Random thoughts in Portugal
- There seems to be one offical soundtrack that is played over speakers in the city, bus station, random parks...which includes Betty Davis Eyes, Somewhere Over the Rainbow by the brilliant Hawaian Ukelele singer), anything by Tina Turner, and We Built this City on Rock and Roll
- The parking brakes on the vehicles here had better work really really well.
- if they give you soap in the hotels, they are all the same brand and nearly impossible to open once your hands are wet.
- sometimes in the early morning all the cobblestone pavers are sticky underfoot, for blocks at a time. S´plain that ?
- there are ATMs everywhere and they all work the same.
- Internet Cafes are not to be found, but we have found free computers in libraries.
Better computers and no smoke and you don´t have to drink coffee
- speaking of coffee, they always give you 2 packs of sugar with each cup, even if you have not touched the sugar every morning when you sat down for breakfast in the same place with the same waitstaff. Coffee means 2 packs of sugar.
- we have paid cash for almost everything, and often the receipts are handwritten notes on the back of scrap paper or a business card.
- the napkins are the thinnest slip of paper you can imagine. Which can make for a pretty spotty lap, as so much of the food is drenched in delicious olive oil.
- becareful about stopping to ponder when you are even near a crosswalk, because all the traffic will stop to let you cross, even if you haven´t yet decided where you are going.
-in restaurants, ordering 1\2 dose portion for one person, and only a small green salad for the other person will still be more food than you need. But ya got to eat it anyway because it is irresistable
- often, one waiter or waitress will serve multiple tables, 20-30 people, with excellent results and nothing missed
- you never get salt, pepper or toothpicks
- yesterday my salad had vinegarette on the greens and peppers, but the flesh of the sliced tomato had been infused with bacon
- you are always served bread, olives, various cheeses and other enticing tidbits as soon as you sit down, but you will be charged for them. We usually avoid them since we know the meal will be ample and superb.
- we have used French more than any language besides our very rudimentary Portuguese. No one has yet to admit to understanding Spanish.
- The parking brakes on the vehicles here had better work really really well.
- if they give you soap in the hotels, they are all the same brand and nearly impossible to open once your hands are wet.
- sometimes in the early morning all the cobblestone pavers are sticky underfoot, for blocks at a time. S´plain that ?
- there are ATMs everywhere and they all work the same.
- Internet Cafes are not to be found, but we have found free computers in libraries.
Better computers and no smoke and you don´t have to drink coffee
- speaking of coffee, they always give you 2 packs of sugar with each cup, even if you have not touched the sugar every morning when you sat down for breakfast in the same place with the same waitstaff. Coffee means 2 packs of sugar.
- we have paid cash for almost everything, and often the receipts are handwritten notes on the back of scrap paper or a business card.
- the napkins are the thinnest slip of paper you can imagine. Which can make for a pretty spotty lap, as so much of the food is drenched in delicious olive oil.
- becareful about stopping to ponder when you are even near a crosswalk, because all the traffic will stop to let you cross, even if you haven´t yet decided where you are going.
-in restaurants, ordering 1\2 dose portion for one person, and only a small green salad for the other person will still be more food than you need. But ya got to eat it anyway because it is irresistable
- often, one waiter or waitress will serve multiple tables, 20-30 people, with excellent results and nothing missed
- you never get salt, pepper or toothpicks
- yesterday my salad had vinegarette on the greens and peppers, but the flesh of the sliced tomato had been infused with bacon
- you are always served bread, olives, various cheeses and other enticing tidbits as soon as you sit down, but you will be charged for them. We usually avoid them since we know the meal will be ample and superb.
- we have used French more than any language besides our very rudimentary Portuguese. No one has yet to admit to understanding Spanish.
posted by Axolotl at 9:06 AM
1 Comments:
ha ha - Love it! great observations. The napkins were that thin in the Basque region, too. The custom, when eating pintxos (basque tapas), is to frequently use, wad, and throw them onto the floor.
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