Date: Apr 6, 2010
Hello to all:
We arrived in Lisbon after a difficult but doable transatlantic crossing: Portland to Amsterdam to Lisbon. We had a five hour layover in Amsterdam, so we contacted our Dutch friends who we met last year on our Hutigruten cruise. Delightedly they came to the airport and we had a great visit, catching up on the world and remembering to Trash George Bush. It’s much more fun now that he and his henchmen are no longer in power. Their legacy remains, hence they remain still in our thoughts.
Carol has often talked about enjoying Lisbon and although we’ve only been here for one day, I can certainly see why. It’s a wonderful combination of old-world and the modern. It quickly etched its way into my heart when we stumbled on a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant which had all the elements of a great experience. We could have easily missed it. No flashing lights, no big signs, no imposing presence on the outside, only the word “Restaurant” written of the window. We tried to enter but the sign on the door said “Closed.” But as we passed by, I saw another door around the corner and when we tried it, it opened to a great scene of every table filled with people talking and laughing. No tourists here. Just locals enjoying what they knew was a great place to eat. A table had just become available and we grabbed it, just ahead of the people right behind us.
It was a mom and pop affair. He worked the tables while she dished up food. At the table next to us sat a very austere man, very grave in manner, but he knew his food. I just said: “I want what he’s having.” It was a delicous combination of fava beans, ox-tail, and sausages which had obviously been simmering for hours in a savory broth. At another table was a mixture of seven men and women who looked like they worked in an office building somewhere near. Three professionals at another table finished off their meal with cognac and cigars, while at another a grandmother and her grandson talked and enjoyed their time together. It obviously made Carol miss “Her boys.”
The male owner barked orders to his wife. She threw up her arms in frustration and barked right back, but with all the commotion they were efficient and really pleasant. He stopped by to see how we liked our meal, gave me a quizzical look with a questioning thumbs up. I responded in kind and he seemed quite pleased that the tourists had avoided all the glitzy restaurants in the area and chose his. After we finished and he gave us the bill, he brought us two shot-sized glasses with little handles which made them look like miniturized beer mugs, and a tall bottle. He gave us a kindly look and said that we had to have some “Grapa.” Carol declined, but he gave her his best: “I insist” look in his gentle way. Well, this local fire water is a combination of mouthwash and industrial strength cleanser. It is guaranteed to destroy anything which might dare to live in one’s mouth. It was like everclear on steroids. After the two glasses of wine with my meal and the grapa, my back didn’t hurt at all and I was ready for the next adventure of the day.
That turned out to be one of the old trams that still run certain routes in the city. The new, sleek ones can’t navigate the narrow streets of many parts of the city and hence the old ones from the early part of the 20th century still operate. They chug up and down the hills with the driver clanging his bell at anyone who has the temerity to step off the curb and endanger him/herself. The trams creaks and groans as it rattles down the track, and when a light changes, objects noisily to being made to stop. It’s the obvious sound of metal on metal as it lurches to a halt, which it does.
It’s an interesting facet of my mind that I need something like these experiences to really put me in the right mental state for traveling. Local experiences, local people and a true insight to where I’m at. It made for a great day, and even though my back eventually said it wanted to go lie down and would I please accommodate it, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I am ready and primed for tomorrow and all the days ahead. We’re on the road again, and I’ve go my best friend and translator by my side.
Live large and prosper,
C and J
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