We stow our bags in our rooms and head out for a stroll while there’s still afternoon light. It’s day one of our trip and our first night out and about. With my bag off my shoulder and my lungs full of sea air, I feel both lighthearted and lightheaded. Gulls circle overhead as we walk downhill from the Bairro Alto district to the Praça do Comércio, whose triumphal arch and cobblestoned square look seafaringly out onto the Tagus estuary. Welcome to Lisbon, Portugal, land of pioneering maritime explorers, and our European point of departure for this journey.