Lisbon is great. Portugal has great food (although like with anyplace, you are likely to get tired of the cuisine after a while if that’s all you eat). Very interesting mix of old and new—many buildings built in the 17th and 18th century with absolutely derelict units next to newly modernized living places and businesses), great weather, history and culture. We visited Coimbra—Portugal’s university town—right during graduation, which was quite the party.
Travelling to not yet fully modernized places in Europe can be quite interesting. For example, the best restaurant I ever ate at was in May 2019 at an absolute hole in the wall kind of place in Lvov, Ukraine. To find it, you had to find a totally unmarked building apparently occupied by another business, walk down an unmarked set of stairs, through a dark hallway, until you stumbled on it’s entrance. Very simple, yet absolutely fantastic, Galician food, made apparently by someone’s grandma. Dirt cheap. We went back several times during our stay.
Looking it up just now, it seems like it has since gone substantially downhill. But I will never forget it.
https://tomato.ua/en/lviv/restaurants/trapeznayaidey
In May 2019, before the second Russian invasion, Lvov had a real “wild west” air about it. And it was far and away the cheapest place I have ever been to in Europe (with Portugal being in 2nd place).
https://tomato.ua/en/lviv/restaurants/trapeznayaidey
You takes your chances and lives your life.
I remember when the Islamabad Marriott was bombed. Having done 3.5 years in Iraq prior at that time I volunteered to take the trip for a co-worker. No one bombs the same place twice... right? It’d be helping ppl out and I’d have gotten great deals. Alas, the Command cancelled the trip.
The best tea I ever had was in Warsaw in June, 1978. We’d finished soccer game (got our butts kicked) and were very thirsty. Me and two teammates seached the rooms under the stadium for something to drink. In a windowless room we encountered 3 old ladies around a big tub of tea, cooking and stirring it. They gave us each a ceramic mug of their. Freaking best tasting tea I’d ever had.
As for the Middle East, 1v1 I’ve never had problems with Muslims. They have that “if I’m gonna pull some S I want it done right and honorably so I can be credited/take the glory” thing going on. Not so Westerners and Africans.