Shrek and Donkey

Have you seen the second Shrek? Joe and I love the relationship between Donkey and Shrek, and we quote them regularly. A favorite is when Donkey said something like, "That's right... Shrek and Donkey off on another adventure!" We really relate to that. Last Tuesday we woke up to sunshine, so we decided to head for the beach. Dressed in layers, with my new tank top on under my long-sleeve t-shirt, we headed out on an adventure. This is when you have to decide how to react to obstacles. Adventure or ruined plans? If you set out to see what the day will bring—even if you made plans—it's possible to take a side step and see what's going to happen instead. (I'm building this up too much.) So, we hopped on the greenline metro by our place and went down to Cais de Sodre, the regional train station. We exited, swiped our passes and went straight to the train entrance in the same building. 

All of the turnstiles had a red X instead of the preferred green arrow. All of them. People milled about in confusion after trying to swipe their passes even though the red X made it clear that wouldn't work. We got an espresso and asked the barista. He didn't speak English, but he said, "Greve!" and walked away. I pulled out my translator to find out that greve means strike. Well, crap. An 8x11 piece of paper explained what was happening on a wall. A pissed off Portuguese woman standing by me said, "Until Thursday!"

The trams weren't on strike, so we went to Belem (our old neighborhood). It was a beautiful day and warm. Near our old place was an enormous park surrounded by a construction wall. The wall had been removed to reveal a gorgeous park directly in front of the Geronimo Monastery. As you know, I love statues. I fell in love with these horses.

We walked down to the ferry station to have a cheap beer and a glass of wine and watch the world go by. And, though this will mean nothing to most of you, a Honda Prelude pulled up in front of us… I've never seen one in Europe. It was in mint condition too. A very wealthy looking man got out and walked away. I sent a picture to my Prelude at home in the garage to tell her that I found her brother. It turned out to be a very relaxing day. We ended with pizza at our old pizza place (I got to put my tank-top to good use) and came back to Lisbon on the standing-room only tram.

Wednesday, after swimming at the pool, we went out in front of the Oriente Train Station mall and wandered along the bayside towards the Vasco da Gama bridge. We discovered a whole new area of restaurants and parks.

Thursday we still couldn't go to the beach because of the stupid strike. I did a little research to find out where some of the more special churches were. San Sebastian was my first goal. We got on the redline metro and went to the San Sebastian stop (the end-of-the-line). We looked ignorantly at the several stairwell exits and chose poorly. We ended up in a mall designed to trap you inside it for the rest of your life. I'd actually read about this place online. One man said it was the most complex Escape-Room he and his family had ever been in. It took us thirty minutes to figure out how to get out. After ending up in the garage, the food court, the children's books, and the intimates section, I finally asked an employee. He pointed us in the right direction and told us to go up two floors. We did that and got lost again. I asked another employee and she pointed us in the right direction and we escaped! Unfortunately we just missed the opening hours of the church.

I looked on my map and found their version of Central Park nearby. What a find! 

We wandered down to another church, Igreja de Sao Roque. This is the most elaborately decorated church I've seen in Europe. It's almost as fancy as the cathedral in Puebla, Mexico. We walked by the outside of the convent that didn't survive the 1755 Quake. It's frame is majestic against the blue skies.

Down the winding streets we went to search out the Fado House I'd read about… Lisboa em Fado. This place is unique in that they don't serve food with their show. Those places are expensive and serve a huge amount of food, or they have places where you don't have to buy food and the people are packed in like sardines.

It was a good show for 19 Euros. It started with a video of the history of Fado and then the singers came out. It was truly amazing. I'm sorry to compare it to anything, but for my American friends, it was a mix between opera and country-western. Do you remember my blog about Saudade? This was Saudade in song. Soulful, yearning. A couple of doors down was an English pub, so we had a hearty meal and watched soccer.

Friday was pool day again and we didn't have to share our lane with anyone. I've come to realize that I'm a princess when it comes to sharing my lane… I loathe it. We went to Alameda Park so I could write and Joe could read. When we got bored, we looked around for a street we hadn't been up yet and off we went. We walked by this huge ugly building that reminded us both of the Capital of Panem in the Hunger Games. It was clearly some sort of federal building but had a lovely garden to wander through, which we did, of course. Turns out that our host works there.

Our quest was a big round building I'd seen on Google Maps. It was even better than we imagined. I think it's an auditorium for shows and concerts, but restaurants skirt all the way around the exterior. We went in one door, but I don't think we were supposed to be inside. We walked around anyway. We snuck out through another door and found a bar frequented by the college age crowd. We eventually found our way home and I made big hamburger patties with a sunny-side-up egg on them. Very Portuguese and delicious.

Saturday, we walked down to the central plaza. I wanted to buy a new pair of shoes. Unfortunately they're either too expensive or they didn't have my size. It was a fun day anyway. We decided to hike up to the thieves' market again and I bought an Ecuadorian pullover jacket, which I absolutely did not need. Shrug. Joe says I'm addicted to shoes, scarves, and jackets.

A week ago we booked another Airbnb for two nights in the sunny beach town of Parede. This is the area of the coast near Lisbon we like best. I bought a pair of shorts for the trip, plus I had my tank-top… I was set. Unfortunately, as the dates drew nearer, the forecast changed to rain. This was a major set-back for me at first. I wasn't happy. Then I searched for another way to look at it—all I could come up with was; now we'd see what our favorite area was like in the rain. We made it to a cliffside restaurant for dinner between cloudbursts.

So here I sit in our adorable little tiny home. I can see the rain falling on the bright blue pool just outside my door. We went for a walk this morning and stopped at a little old café for a delicious cup of coffee, and Joe had a chocolate croissant (total $3). Then the electricity went out in the café. A guy came over from the construction site next door to get a couple of beers. The gal gave them to him and told him to come back and pay for it when the electricity came back on.

We headed for the cliffside promenade in spite of the rain. I love the ocean waves, especially in a storm… though this wasn't a storm, just a light mist. We walked about half a mile before Joe realized he'd left his backpack in the café. It was remarkable to both of us how unconcerned we were. So, here I sit… damp, cold, and content in our room with big windows.

Does and Don'ts

Here's a hodgepodge of things to either do or be sure you don't do;

Paying the bill; Whenever you plan to spend money, ask if they accept credit, debit, or cash—depending on how you want to pay. It's not unusual for a place to accept only cash, or only credit card… good to know in advance. At a restaurant, they bring appetizers to the table automatically. They also charge you automatically. So don't nibble on those olives unless you want to pay for them. Don't get me wrong, they're worth it, but you should know you'll usually pay for it. The servers will make it clear if it's free.

Birds; Don't feed the seagulls anywhere near a restaurant. If a seagull flies toward you, don't scream and duck. A guy did that at an oceanside restaurant the other day and it drew lots of laughter. If you have your clothes drying out on the clothesline, and you hear the doves cooing, that's not a lovely sound. It means they're happily pooping on your clothes. By-the-way, don't feed the doves or pigeons either, at least not at a restaurant. The other day we were at an outdoor food court at a mall and this guy came by with a falcon on his arm. He released the bird every so often to scare off the birds. Worked like a charm. Scared some of the guests as well.

Pastries; Expect to get it wrong when you order a pastry. It's hard to tell what's inside. (Frango=chicken, porco=pork, carne de bovino=beef, veggies=veggies, chocolate=chocolate). Joe came back to the table the other day with a hot-dog in a pastry, or as we say in the US—pig-in-a-blanket. I know my husband well. Before he could take a bite, I asked, "You know that's a hot dog, right?" "It's not chocolate?" he asked holding it up to look at the dark brown blob sticking out from the end. Nope. He enjoyed it anyway. Now it's a standing joke.

Trains; A couple of things about the metro and the trains. Firstly, be prepared to get off at your stop, because you don't have much time. At the door you plan to exit, if on a tram or train, look for a sign (usually subtle) that says that door is broken. Hustle over to another door. Remember that you have to push the little open button or you don't get off. When you're waiting to get on a train, push the open button outside… if it doesn't open, then scurry to the nearest door and try that one. Absolutely give up your seat for an elderly lady— they are the unofficial rulers of this country.

Cars; When driving here, make sure you stop far enough back from the light to be able to see if it turns green, but don't worry… the cars behind you will be sure to tell you! When parking pay close attention to whether or not you are completely in the marked-out space. Especially near tram or trolley tracks. If the vehicle is over the line even a little bit, the tram/trolley can't go around your vehicle. Everyone has to get off the tram/trolley and find some other means of transportation while the conductor waits for the police and the tow-truck to show up. The other day a car was wedged into its spot pretty tight, so the tow truck driver jacked the whole car up on a rolling jack and three policemen helped him push it sideways out of the spot—then he towed it. The conductor stood on the sidewalk the whole time having a smoking-break.

Smoking and lights; Everyone smokes here. Accept it, or don't come here. The other day, there was a young man smoking pot at an outdoor restaurant—I don't think that's accepted though. Speaking of restaurants, when you use their bathroom (casa de banho) be aware that the lights are usually on a timer. If the lights go out (about 30 seconds of not moving), just wave your arms.

Huh?; Polvo is octopus... good to know. Here's one that baffled me for weeks. The sign on the door that says PUXE (pronounced push) means pull. You're welcome… I saved you from looking like a dummy like I did. Empurre (pronounced impoo-hey) is push. When you're in the line at the grocery store have your grocery bag ready. Fill it as he/she rings it up, then pay. Be prepared for them to say NIF? If you don't know what that means, then say no. People waiting in line get very impatient if you dawdle. Oddly enough, that only applies to grocery stores. Everywhere else you are the only person in the world when you're at the front of the line… remember that when you're waiting.

Manners; Pay attention and help those around you. It's the Portuguese way. The other day a guy at a café got down on his hands and knees to do something. Pretty soon someone else went over to see if he needed help. Joe joined in. He went in the café and asked for a sharp knife. It wasn't until it was all over that I was told that a pigeon had a fishing line tangled around its foot and it'd gotten hooked onto the drainage grate. We were at yet another café and I noticed an older woman standing in front of the automatic doors. She was trying to get it to open, but it wouldn't. I got up and went over to stand on the inside pad to get it to open. She was laughingly grateful. Just look around. People in this country help each other.

Water; Here's one that actually irritates me to no end. A lot of restaurants will charge you for water—even if you ask for tap water. Obviously, I dislike paying for water when the tap water is healthy, but it's more because I hate the throw-away plastic bottles. Just pour me a glass of water! They only do it in high-tourist places. By-the-way, at cafés clear your table. It's not expected, but it's really appreciated.

Parking; Make sure you pay for a parking pass and make sure the spot you parked in is allowed for overnight parking, if that's your plan. When going through parking lots in the morning, we'd often see cars with the wheel boot on it, along with a ticket and a banner wrapped around the car… it's definitely obvious when you shouldn't have parked there.

The other side; There are pedestrian overpasses and tunnels everywhere. Just look longingly to the other side of the train tracks or freeway, and someone will point you in the right way. The tunnels are usually bike friendly slopes, but if they aren't they'll often have a rail to set the wheels in.

Signs; Last, but not least, beware of instructions painted on the sidewalks. Trust me, if it's a lane for bikes, you could lose your life. Bicycles are everywhere. Pay attention. There're also signs to indicate other things like what direction you should be walking, where dogs can be, and some things are a mystery.

Lisbon, Setubal, Process of Elimination

We've been in upper Lisbon for a couple of weeks now. The boys, as I call them, have been awesome hosts. They are quite funny, especially when they want help with some English word they've struggled to pronounce or understand. We end up laughing more than learning. Our Portuguese is coming along very slowly. I find I do better if I translate from Spanish, because the language is closer… like 'Bom dia' is closer to 'buen día' than 'good morning.' Other words are the same in Spanish but mean something entirely different, like sobremesa… in Guatemala it means 'on the table', here it is dessert.

Carnival, the time of gluttony prior to Ash Wednesday, is celebrated in a big way all over Portugal. It's not quite as big as Brazil, but still pretty crazy. We avoided it as much as possible. During the days before Ash Wed, especially on Fat Tues, the children dress up like they do in the States on Halloween. That's pretty cute. But the tradition of every man dressing like a woman is really weird to me… but the woman don't dress like men. No one I asked had an explanation for this tradition.

We went to our new church, Riverside International Christian Church (English speaking) last Sunday. It was awesome. To be singing worship songs together with a band felt so good. English is the common language for most people at this church, but it doesn't mean they're from English-speaking countries. This congregation was from all over the world; from the States to Korea to Denmark. The pastor said he would've gone around the room and asked people where they were from, but it would take too long, so he asked if there were any Portuguese there. Three people raised their hands. We all applauded and welcomed them… it was pretty funny.

We did find another pool. It's actually further from our place, but it's near the red-line metro. We just hop on the metro a couple of blocks from our pad, then we get off at Oriente Metro stop. This stop is worth knowing about because it's a metro and highspeed train station combined and it has a large shopping mall connected to it, plus there's a university there also. It's an intense hub of activity. The hard part was climbing the 100 steps and the five minute walk to the pool with all our gear. We arrived tired but victorious for the 11:00 swim-time. Then Joe realized he'd forgotten his swimsuit. We had 45 minutes to get back to the mall, buy him a swimsuit, back up the 100 steps, and the walk. We made it, barely. This pool actually gives me thirty minutes to shower instead of twenty, which is good because all the ladies in the pool are in the shower room at the exact same time.

It always amazes me when people go right past me on stairs or a steep hill while I'm gasping for air. It just pisses me off when they can do that while smoking or carrying some heavy burden! The other day a guy went straight up a hill with a box bigger than himself—RUNNING! Seriously… the guy was running.

I decided to follow my sister's advice and download one of those step-counting apps to my phone. So far I'm averaging about 5.5 miles a day. I'm sure I'm still gaining weight though.

There are so many cathedrals and ancient churches here in Portugal, we can't see them all. But I was determined to see the cathedral that survived the great quake of 1755. It's nestled up in the Alfama, a neighborhood that wasn't leveled. We also went to the Pantheon and the Saturday street market next to it. That was an experience. One of the few times we watched for pick-pocketers.

We're on a mini excursion from Lisbon right now. On the map, Setubal looked like it might be a pleasant place to live, so I booked us a three-night Airbnb in a tiny-house. It's a cute little place for a couple of nights, but it is not very functional for our needs. You can only run one appliance at a time or the electricity goes out. The shower is itty-bitty and has a long shower curtain, that you basically stand on, instead of a glass door. After listening to Joe complain about the process, I decided I'd rather be dirty. I'll take a shower when we get back to Lisbon. It doesn't have an oven or clothes washer, plus you'd have to hang your stuff out in the street—at street level. Not going to happen. 

Setubal is a very industrial fishing community. We haven't seen the families out and about like we're accustomed to seeing. The shoreline is all large fishing boats. They only have one little beach. It's been a disappointment to me, and I can't help feeling like I wasted our time and money coming here. Joe insists it is part of the process of elimination. I suppose, but I'm still disappointed. So far we've narrowed our search to Carcavelos, Santo Amaro, Sesimbra, and someplace in the Algarve. We now know we want to be near an ocean beach (not a river, lagoon, or bay beach). We want to be around a mixed crowd of young and old. We know we don't want only tourism or only residential.

I downloaded the Fork app, so I just made a reservation for Taberna Grande for 30% off. I've never used the app before, so hopefully it will work out. This restaurant is known for its traditional Portuguese food, but not fish, which is a little unusual because we're in a fishing town. It's nice because I could make the reservation with a couple of clicks. I'll report back after the meal. Yesterday we had Choco Fritas—fish and chips for you Americans. They use cuttlefish and it has a very firm texture. It was good, but I doubt I'll order it again even though it's on every menu.

I'm sitting in front of a local café with a glass of wine filled to the rim for one euro. A pigeon keeps sweet talking my shoes. Three ancient round ladies sit to my right. One is swinging her legs back and forth like a six year old… mainly because her legs are as long as a six year old's.  She was there yesterday too. Joe is drinking a bottle of stout beer for 1.20 Euros and reading my book, Bringing Apollo Home. Life's good.

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.

Cascais, Caparica, Coaches, and Quakes

It's been a busy week. We were in Cascais and decided to head back down to the waterfront. There was certainly nothing to do anywhere around our Airbnb. We arrived to a big ceremony at the main square. A bunch of police cars were lined up with these gorgeous policemen (I think it's a job requirement in Portugal for police officers to be extremely good looking). 

A group of well dressed people, and a large group of military and policemen in splendid uniforms, stood around a distinguished looking man in a suit wearing a red tie. He must be the president of Portugal! Nope. He was the mayor. I snuck through the crowd to get a look at what was going to be presented. It looked like awards of some sort. I got a picture and zoomed it only to find it was car keys to the five new cop cars. Pomp and Circumstance.

Cascais loves their pets. I'll have to do a blog just on all the pets here. It's a parade of dogs down along the beach promenade. We enjoyed sitting at one of the many cafes to watch. 

You remember me telling you how the Portuguese follow the rules and are polite? We stopped at a public bathroom down by the beach. Usually you have to pay to use those bathrooms. This one had the employee table in front, but no employee. I noticed that people went up to the table and laid down the fee on the table! There was a little pile of coins sitting there… can you imagine? I felt very patriotic as I put our coins in the pile.

Joe would've taken pictures too, but for some reason his phone locked him out and wanted his sim card PIN, which was back in Belem. He wasn't happy. When we got back, I sent the PIN to our text and to our emails, so now we have the numbers available from multiple places.

So, we came back from Cascais last weekend. This time I got pinched in the train doors. Naturally Joe was on the inside watching as I battled to get my backpack though the doors. I couldn't reach the button to open the door at first, but I finally got it to open. I staggered in and glared at Joe, who was cracking up. We got back to Belem to find a protest in the park next to our Airbnb. The park was absolutely packed. From what I could translate, the signs implied some sort of educator's protest. The thing that caught my attention was no one was on the grass. They all stayed on the many pathways and the center part where the fountain is. So polite.

Sunday we went to church again—St. Andrews Church of Scotland. We already fit in there. The people are so nice, but there's only about 25-30 of us. During the service I noticed Pastor Norman suddenly had his hand to his throat. I watched carefully. I realized he was fiddling with his white collar… you know, that white thing that goes around their necks where a tie would be. I could see skin. Afterwards, when we came out, he was trying to fix it in the foyer. Apparently the top button had popped off during the sermon! We all trooped down the yard steps to the garden and rec room for our snacks.

A boy came directly up to us and said, "Hi, I'm Steven from Lebanon." A girl skipped up to his side and said, "I'm Favor. I'm from Peru." Then they dashed off to play with the newest toy—a stand-up punching bag. Steven's older sister ended up being chased around by Steven as he whacked her with the detached punching bag. Favor had on the punching gloves so she followed to try and rescue the sister. A man standing near me said, "They come from a country in a civil-war. Maybe they're just acting it out." The Peruvian grandmother sat against the wall in her traditional outfit and watched. I went to her side (with my cup of box wine). It seemed safer.

Back in Belem we got off the tram by our place to see the park was full of families. One of the things I love the most about Portuguese is their family values. Here it was; cold, windy, and getting dark and the playground was packed. The little ones were all bundled up like the little boy on A Christmas Story.

We decided we must go to one of the million museums in Belem/Lisbon. I narrowed it down to the Coches Museum. This place has a huge collection of horse-drawn carriages. It was interesting to see the progression of style over time. I was most interested in the wall of paintings of every king dating back to 1143. There was a description of each epoch written in snarky humor… I loved it!

I've started another novel, which is why I haven't written my blog as much. This novel starts in the mid 1700's and ends up in Portugal, of course. I needed to have a catalytic event, so I chose the Great Earthquake of 1755. As I was researching this quake, I stumbled across the Quake Museum. It's only a five minute walk from our place. We went last night and, wow! It's a completely interactive museum and the room where you sit in the church pews (the quake took place at nine in the morning on November first—All Saints Day) is set up for the 9.0 shake. It starts with the calm Catholic service and then suddenly all hell breaks loose. The pews we were in shook hard! The walls came tumbling down around us (a video playing on the walls). Talk about an adrenaline rush. The cool thing was they had these stations throughout the museum where you could hold your electronic bracelet to have more information sent to your email address to peruse later in more detail whatever it was that interested you. (That was a long sentence.)

We took the ferry over to Costa da Caparica again. This time it was sunny. I'd been doing a lot of basic searches for condos to rent for long-term. This area is inexpensive and has beaches stretching as far as the eye can see. It's definitely pretty. We loved the surfer-vibe, but… I don't know… it just didn't seem like enough of the culture we're wanting to be part of. We still like Carcavelos.

We head up to Lisbon's Alameda Park area on Monday for our last month here. During that time we'll head over to another beach town called Setubal for a weekend. I'm going to miss our pool. I'd just started to be a familiar face to the ladies in the locker room. Hopefully we'll be able to find another pool by our next place. It'll be strange to be staying with a couple in their house. I don't know if it'll be good or bad. Shrug.