We got into the Lisbon Airport and breezed through customs - well, there wasn't really customs because we went from one EU Country to another. Yes, the EU thing is convenient but I really miss getting all the stamps in my passport. I only got one stamp - when we landed in the Amsterdam Airport - no France stamp, no Portugal stamp. Booo.
I got some cash from the machine. We had the option to take an easy Metro to the apartment, but Jared was so exhausted that we ended up taking a cab. The cab ride, I thought, was uneventful until we got close to the apartment. Then, the narrow streets and sharp turns made the driving quite scary. Several times I told the cabbie "right here is fine" and he waived me off until he dropped us of right in front of our destination.
We got to the apartment early and sat down on some steps near the place. There were beer cans and plastic cups everywhere from last night's party. A car drove up and I thought it might be Luis (the person renting us the house), but he got out of the car and walked away. Eventually I started to wait by the intersection and the car dude came back and hung around. I finally (after 10 minutes) asked him, "Are you Luis?" Well, yes he was. He said he didn't think I was who he was expecting (?!??! don't know why). He had brought us portuguese treats - these little tarts filled with custard. Yum.
He let us into the apartment, which was even better looking than the photos. There are two bedrooms, one with a balcony overlooking the Bica funicular street. You can see the ocean from the balcony as well. There is a large living room connected to an open dining area. There is another balcony attached to the living room. From this balcony you can hang your laundry to dry on wires. There is a large kitchen with an AMerican sized regridgerator and marble countertops. There is also a small window from the kitchen. The bathroom has a bathtub and a window overlooking a courtyard - the bathroom window also has a place to hang clothes on wires outside of it.
Luis gave us suggestions for dining and for Fado (a place to listen to traditional music). I had a feeling he would have stayed and chatted for longer, but we told him we needed to take a nap. We paid him; he did not require us to leave a deposit - I guess we looked trustworthy. Luis also left us a big bottle of water and some wine. As we napped, Jared heard someone sneeze and decided that the sneeze must have been his brother's. SUre enough, Justin and Tina were waiting on the steps we had waited on earlier.
Justin and Tina came in and they got to eat their treats. I had already busted into the bottle of red Luis left for us. I told them about Luis, who I called "sexy" (so Jared claims. I think I said "adorable"). I showed them the picture I had taken of him, but they didn't agree as much I don't think. I still stand behind the adorable. He had dropped out of college and now works part time at a bank and part time renting apartments to tourists over the city. Jared thought he was gay; I think just european.
After a short nap, we all went on a walk to explore our neighborhood. We stopped to eat very early for the Portuguese (like 6pm). I had pasta with veggies, Jared had kebob of some meat stuff. We all had apps, main dish and drinks for 1/3 of what it would have been in Paris. The food was quite tasty too - off to a good start in Lisbon. After dinner we went on a big walking loop. I bought a postcard made of Cork - items made of cork are some sort of Lisboa thing. Then we literally walked all over Biarra Alto (where our apartment is), Chixa (shopping district) and some other neighborhoods. We walked past the neo-Gothic ruins of an old church that I went back to later. We walked past many scenic viewpoints and took tons of pictures. The town is beautiful, very hilly, and very busy with both locals and tourists. Shops were open late and people were milling about.
We got back to the apartment after our long meandering walk and I sat down to read and relax. I was so exhausted that I didn't care how noisy the street was. Our apartment is ideally located, but it is party central street. There were several DJs spinning, bars blasting music etc. right outside my window. I closed the windows and put my earplugs in and went to sleep.
Jared stayed up till 5:30 -he said there was still partying going on when he went to bed. He's still working at night - argh! Too much work. But as he normally doesn't drink coffee, and he has been pounding espressos every few hours on this trip, see seems OK!
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Jared's Reflections
Some minor corrections: (1) I liked Luis too, he was very nice and personable, and was great to let us skip the 100 euro deposit, but I didn't have a super teen crush on him like Elizabeth; (2) the sneeze rousted me from my shallow slumber, and then a word or two of the familiar Hager cadence tipped me off that it was probably him (as a side note, the whole situation was very similar to Paris, where Elizabeth and I stood outside unable to get in the apartment, and Justin being triggered to check if we had arrived); (3) I've been downing about 2 espressos per day. Stuff is like liquid energy, seriously.
Elizabeth undersold the meal, which was probably the second best of all the Lisbon meals, and one of the cheapest. It began a game of us all trying to guess the price. Our order: espresso and bubble water for me, cider for Tina, two beers for Justin, water for Elizabeth; three appetizers: falafel for me, spicy shrimp for Tina, and meat omelet for Justin; four entrees: chicken kebab and fries for me; mushroom and asparagus risotto for Tina, portuguese sausage for Justin, and mushroom and asparagus linguine for Elizabeth; and one dessert that we split. Total cost was something like 30 euro. Everyone guessed well over 40, except Elizabeth, who took advantage of Price-is-Right rules with a one euro bid.
