn, watching the sun rise over the rooftops after nights of dancing to samba and chatting to people from all over the world!
But then, years later, Lisbon came back into my life (or rather I into it’s), when I was looking to move to Europe permanently, to somewhere sunny that felt light and hopeful, ready for a fresh start after working for too long as a history teacher, travelling the world and never really staying one place long enough to set my roots into the soil. I had been living in Scotland, it was May and still 5 degrees. And so, after a very spontaneous decision to change everything in my life in one fell swoop, I landed in Lisbon in June with everything I owned and within a week, I got a job interview as a tour guide with a local electric bike tour company. And there, my initiation in the history, culture, language and richness of Lisbon began. I was in love. I couldn’t learn enough, see enough, spend late nights walking its neighbourhoods and days on e-bike showing tourists all the new things I was discovering. Like a child in a candy store, my eyes lit up, enthusiasm contagious…I was hooked.
I worked this job for 7 months until I was utterly exhausted and 100% ready and raring to launch out on my own.
It was time to start Mythic City Tours and that is how it all began…
