Lisboa

My last day full day in Porto was pretty good! I went to the beach on the Porto side. It had a kewl lighthouse and this big breakwater to seperate the ocean from the river. The waves were angry and I got some pretty good pictures, but it was not as neat as the Gaia beach!

The day wasnt too eventful... I went back to the house at a reasonable hour to get things packed up for the following day. I debated going out that night but I got into a routine of going to bed early so I automatically get tired by 10:30. Perhaps I had the best 5 hours of sleep of my entire trip so far between 11 and 4 am. I was wide awake at 4 just laying in bed trying to sleep when I noticed my cell phone flashing. Ricardo had called me 3 times and on the 4th time I answered. He said "Hi Marianne, do you mind having the rest of your sleep in my room? I am just having some friends over"... haha This was at 5:20 am! Time certainly doesnt mean anything in Europe. I am fine with that! I cleaned up the living room really fast (I had my stuff all over to pack for the next day) and then headed into his room. His friends only stayed for about an hour so at 6:30 I moved back into the living room. He went over to close the shutters for me.... I asked what he was doing and his reply was "Tell me you knew that you could close the shutters?!!?!?!" nope! I had no idea! I thought it was weird that he didnt have curtains but I thought it was just a choice. It turns out that the "shutters" are metal blinds on the outside of the windows that roll down like garage doors. I ended up sleeping (in the dark, yay!) from 7 something until noon.

In the morning I cooked and ate the rest of the food I had there. Ricardo didnt get up for quite a while but I waited until he got up around 2 and then I headed off to catch my train. I made it in time. Getting around in Europe is very easy. The train ride was about 3.5 hours by the time I got to my station. Once there, Gabriel lives on the other side of the river so I bought another ticket and caught a train to Coina. My cell phone was not sending messages or making outgoing calls (VERY annoying) so when I got to Coina I called Gabe from a payphone. He answered and figured I had missed my train since I did not contact him at all lol. He came and got me right away which was super nice of him! He is everything you would expect a Gabriel to be - friendly, gentle, helpful, genuine. I dont know why I have that impression of the name but I cant imagine anything with the name Gabriel being nasty and miserable!

His place is awesome - up on the 6th floor with wicked views of Lisboa across the river. It was about 33 degrees when I arrived and didnt cool off much as the night progressed. We went to this very local tiny bar to listen to the locals sing Fado. He told me before we left, "Are you feeling sad? You must be a little sad to fully enjoy this experience you will have". He wasnt kidding!!! I walked in there and it was like walking into a funeral (not a celebration of life, a Funeral). I have a hard time keeping the smile off my face, but it would have been like laughing at a funeral when everyone else is crying... so I put my hands on my face to avoid any motivation to smile. We could only last about an hour in such a somber place. Gabriel swears that it can be funny but we didnt see any humour that night!

Afterwards we went walking through the streets which were very alive! What a great atmosphere. It is such a nice energy here in Portugal. At 12:15 when we wandered to meet his friend, there were about 10 kids playing soccer in the park! People are very open and naturally expressive. They dont seem to think "what is everyone else thinking about what im wearing, how im acting" etc but rather just be themselves and act on what they feel. I mentioned it to Gabriel and he agreed that it is very natural here compared to superficial America. It is very apparent with couples. Their PDA´s (public display of affection) are not offensive at all. At home it is typically forced, awkward, or people are doing it to with the purpose of being offensive. Here it is just because that is how they feel in that moment. It is such a great thing! Gabe told me "I thank God you are not like most americans!" and then on the topic he said, "and on the opposite end of our affection we have the germans". hahaha. I get such a kick out of the general characteristics of the countries.

Saturday was awesome - nothing happens in a rush or panic it seems. We just got ready, walked to the supermarket, bought our groceries and then returned to head to the beach. I also got some eye drops because the allergy pills werent enough to quell the attacks.

We drove about 35 kms to this awesome beach... but if he didnt tell me we were going to a beach, I never would have guessed. You wind up through the "Mountains" which are actually hills, it feels like you are in farm land. Eventually they drop off kind of cliff like and there is the beach! The hills block the wind and such so it is the most calm beach here. I had to wait until 5 pm to go into the sun because of the heat and my previous sunburn... but evenntually I made it out there and it was great. The ocean really isnt that warm but its so hot outside that the ocean feels good. I swam for about a half hour and then hungout on the lawn chairs that the beach provides. At the end the wind picked up and created a sandstorm so we left.

Once we arrived back at Gabes we showered and got ready to go out for dinner. We headed over to lisbon... it is about a 10 minute walk to the ferry terminal, maybe a bit more. The ferries run every half hour, they are just little passenger ferries. Then once there we hopped in a cab for a short ride to a restaurant. It was close to 10:30 when we arrived but they were still serving food. They had some much happier Fado singers there and they were great. One thing I love about Portugal is that the kids are involved in the nightlife, which makes them so much more cultural. Next to use was a table with about 15 people and 7 of them were children. We didn´t leave until after midnight and the kids were still there. They were very well behaved because they come out on the weekends from the time they are babies. They sing along with the Fado and play in the sreets.

Afterwards we wandered through the main part of the city where the bars and clubs are. People are all over the streets which is kewl except that they ALL smoke so I cant breath. There is lots going on in this city as far as culture goes - during our walk we passed places that had african music and dancing, and then another place with brazilian music and some native dancing. Unfortunately my allergy to cigarettes makes it difficult to enjoy but it was good to get a glimpse in passing.

Of course I am having a fantastic time so far. Gabe is a very great host. I am not sure what today will hold, I will try to work with my pictures that he let me upload onto his laptop... they could take a while. The only 2 downsides to my entire trip is a lack of fitness and the amount of cigarette smoking. I am looking forward to getting to Santander where I can create a routine of some sort! Or just live healthier without a routine is fine too!

Soon I will have pictures! :)