The Last Night

We took a train to Lisbon from Porto on the 15th of October because we were flying the next day. This was nice, because we could see some of the scenery from the window. Portugal is the size of Ohio and has approximately the same population, which is between 10 to 11 million people. There was a lot of open space with trees I had never seen before.


We arrived in Lisbon about 6pm and decided to take a taxi to the hotel I had found near the airport. We had been told it should cost between 6-8 Euros depending on the traffic. But the taxi driver had no idea where the hotel was. We gave him the address on a piece of paper and he wandered around showing the address to other taxi drivers and they all threw up their hands in obvious despair. "This place must not be very popular," I said to Dick. Eventually we got in the taxi and he did a circle two or three times before he got on the right road.


It wasn't very far, but when we reached the industrial area where the hotel was located, the taxi driver ran into two or three buildings asking for directions, leaving the meter running each and every time. Finally we called the hotel and handed the telephone to the driver, who was not happy about taking it. But the meter had already reached 15 euros, and we still hadn't arrived at the hotel. In the end the cost was 16+ Euros.


"Wow," I said to the clerk behind the reception desk, "this hotel is really hard to find. Our taxi driver had a lot of problems." "No," he answered, "they all do that. We get dozens of complaints a day about those drivers."


We decided to eat out, though I had to get up at 4am.  But the hotel had no restaurant and the nearest one was a ten minute walk where a bunch of factories was located. We found it and it was only ten minutes, and the food was good. I ordered a glass of wine and got half a bottle. Dick a beer. He drank his in one gulp and then tasted my wine saying it was very good. When I decided to have a second glass, the wine was gone. I complained and Dick ordered another glass and they brought another half. Well, I had a glass and Dick finished it off.

We payed and decided to walk back. I couldn't imagine a taxi taking us in any case. As Dick got up from his chair he tripped over a step and fell on this poor woman sitting at the next table. She gave him the dirtiest look I've ever seen. When Dick righted himself, his pants fell down to the top of his femur. At that point the owner of the place came running out of the kitchen and suggested he drive us back to the hotel. We accepted willingly.

When we reached the hotel the second time, there were dozens of people lined up waiting to get into their room. So it was more popular than I had estimated.

TV in Porto

When we were at the apartment in Porto we had a very nice flat screen TV. I asked if there were any English channels and Fernando, whom I secretly call Freddy because I kept wanting to call him Ferdinand, confirmed.  Yes, there were many English channels, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Al Jazeera, France 24 in English and French, RT (Russian TV) and Fox News.  So I have the world news at my fingertips. But like in the US and in Europe, there seems to be little news outside of Europe, Libya, Syria and the US. I am always amazed that nothing happens in South and Central America and very little in Africa. 


So what do you do with a plethora of news stations?  You compare the way the news is presented, of course. There are the demonstrations in New York city. They are peaceful so we are told, but Russian TV shows the same policeman beating the demonstrators with his night stick over and over again. As does Al Jazeera. 


What about the war in Afghanistan?  You can imagine how Russian TV and Al Jazeera present that. 


What about the civil war in Libya?  Al Jazeera talks about the plight of the rebel against the government, CNN talks about how dangerous it is for the journalists to take photos. "This is a dangerous road to run in and we must be quick," says the journalists as he runs across the road. I'm thinking he must be an idiot just to be there.


Fox gives more news about the daily life in the US. A child is allegedly abducted from a house in North Carolina. They talk about mothers against abortion, the movement against gay marriage. 


And the most important topic for CNN and Fox news is the upcoming presidential election, each station beating the bushes for or against candidates. It made me realize more than ever that we need open primaries, so we don't end up with a raving religious candidate in the Republican Party. I know that by the time the election takes place I will be sick to death of listening to it.


The only station that had a movie or sitcom was France 24. It worked out well, because though I can't follow French well enough to understand everything that is going on, the station had subtitles in French. One of the movies was in Canadian French, which of course, no Frenchman can understand without subtitles, and even a French movie, where some of actors are speaking in a French dialect. So I could actually get most of the dialogue.


So it was interesting. Of course, except for Russian TV and France 24 we can get all the other channels in the US. Maybe I will have a Porto day occasionally.

The Ok Guy

I think one of the reasons I hate site seeing is listening to tour guides. They talk about the same thing. So and so designed it, such and such was imported, etc. We never hear about the people who actually did the manual labor, as if by some magic the cathedral arose of its own accord or the designer flashed his magic wand and there it was, the building in all its glory. And often the tour guide tells false tales as he or she is showing off their skill or lack thereof in English.


There is nothing more boring than having a tour guide who thinks she speaks perfect English. The woman at the  Palacio da Bolsa prattled along. She explained that the "gold lif" on the 'ceilin" was very expensive, in fact, she said in English that in the Arab hall 22 tons of "gold lif" were used, which seemed a bit over the top. Then when she was speaking Spanish, she said 22 kilos were used. A bit of a difference there. Was it to impress or did she really make a mistake in translation?

OK GUY

At the Porto caves where Port is made, our guy said, "Port is made in casks, OK?" Port is made of wine grapes, OK?" "Port is stronger than wine,OK?" "Port has to be fortified, OK?" Therefore he was christened the "Ok Guy."  

We happen to know that the British developed Port. They did it for the English public. At that time, in the 19th century, wine had to be sent by boat and could not survive the trip across the channel without being fortified. But when one of the people on the tour asked how port was developed, not a word was mentioned about the English. So much for the truth.

These are the very large casks. Port is kept in these casks for as little as 20 years and as long as 80 years.Just think. You could be born, wed, have children, have grandchildren, die and never taste the port in one of these 80 year old casks.

Palacio da Bolsa and the Arab Hall

This last day in Porto we decided to visit the Palacio da Bolsa.  They wouldn't let us take photos, unfortunately, but we got the real scoop on the Palace. It was built for the "bolsa", which in English is their version of the Stock Exchange. Everything was imported from somewhere else, wood from Brazil, gold from South American, etc. One room had paintings of all their old kings. The last king, who died in 1932, ascended the throne after the assassination of his father and older brother. (A bit suspicious). He was ousted and exiled to England in 1910, where he died without an heir. But of course there are pretenders everywhere.  One is in jail in Vincenza, Italy.


The piece de resistance was the Arab Hall. All done up with gold leaf on plaster and Arabic script. It was built to impress, said our guide, to show how wealthy we were. I kept thinking some of that gold leaf, 22 kilos of the stuff, which she had translated into English as 22 tons, might help them out of their problems now.  http://olhares.aeiou.pt/salao_arabe_detalhe_foto895637.html   I know that is ridiculous, but there you go. Look this up.  It is quite beautiful.  


Then we stumbled on to a gourmet restaurant right in the center of the Palace. I was a bit enraged, because no one at the hotel told us about it. There were three courses: vegetable soup, either fish, rapped in something yellow and green, which was delicious, or a risotto made with many different types of meat and caramel ice cream.  All wine, coffee and mineral water was included for 15 euros per person, about $19. 

Porto's Cathedral

Today I was on my own and decided to visit the local cathedral.  I was impressed when I saw the outside, because it was simple and clean looking.  But when I walked inside I got a shock. The cathedral was obviously built in the Romanesque style; the pillars high and rounded, but everthing in the church was baroque, over the top. Except for the Baroque church in Florence, I had never seen a church so full of gold and silver.  It could help the financial crisis Portugal is in.

Se Catedral Porto

The Chapel

So much Gold.

The plain pillars and rounded arches, so Romanesque.

The size of these stones How did they place one on the other in the 12C?

However the cloister was decorated with the glazed tiles I talked about yesterday depicting the songs of Solomon.

Tiles anyone?

When you go sight seeing, you hear that this building is neo classic, romantic, gothic, etc. I want to know how this city differs from all the others in Europe. And in Porto the buildings are covered with tiles. Some of them make pictures and others are just designs. Some remind me of the bathroom tiles in the 50s and 60s, but others are quite beautiful.

I'm sure that many of our bathroom and kitchen tiles were copies of this in various colors.

Here is another design. Just think.  You don't have to paint, just replace the tiles when they deteriorate.

Another tile.  So far all in blue. I am guessing, but it is  possible that this goes back to the Moroccan empire. The Moroccans ruled Portugal and a large part of Spain at one time.

Tiles are made into pictures. I quite like it. 

Just to show that not all tiles are blue.

Porto 3

The scene from the same window during the day.

I forgot to mention that there are two lifts in the building. Thank goodness, because we are on the 5th floor.

We have had unbelievable weather. According to the Portuguese, it should be raining in sheets with a much lower temperature.  Everyone has boots and raincoats that they have yet to wear. Let's hope it stays this way until the end of the week. 

One of the interesting things we saw was the fact that the Portuguese queue up for everything. I was surprised again. Yes, the British line up everywhere, even in the baggage claim to get a luggage trolley. However, in Germany, even the little old ladies get into the rush the bus or train act, poking you with the end of their umbrellas to push you out of the way. In Italy, the Italian government set up skinny long places so people were forced to line up for taxis at the airport. So it was quite refreshing to see the Portuguese use such polite ways to get around in the city. I know, Americans aren't great queuers. But then I haven't lived very long in the US. 

Shopping in Porto

Evening View from our Window

Like the Spaniards, the Portuguese eat at an ungodly late hour, around 9pm. So we decided to have lunch out and eat dinner in the apartment because Dick can't sleep on a full stomach. However I can. As a matter of fact, I sleep better.


We went to the central open market and there was a wonderful variety of fruits and vegetables, and we spent an hour trying to decide what to buy. Afterwards we bought a couple of steaks and some pork chops at a local butcher. Despite the language difficulties, we've been pretty successful in finding what we want.


We went to a cafe and had lattes. The milk tasted really bad but familiar. I found out it was long life milk, a product which lasts for three months without being refrigerated. I remembered that we drank this once in Italy, when we lived in Florence.  I thought homogenized milk killed nutrients. What about irradiated milk used in Europe? Shocking. 


So out we went to find milk. No dice. The babies and toddlers drink only soy milk, if they drink milk at all. I was shocked again. From all the medical reports I've read this stuff is lethal unless it;s fermented. Even the Japanese eat soy fermented. Dick finally found little squares of cream to use in his coffee. That was imported from Germany.


We had lunch at the Le Corte Inglese  High Class Cafe and as we had discovered in other restaurants, they don't provide salt and pepper. When we asked for salt, they were terribly incensed, said it was already included in the olive oil on the salad and on the egg dish. I always wonder why people care if you want salt. I always test the food first. 


We went home exhausted from walking all morning and cooked our steak with a nice salad. It was a good day.