Things I Learned on my Mini Break in Portugal: 3. The best defense is a good offense.

When in Lisbon, Chiquita* and I quickly discovered that we were the only two blondes (or ginger-blondes, in my case) in the entire city. We did spot one other light-haired lady, but let's just say (without being rude): her roots indicated that it was not natural.

All over the city, men stared, shouted, honked and made kissing noises at us. Old men, young men, fathers and sons**, even if their girlfriend/wife/etc. was standing beside them.** At first, we were confused, thinking we had accidentally stumbled into the red light district. But chalked it up to our hair color as our clothes and demeanor were just like every other woman's walking around.

But what to do with all of this unwanted attention?

At first we tried to ignore it, which only made things worse (stares turned into comments and we understood enough to be uncomfortable). Then Chiquita got fed up, around our second day. She bravely turned back and made kissing noises in return. And you know what? The men morphed into little girls, blushing and looking ashamed of themselves before scurrying off as fast as they could. It was not unlike watching one of my old friends flirt with her eyes with the Parisian gendarmes in Gare du Nord (except for the scurrying off part).*** And it worked like a charm!

So blonde ladies of the world: If Portuguese men are harassing you, give them a little taste of their own medicine (but obviously, in well-lit, public areas only).

* Names have been changed to protect privacy and to encourage making fun of names.

** Just gross.

*** Which, in my view, was wholly brave, considering they carry guns.