Lisbon
This is a chronicle of some of the events of our travels in Portugal.
We had our first dinner in Lisbon at an outdoor cafe just off Rossio, the main plaza. CT was haviñg the grilled cuttlefish, Kevin (an enterprising 32 yo travel writer and former molecular biologist with degrees from Cal Tech and MIT who became disillusioned with both academia and industry - see thirtypostcards)is having grilled sea bass, and SC is having a nostalgic meal of shrimp "completo" - the same meal he had on his only other night in Lisbon in 1980 when he arrived with a bicycle and a full bladder. If there is anyone in the Western Hemisphere who hasnt heard that story, consider yourself lucky.
Earlier in the day we had taken a guided walking tour of the city center, and had learned that the iconic castle illuminated on the hill behind us was a complete fake. There was a moorish castle there once, but it was abandoned and then disassembled for the stones centuries ago. This one was built by Salazar in the 19 thirties. On the other hand, the monestary of Jeronimo was sublime, and the coach museum was amazing. About 100 royal coaches, each more ornate than the last. The perfect spot for anyone with a Cinderella fantasy.
The previous day had seen SC on the payphone locked in mortal combat with ATT for hours (he lost) and and interesting (and successful) time spent purchasing an international SIM card for CTs phone. We had and incredible light lunch out in Belem near the Discovery Monument. As we walked to the cafe, we passed a group of amplified Peruvian pipe players gathering a crowd and selling their CDs. As we walked back from lunch toward the monestary, a thunderstorm was moving in and all the women had their hair standing up on end! Bad sign. Even though it was beginning to rain, we decided to put down the umbrella and run for the nearest cover. As we passed the pipe players, they had put down their instruments and were covering their equipment with tarps. But the pipe music was still playing !!??
We are getting by with our meagre Portuguese. English often works much better; in fact we were repremanded by a lady tram driver for trying to speak to her in Portuguese. "You think Im too stupid to know English? Or French? Or German?" Now we always start with "Do you speak English".
Our last night in Lisbon, we ate late deep in the Barrio Alto near our Penseao.The meal was good, but the show moving past our outdoor table was amazing. This was Bourbon Street on a steep tilt with cobblestones. The place was packed with intoxicated tourist youth all toting go-cups of beer or caparinias. Most were in pairs or small groups, but sometimes organized Pub Crawls came by with a leader holding a pole/flag - one topped with a teddy bear. Sometimes these would clash head to head on the narrow street with tour bus groups of elders clinging tightly to each other for safty. Through the crowd moved the vendors hawking brightly lit whirly toy and Giant Sunglasses (they still exist), and drug dealers always in pairs whispering offers to young guys.
We adjourned to the nearby miradore where the local youth were doing a much more mature job of eating, drinking and listening to music.
The next day SC visited several ATM to get cash for the room, and discovered they all wanted a 6 digit PIN, and he only had four. the secret turned out to be adding a pair of trailing zeros. Once checked out, we took the tram plastered with signs warning about pickpockets, to the train station. While sitting in the waiting room, a young man walked calmly by holding a small back pack and then jumped out the open window. SC peered out to see him sprinting away....
We have been pretty circumspect with our valuables and our belongings, and are looking forward to not having to be as vigilent in the smaller towns.
Solarcaine
We had our first dinner in Lisbon at an outdoor cafe just off Rossio, the main plaza. CT was haviñg the grilled cuttlefish, Kevin (an enterprising 32 yo travel writer and former molecular biologist with degrees from Cal Tech and MIT who became disillusioned with both academia and industry - see thirtypostcards)is having grilled sea bass, and SC is having a nostalgic meal of shrimp "completo" - the same meal he had on his only other night in Lisbon in 1980 when he arrived with a bicycle and a full bladder. If there is anyone in the Western Hemisphere who hasnt heard that story, consider yourself lucky.
Earlier in the day we had taken a guided walking tour of the city center, and had learned that the iconic castle illuminated on the hill behind us was a complete fake. There was a moorish castle there once, but it was abandoned and then disassembled for the stones centuries ago. This one was built by Salazar in the 19 thirties. On the other hand, the monestary of Jeronimo was sublime, and the coach museum was amazing. About 100 royal coaches, each more ornate than the last. The perfect spot for anyone with a Cinderella fantasy.
The previous day had seen SC on the payphone locked in mortal combat with ATT for hours (he lost) and and interesting (and successful) time spent purchasing an international SIM card for CTs phone. We had and incredible light lunch out in Belem near the Discovery Monument. As we walked to the cafe, we passed a group of amplified Peruvian pipe players gathering a crowd and selling their CDs. As we walked back from lunch toward the monestary, a thunderstorm was moving in and all the women had their hair standing up on end! Bad sign. Even though it was beginning to rain, we decided to put down the umbrella and run for the nearest cover. As we passed the pipe players, they had put down their instruments and were covering their equipment with tarps. But the pipe music was still playing !!??
We are getting by with our meagre Portuguese. English often works much better; in fact we were repremanded by a lady tram driver for trying to speak to her in Portuguese. "You think Im too stupid to know English? Or French? Or German?" Now we always start with "Do you speak English".
Our last night in Lisbon, we ate late deep in the Barrio Alto near our Penseao.The meal was good, but the show moving past our outdoor table was amazing. This was Bourbon Street on a steep tilt with cobblestones. The place was packed with intoxicated tourist youth all toting go-cups of beer or caparinias. Most were in pairs or small groups, but sometimes organized Pub Crawls came by with a leader holding a pole/flag - one topped with a teddy bear. Sometimes these would clash head to head on the narrow street with tour bus groups of elders clinging tightly to each other for safty. Through the crowd moved the vendors hawking brightly lit whirly toy and Giant Sunglasses (they still exist), and drug dealers always in pairs whispering offers to young guys.
We adjourned to the nearby miradore where the local youth were doing a much more mature job of eating, drinking and listening to music.
The next day SC visited several ATM to get cash for the room, and discovered they all wanted a 6 digit PIN, and he only had four. the secret turned out to be adding a pair of trailing zeros. Once checked out, we took the tram plastered with signs warning about pickpockets, to the train station. While sitting in the waiting room, a young man walked calmly by holding a small back pack and then jumped out the open window. SC peered out to see him sprinting away....
We have been pretty circumspect with our valuables and our belongings, and are looking forward to not having to be as vigilent in the smaller towns.
Solarcaine
posted by Axolotl at 1:55 PM
2 Comments:
Lisbon has always felt so nostalgic for me, probably because of all SC's stories about it growing up. I love that story, Dad. I could hear it a hundred times. xoxox two shoes
I think I spent about as much time at Cal Tech as SC did at John Hopkins
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