Meet And Greet At Steemfest 2 In Lisbon, Portugal 2017

I had the splendid opportunity to attend SteemFest2 in Lisbon, Portugal last week and it was by far one of the best events I have ever attended.

What made it so special? I'm glad you asked.

The energy of everyone in the room was remarkable, equaled only by the talent they possessed. So many people gathered together expressing their excitement and creativity felt like being part of some great, revolutionary movement gathering momentum.

_{[Image credit](https://steemit.com/steemfest/@t-r-f/introducing-travel-reimbursement-fund-for-steemfest(}

We were riding a wave of enthusiasm into the future, certain what we have discovered will change the world and knowing we were all a part of it.

Anyone that knows me knows I'm really into Steemit and attending Steemfest just intensified my commitment to this movement taking place. What I took away the most from this experience is there are many intelligent, dedicated, talented people who see the world of possibilities we have in our hands and are moving towards a more unified, supportive, community of like thinkers. Like a family of extreme diversity unified by a common idea and expressed on a common platform.

Boarding the plane in Cancun, I found a fellow Steemian Hive account@jza was on the same flight. I met him through the Dash group in Cancun he started called Bitcuners and learned he was going to move straight to the Netherlands after Steemfest.

Feeling in the zone in Lisbon, Portugal

It was so cool to have someone on the plane also attending the event and we talked about crypto on the way and hung out together once we got to Lisbon.

I also got a chance to meet up with a friend I met in a hostel in Seattle who recently moved to Germany and joined Steemit. He goes by the handle Hive account@solasailor and he flew to Lisbon to meet up with me. We became good friends over the last few years and it was good to see him.

The three of us arrived a day early to the event and walked around the city exploring what it had to offer. It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky.

We walked from Marquess De Pombal all the way to the beach along the city's edge, soaking up the sun and the sights along the way.

_{The beach in the city or Lisbon, Portugal}

The city has so much history and is older than Rome. Everywhere you look you can see its longevity as if it were oozing out from the very streets. It's like walking in a living piece of art. From the buildings, statues, and fountains to the very streets below our feet, you can feel the story being told.

_{Marquess De Pombal, Lisbon, Portugal}

Parts of the city reminded me of San Francisco's parks and Seattle's waterfront. Listening to the Portuguese language is like listening to music. It sounds so good to my ears that even if I had a Portuguese girlfriend bitching me out for something I did I would probably enjoy hearing her say it in Portuguese.

_{Outdoor shopping area in the streets of Lisbon, Portugal}

As we winded our way through the streets you could hear many languages being spoken like a concerto communicating the joyous day. Mixed with the rich, exotic smells of delicious food wafting through the air greeting us with inviting regularity, our hunger grew with each step we took.

I couldn't help thinking that Steemfest was correct in saying Lisbon is both creamy and delicious. Not just their food though. The women are beautiful. One senses they carry themselves with a confidence and style that is refreshing and I wasn't the only one to notice they made and kept eye contact longer than most women from other cultures, something I found very attractive.

_{Even the streets of Lisbon feel like you're walking on a work of art}

It's hard for me to hide my enthusiasm for Steemit and when I got back to the hostel I was staying at people were curious to know what I was doing in Lisbon. I showed a group of people from all over the world what Steemit was all about and some people, out of curiosity at least, signed up on the spot.

Heading out into the night on my own this time, I went to the LX Factory to see the art gallery of Steemian art.

_{The entrance to the LX Factory, a very hip part of Lisbon, Portugal}

The LX Factory is a very artsy outdoor mall in Lisbon full of shops, music, art, and food and a great place to spend the day or night. This night was full of life as I made my way through the streets, shops, and cafes, eventually ending up at the Steemfest Art Gallery to see the art made by Steemians.

Here's a video of the art that way displayed there.

Steemit Art Gallery In Lisbon Portugal For Steemfest 2017

I was trying to hook up with friends there but seemed to be just missing everyone by minutes so I stopped off for a beer and some live music at the cafe near the entrance and chatted with some people from Brazil. There was a good internet connection there and I logged on to Steenfest on Steemit chat to see where everyone was gathering.

Seemed like people were going to a place called Cafe Independente so I chugged down my beer and walked out to the street to flag down a taxi.

_{Creamy and delicious local beer}

There was only one taxi in the long line of cars filing down the narrow street to the entrance which was filled with some very drunk guys taking forever to pay the taxi driver and get out of the car. I made reassuring eye contact with the driver that I was next to get a ride as soon as these guys got out of the car but it took them at least five minutes to take care of business.

I finally got in and told the driver my destination and as we rounded the first corner when I spotted them. There on the side of the street were the crew from Hive account@gardenofeden.

Hive account@quinneaker, who gifted me a ticket to Steemfest, Hive account@saramiller, and Hive account@everlove were walking down the road and when I recognized them from their Steemit posts I quickly told the driver to stop.

_{The perfect way to meet new friends}

Greeted by their smiling faces, I opened the door calling out to them and introduced myself. Turns out we were going to the exact same place. They jumped in the taxi and we rode off to the Cafe Independente like we were old friends who hadn't seen each other in years.

If it hadn't been for those drunk passengers taking so long to pay for their ride I would have missed them by seconds. It was as if the universe had planned it all out for us to have our first meeting in the streets of Lisbon. There is no such thing a coincidence and it could not have unfolded any more perfectly.

One of my mantras is:

We're always in the right place doing the right things with the right people at the right time.

This perfectly timed moment to connect with these guys affirmed that the universe conspired to bring us together, knowing we were made of the same cloth and determined to reward us for going with the flow, trusting in our belief that everything happens for a reason.

We arrived at our destination and stopped for a moment to hug and greet each other properly before turning the page on the nights' offerings and entering the cafe.

The first to arrive, the first person we ran into was Hive account@roelandp, our generous and genuine host of all things Steemfest, who quickly opened the bar to us for the rest of the night.

With a cold beer in one hand and a homegrown, chemical-free, organic tobacco cigarette grown and rolled by Hive account@quinneaker in the other, I mingled with Steemians as they arrived.

_{Hive account@luzcypher and Hive account@anomadsoul at Steemfest 2}

It was fun meeting Steemians as they trickled in and a friend that I signed up was there named Hive account@anomadsoul who flew to Belgium and hitchhiked from there to Lisbon in 3 days to attend Steemfest.

Everyone was so excited and the festive atmosphere was contagious. It was also Halloween night so many people were dressed in costumes for the occasion.

Hive account@quinneaker and I closed the bar ordering both the first and the last drinks for the night.

The following evening we all met up for a meet and greet at the Fenix Hotel, the main meeting point of Steemfest. From the moment of getting there, it felt strangely familiar. Like a big family reunion.

Being in the same room with so many talented, excited people drawn together by a website is remarkable to me. It just goes to show the power of Steemit is strong enough to bring us together in real life, not just online.

_{Hive account@luzcypher and Hive account@kevinwong at Steemfest 2}

The first couple nights were amazing and Steemfest had not even begun yet. I will post more about my experiences at Steemfest and share some great moments so stay tuned for more posts soon.