sunnylisbon

Today is Mother's Day here in Portugal. However, in Korea May 5th is always Children's Day. As Koreans don't celebrate Easter like here in Portugal, children don't get presents on that day. Instead, they get all the presents on Children's Day. I wondered whether Portuguese have children's Day or not. So I googled it. Well, Portuguese Children Day is on June 1st. But I don't recall seeing any big promotion at shopping centers last year. Usually for Mother's Day, they have promotions. I think Mother's Day has become too commercialized. In Korea, there is no Mother's Day or Father's Day. Instead there is Parents' Day which falls on May 8th. When young, I used to make paper carnations with my siblings. On Parents' Day, we put the flowers on our parents' chests. You can see people wearing carnations on their left heart all over Korean on May 8th. Like Freedom day here in Portugal.

I am a people person. I do love meeting new people and many say I am very fun and interesting. However, as you grow older, you feel you need "me" time as well as "us" time. Born and raised in a culture which forces you to think and act as "WE" all the time, I feel blessed and liberated living here in Portugal. How exciting to see this man always there doing what he does. Here you can dance to music in a street and you are not to be frowned upon. Here you can sit alone at the riverside and do nothing for the whole day. Even so, people don't think you are crazy or weird. You can be just yourself. Though traveling all over the world, I am still learning how to be myself. Sometimes talking with travelers from Korea helps me to learn about who I am. Yesterday I met this wonderful lady who has been traveling for 10 years. Ever since she decided to take an early retirement at 50, she never looked back. In Korea most people dres...

To promote tourism in Lisbon, Turismo de Lisboa has been offering free maps and info at Ask Me Lisboa booths all over Lisbon. They are information centers where you can also purchase a  Lisboa card  or  book attractions  in advance to gain fast track access. Some leaflet even has a coupon so it's a smart way to enjoy your visit. As one of the most popular booklets at the info center, you may not get one in your own language. Don't worry. Just visit the site and the download. All the info is provided in six languages, including English and Portuguese. Some visitors from Korea don't feel comfortable figuring it out in English so sometimes I help them to understand and find out whatever piques their interests. It is kind of time consuming but I enjoy every minute of it. By translation info into Korean, I get to learn more about what this city offers visitors from all over the world. Through my Korean blog, a lady from Sintra got the info on OVO...