Avenidas Novas, Getting to Know the Community.

We left Belem... Avenidas Novas is the informal name of the area we are staying in now. It's at the northern edge of the city of Lisbon. It's relatively level, especially compared to the rest of Lisbon. We took an Uber here and thankfully we had a talkative driver. The first thing he said was, "Cascais?" It took me a minute to understand he was assuming we were going to Cascais (a beach town to the west) because that's the address Joe accidently sent him. I told him no, Avenidas Novas up near Alameda Park… the opposite direction. This brought everything to a halt as he took Joe's phone and put in the correct address. Just think—we almost went 30 minutes in the wrong direction! It became a running joke with the driver as he pulled into our new inner-city neighborhood. "How do you like Cascais? Pretty view, yeah?" he asked with a laugh.

We got settled into our new home, which is thankfully on the first floor (2nd floor). I was a little concerned at the tiny room and tiny bathroom, but the bed turned out to be super comfortable and this shower is actually big enough to shave my legs in. It has a nice front-room and dining room with a small but functional kitchen. Our hosts are Antonio and Martinho, and they are neat freaks. This place is immaculate. They are super respectful of our space and have told us at least twenty times that it is our home too. And, good news is that the apartment isn't over a smelly restaurant!

We went out to dinner our first night to the Imperio. This is the first restaurant we ate at when we arrived last year. Nothing has changed. Same waiter and everything. I love their salmon and mashed potatoes all drizzled with a lemon butter. Yesterday was errand-day. We walked for 45 minutes to the MEO store to put some money on our phone cards. 5G for thirty days for $18 each. Next we went in search for the pool recommended by our last pool. It's at the very top of one of the steepest streets in Lisbon. It zigzagged like Lombard Street in San Francisco. The corners were so steep that they had steps on the side walk so we didn't have to crawl up on our hands and knees. By the time we got to the community pool, we were hot and tired. Then we went inside… it felt like a sauna. Let me tell you something about Portuguese community pools; they want a lot of information, like your passport. I don't understand why they need that, but anyway I had to go outside to breathe. I'm thinking we may be taking this month off from swimming.

Our next task was to find our church; Riverside International Church. We entered through the Lisbon Project. This church's main focus is immigrants. They have tons of services for them and lots of home church-group studies. They also are known for feeding everyone who comes on certain nights and before church services. We met a gal from California who works there. It was fun to chat with her… she was a bundle of energy.

We went shopping and I made us a couple of salads with chicken from the shop. Scrawny chicken. That's been hard for me to get used to… the chickens are little and not very flavorful. Today we went to the big round market and bought potatoes and a big steak cut to order. Joe said the market reminds him of Hunger Games when they were on the spinning lake. We could not figure out which side we'd come in on! Anyway, I can't wait to cook it tonight. The guys are going somewhere for Antonio's birthday, so we have the kitchen to ourselves.

We scheduled Joe for a haircut today in an hour. Antonio walked us down to his barber and booked the appointment. Antonio took today off work for of his birthday, so he's busy cleaning and doing laundry. 

We came here to Alameda park so I could write. I love sitting at this kiosk next to the grassy area. It's always a hub of activity. In the morning all the picnic tables are taken by the old guys playing cards or dominos. The old ladies are with me at the kiosk ;) I just had a lady step up to me and say she was hungry. Usually when I offer to buy them food, they say no and wander off. This lady said yes, so she and I went up to the counter and she got coffee with milk and a veggie pastry. She thanked me over and over again. Now she's at the table next to us, quietly eating. It's apparently lunch break for work now. The tables are filling with workers. Later today this whole area will be packed with kids and dogs.

Speaking of dogs; Yesterday a small dog was running around enjoying itself when an older man arrived at the park with a very big dog. It wasn't on a leash. The dogs approached each other and suddenly got into a fight, which of course the small dog was losing. All hell broke loose as the two owners tried to stop the fight. People jumped up and went to their sides when the owner of the small dog managed to get his little guy up into his arms. The cool thing was that the big dog owner pulled out his phone and got the other guy's information while at least ten people stood around watching while a lady inspected the little dog for injuries. I'm not sure why, but this all touched me deeply. I'm actually choked-up just writing it. Maybe the intensity of community? Not sure.

We made the mistake of discovering a croissant shop called O Melhor Croissant da Minha Rua (The Best Croissant on My Street). That's not true—it's the best croissant shop in the world. Unbelievable flaky texture and flavor. I had one with cream cheese and salmon with arugula… wow. Unfortunately, I felt pretty crummy afterwards because I don't normally eat any grains. We actually avoid that street because it smells so good.

On a final note, I signed up for something called Internations on the recommendation of a lady from the last church we were going to. This is a worldwide organization that is designed to get people of like interests together in whatever city they happen to be in. I've already connected with a guy from Sacramento who lives here. We're going to meet him for a coffee or beer. Thursday night we're going to a meet-and-greet event down in the city center at a bar, so we may meet him there. The site is organized according to language and country of origin.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm going to start including photos of all the pets here. I don't think I'll do a whole blog on them. However, there was one pet of stronger interest… a cat. In Belem a guy came to the park with his young cat. Joe and I were spellbound by this cat. It would arch it's back and hop sideways around its owner with stiff legs and then leap at him. The guy would wrestle with it and then it would bound off again. It wandered pretty far from the guy, but would race back when it felt threatened… too cute.