Warning: Learning curve ahead

This post is intended to reveal some of the things we have had to adjust to in our new lifestyle.

Instant coffee will do if you don't have coffee maker. Add whip cream to make it work. The whole process is messy. What can I say.



If you were on a strict diet for 9 months just forget about it now.



Recycling reveals things about you. It's kind of embarrassing how much cereal Barb consumes.



It must be because the Portuguese are such great practical jokesters that they put the bathroom light switch OUTSIDE the bathroom. So easy to give someone the thrill of showering in the dark!





You can drown out the sound of the garbage truck right outside your window (comes everyday at midnight) with the accuradio app tuned up real loud. I am so glad I found a radio station that works on my iPad as most of them are flash based and don't work. Pandora and Netflix don't work here in Europe. I have learned to love iTunes podcasts and actually spent $10 to see the episodes of Modern Family I missed. It was totally worth it.


Prince Henry the Navigator was my hero for all of last week. Today I am switching over to Rick Steves. I have downloaded a beaucoup ( pronounced " boo-coo" as we used to say in Abilene) of his podcasts and am loving listening to them. The man is a genius. This is only part of my playlist and they were free!



Laundry tips:
translate the settings on machine.



Hang laundry on line outside window, being sure to put large bulky inconspicuous items like towels and sheets on the outside for street viewing while reserving your unmentionables for the line closest to window and shielded from prying eyes of men dining at the sidewalk cafe below. Attach items to line securely so that they do not fall to your neighbors' line below or on to some innocent diner's plate. You will note how our neighbor hangs her laundry according to these guidelines.



Lastly, regarding the learning curve as it relates to phones, well, there is not enough space on the Internet to cover that topic. I am still on that roller coaster ride. Barb always says it is good to "keep your brain cells popping". I think my brain needs a siesta.

Location:Lisbon

This and that plus the beach

There are beaches just a forty minute train ride from Lisbon. Yesterday we visited Cascais. It was so pleasant to have the fresh ocean breezes and the quiet. I did not miss the street noise or the bus fumes of the big city.






Not sure what the fisherman were after with all the cages. Octopi? There was def some serious fishing going on!



The Atlantic was so blue and clear. I think it was pretty chilly, though. I should have scampered down and at least dipped in a toe!


There was also a beautiful park nearby with a lovely historic villa to tour. It was the only historic mansion I have toured in the last seven weeks that I would actually like to live in. Turns out I love moorish architecture. the chandeliers also rocked my world. Barb came up with the idea for this shot, from the bottom up, of my fav chandelier. See the whole thing in the next pic.






That's red silk damask on the walls with very ornate tiles on the lower half of the walls and bordering the ceiling. In the corner is a giant pipe organ.

There were some big trees in the garden. These palms were giant!



Of course Barb and Janet could not resist climbing some trees.


Roosters were roaming around and I got this great shot. Hey, is anybody still reading this far into the blog? I know you were all waiting for a pic like this. Who will be the first to post on my Facebook that they actually saw the rooster? I wonder.


This marina shot is for my cousin. You know who you are.


That's all folks!

Location:Lisbon

Sunset over the city

Took a quick walk to check out the sunset from the Barrio Alta neighborhood. Here is what we saw.
Graffitt is everywhere. But you get used to it and now I don't seem to notice it as much.


Fish and whole roasted pig for sale in the shop windows.






Makes you hungry? You can eat just steps from your car!



Street demonstration, not sure what it was about, but it was very peaceful.

We rode an elevator up 6 stories to a lookout over the city. I tried out some artsy settings on my camera just to experiment.





















Rossio square looks pretty good with a little photo tweaking!


Streetcar 28 is pretty famous.


Good night, Lisbon!

Location:Lisbon

Getting there

Transportation was the theme for today. We are feeling more confident using the buses to get around and have used the trains and the metro successfully. Mostly we have walked our butts off! So, today we went to see the coach museum here in Lisbon. Actually we went because it is free on Sundays. Yea free! Inside were bunches of old coaches used by royalty from the 1600-1700s. Many had not been restored which made them kind of interesting in a different way.






There was even a selection of children's coaches. I wish I had taken a picture of one of the fancier ones but this one had model kids sooooo.



We walked across the street to the marina on the river where we saw fishermen, RVs, lots of sailboats,and even a river cruise on the river Tagus.















Along the riverfront is this giant monument to the famous explorers and navigators of Portugal . It is hard to tell from this picture which was taken from the marina, but it is about six stories tall. We went up the elevator tor the top and took some pictures.






One of the longest suspension bridges in Europe.


Here are some close ups of the huge carved figues on the side of the monument. They all represent actual people. The man on the end holding the boat is Prince Henry the Navigator, one of my new personal heroes .









Portugal has such a rich history. It is really quite amazing what they accomplished.

Location:Lisbon, Portugal

Fairy tales

There is a fairy tale town a few miles up into the hills called Sintra. It only costs four euros to get there and back on the train. Pena Castle is the centerpiece of the place. Here are the pictures , including a few with our buddy, Flat Janet, who came along to share the fun in photo form.






































High five flat Janet!








Below Castle Pena was the Moorish castle dating from the 8th century.



Pretty high up!

The tram ride up and down the twisty roads was exciting. I was happy Barb did not throw up. It was close.

After all this excitement we stopped in a little shop that sold fantastically expensive bottles of Port wine. I saw one bottle from 1917 marked at about €1,600 which would be well over $2,000. Lucky for us they also sold the local cherry liqueur, called Ginja, served in a chocolate shot glass for only 1 euro. It was great!

Location:Sintra, Portugal