A Cemetary in Lisbon

I always plan to visit a cemetery in every new country I go to, but Portugal was no exception. However, once I learned I was pregnant (after I booked my trip) and became very ill, I scrapped most of my plans and hoped I would at least be able to make it out of bed once a day. 

As luck would have it, the airbnb we booked in Estrela was within block of Lisbon's most famous cemetery - Cemitério dos Prazeres. I couldn't resist the 10 minute walk and though I should at least try to explore what I can. 

Built in 1833 and featuring large mausoleums, it is one of the most beautiful cemeteries I have ever been.

The "streets" of the cemetery are paved like those for cars, and even have lamps, benches, trashcans, and sidewalks too. 

In the summer, the beautiful Jacaranda trees were in bloom, and added color to the stone mausoleums. 

I was surprised to see these very Chinese-looking mausoleums in the cemetery, but then again, Macau was a Portuguese colony. 

The cemetery was up on a hill and had an impressive view of the bridge and river. 

Portugal's Amazing Bookstores

I normally check out libraries in every country I visit, but in Portugal, the bookstores are what you want to see. Both Lisbon and Porto have some gorgeously unique bookstores that would seduce any bibliophile.

Livraria Bertrans in Lisbon

This gorgeous tile-clad building is even more intriguing inside, where arches doorways lead you through deep rooms. The passageways feel very cathedral-like while the final chamber leads to the Fernando Pessoa Café, aptly named after Portugal’s most famous poet.

Ler Davagar in Lisbon

This hipster haven, right in the middle of LX Factory, is impressive upon first impression. Walking up the stairs and exploring the nooks and crannies of this sprawling store’s used and rare book collection is even more rewarding.

Livraria Lello in Porto

Porto’s most popular tourist destination is by far the hardest-to-access bookstore I've ever seen. First, you must go to a separate location to purchase a ticket, and that line could be an hour long. Once you have your ticket you can enter the bookstore, but it’s a frenzy inside with so mnay people trying to take photos. Contrary to popular tourist strategy, going when the store opens is even busier than when the store closes. We went about 20 minutes before closing and actually had some time to take photos without too many people in them, and more importantly, to savor the peace that a bookstore should offer.

Flying in the first trimester

We planned our trip to Portugal before I found out I was pregnant. When I checked the calendar, I realized I would be there on weeks 10 and 11. 
No big deal, I thought. After all, I hadn't had any symptoms or gained any weight. This will be easy. The only thing I need to worry about is avoiding certain foods (liked cured meats and soft cheeses - not so easy to do in Portugal!). 

Little did I know that the worst was yet to come: Morning sickness. 

Typically arriving in the 6th week and lasting until the end of the first trimester (weeks 12-13), this symptoms can range from nonexistent, mild, annoying, debilitating, and life-threatening (you can dye from dehydration due to morning sickness).

For me, the sickness manifested in an intense nausea and vertigo that lasted all day and got worse at nights. Sleeping was challenging. I would throw up multiple times and day and when I wasn't throwing up, I was feelings like I needed to. 

My taste in food completely diminished. I couldn't eat anything except potato chips and coca-cola. The smell of cooked food, especially meats, was repulsive and gag-inducing. I ran from the smell of coffee. None of my usual foods could be consumed anymore. It was a bland, terrible diet of white bread, chips, and coke every day. 

I started to really worry about my trip to Portugal. I worried I wouldn't be able to eat anything, be able to walk around the explore, and the able to survive the place ride over. 

In the subsequent posts, I will be writing more about my trip to Portugal, but in this one I want to address the worst on my mind: flying. 

I already hate flying and hate being on planes. My hatred of flights is well-documented in other posts, and now with my pregnancy and new symptoms, I was dreading the flight even more.
My fears:

• throwing up on the plane
• being unable to handle the smell of plane food
• having to pee at take off, landing, or during turbulence
• getting jerked around in my seat due to turbulence 
• being unable to sleep or rest
• getting deep vein thrombosis

The nausea was my worst concern, so to combat that, I did a lot of preparation. Check out how much anti-nausea stuff was in carry-on bag:

• dried prunes (natural Chinese remedy)
• dried plums (natural Chinese remedy)
• dried ginger (natural Chinese remedy)
• Zofran (prescription drug used to treat nausea in chemo patients)
• Ginger tablets
• Prenatal vitamin (not for nausea just for general health)
• Vitamin D (not for nausea just for general health)

After all was said and done, I ended up needing none of these on the plane. Ironically, it was while we were walking through the streets of Lison and Porto that I had to bust out my emergency anti-nausea remedies. 

The other thing I did was buy some compression socks. I loved them and they made my legs feel so good during the flight. 

One rookie move I made was to carry a large backpack on my shoulders. I figured it was fine because I wasn't that big yet and it's it my belly that grows? Wrong. Having to bend over and pick up such a heavy bag was taxing. As was carrying the weight long distances. I wouldn't do that in any stage of pregnancy. 

All in all, flying was not bad except for the nausea. Without that, it would have been almost a completely normal trip. 

Taiwan Style

I went to Taiwan in the fall, but it was typhoon season and there was a heat wave for almost the entire two weeks.

I ended up not wearing most of the clothes I packed since they were too tight or too hot, but this  striped tunic has saved me time and time again. 

It fit me nicely when I was about 40 lbs lighter and pretty well when I was 6 months pregnant too. 

Top: Nordstrom

Pants: Motherhood Maternity 

(yep, finally wearing maternity pants)

Shoes: adidas

Tote: from the Taipei MOCA

Lisbon Diaries

One of my most vivid memories from Lisbon is going to sleep in the early evening, and once darkness fell around 8:00pm, hearing my neighbor practice Fur Elise on the piano, the notes wafting through the night air. We stayed in a renovated apartment on the second floor of a building on a small street in the Estrela neighborhood. I would hear the piano music every night, either beckoning me onto the streets or deeper into a dream.

I wish I has written this on my trip to Lisbon, but now it appears on the page as a memory. I didn’t write a single word in my diary during my entire trip to Portugal. I thought I would. The purpose of this trip was meant to reawaken me to the world’s variety and refuel me to start my new business. At critical junctures of my life I’ve quit my job, traveled to another country, and returned to start something completely new. This would be one of them, and Portugal would be part of that transition. But what I had not anticipated was that I was in the 10 and 11th weeks of pregnancy, and at the height of my morning sickness. Fatigue and nausea overtook most of my days, and distracted me from writing, reflecting, or even processing my experience.

Every day in Portugal I awoke at 8:00am and was in bed by 8:00pm. 12 hours of sleep was nothing for me – I could have slept 16 if I didn’t feel guilty about wasting my time in a foreign country. I did manage to leave the room each day, to go out for walks, to photograph a few things. But the physical discomfort never left me. I was always only partially present, with the other part of me trying to flee my body away from all the sickness I felt.

It’s hard to know what sort of experience I would have had in Lisbon if I saw it from a different body, or from a different time in my own body. But this was the time and this was the body, and this was the Lisbon I experienced.