July 20, 2007 Lisbon Day 2

As I read through the past days worth of comments I realize I lost a day of counting somewhere. Today is Friday and it is our second day in Lisbon no matter what the previous entries are titled.

So, the things that screw you up when traveling in foregin countries are little. Like packing. We bought awesome Osprey suitcases at REI. These bags are the cadillacs of rolling suticases that convert to backpacks when you need to carry them great distances up and down the stupid stairs of train stations. They have detachable day packs that we can load up with the stuff we need for touring during the day. The only downside of these cool bags is that these great padded shoulder straps and gear take up the room one would otherwise use to fill with stuff. So, for about a month before our departure we widdled down our packing list. Mike packed his bag and lived with it for a few weeks until he knew what to bring. Deanne stared at the clothes she wanted to bring, every day taking something else out of the pile until she figured out what to bring. Each of us have a few pairs of lightweight, sun protective long pants, two pairs of shorts, four or five shirts and the medicine, make-up (hair gel mostly) and underwear required to last for approximately a week before cleaning and restocking. Our detachable back packs have all of the electronics that modern frontiersmen need, like iPods, PCs, electric toothbrushes, travel guides, etc.

So, the point of all of this is what we did wrong.... well, we packed for this trip putting the clothes in the big bag and locking with a TSA approved lock. The detachable backpacks were carried on the plane full of valuable electronics and medicine. Once we got to a two night hotel (here is Lisbon) we were able to rearrange knowing that we have only train travel for the next few months. Some of the heavier electronics could be transferred to the wheeled bag and off of our backs. Mike, ever the pioneer, packed up his bags last night with a new, improved system to give it a try a day before we had to leave Lisbon. The computer and other heavy stuff went in the wheeled bag and a few days change of clothes went into the accessible backpack. As we sat in our room having a small dinner of deli ham and cheese he figured he would grab his knife for something, but alas, the keys (yes, the lock came with three keys) to the suitcase lock were inside the bag with the lock on it. It took the maintanence man twney seconds and a screwdriver to break the lock, so there was no real emergency... just a little hiccup.

The other thing that is hard to figure out is the electronics and the internet. We supposedly can access the internet from each of our hotels, but costs (like 24 Euros per day at the Hilton) or technolgy conspire to make it hard. Yesterday Deanne tried to hook up to the internet in our hotel room, but her computer needed recharging. When she pugged it in, sparks flew. Today, Mike used a different outlet and was successful, then logged on to the internet without any problems. Internet access costs 12 Euros for 24 hours, which is outragous, but we were anxious to connect with all of you. We tried to find an internet cafe today, but after two hours of walking we never saw anything that looked right. It should be better in Spain... our past few entires were made using free WiFi access in the Madrid train station.

We ventured out on the city buses again today. This time we traveled much further to visit another ancient church. This one was built in the 1500s. Remarkable, although I doubt you want to hear all about it. As soon as we get our technolgy figured out we will post the photos for those of you wanting to see this trip as well as read about it. We also saw a monument to the discoverers, those guys that set sale from Portugal in its heyday in the 1600s to discover the new world. This monument sits right on the edge of the river. Another beautiful day.

Lunch today was fun. Our waiter spoke no English but was able to find an English menu for us when Mike asked. Mike asked what a "Butcher steak" was and the answer was beef. So he ordered it. Deanne went with the cheese omlette because she knew what that was without asking and sometimes simple is best. She did ask for a glass of wine though, but pointing to a menu line that said Viho 175 l. The waiter asked if she wanted white, as she may have not understood what she was pointing to, and she agreed that white was fine (the conversation was difficult enough that trying to explain preferences seemed way too much). Mike ended up with a very salty piece of shoe leather with an over easy egg on top and fench fries on the side. Deanne ended up with a bottle of RED wine half the size of a normal wine bottle (or double the size of what she ordered)and an omlette with fries on the side. We laughed about our ordering and dug in. This cafe was crowded during the lunch hour (2:00) so we were sharing a table with a group of workers from Portugal Telecom. The woman next to Deanne spoke English and struck up a conversation. As she and her colleagues wrapped up their meal we got to watch soft serve ice cream being made Portuguese style. A plastic cup of ice cream in pulled from the freezer and pushed through a press that shapes it into a swirl and onto a cone. Ingenious!