I had to wash dishes!!!

Mar 9, 2007

We arrived early in Lisbon and took the metro to the bus station where we had arranged to meet Katia. Since the toll highways into Lisbon were very expensive she had taken the bus in to meet us, and then we all took the bus back out to Lourinha, where we were going to be staying. Actually, we were staying in Siexal, but it was within walking distance of Lourinha, as are all the small villages around the area. Katia had gotten permission for us to use her brother's house while he was living in Canada, so we moved in and got settled. The first day, Katia didn't have to work till late in the afternoon, so she took us to the market, and showed us around town. Back at the house, we got the beds made, and started some laundry. Bridge and I were very happy to make full use of the HOT shower, and comfy bed for a nap. As nice as night trains are, they aren't the best way to get a good night's sleep.

When Katia got off work, she introduced us to her boyfriend, David, and we all went out to dinner with her cousin Tracy and her bf Rui. We ate at the local sports bar, owned by a Canadian. It was a nice dinner, and we got home early...this was to be the last early meal in a long time.

Mar 10, 2007

Katia left early for work, and we didn't notice, being sound asleep. I love the Portugese shutters, they block out so much light. When we finally got up after 10:00, we had a nice leisurely breakfast of fresh bread, since we can't eat yesterday's bread...it's too old. We had to wash our own dishes and make beds for the first time in a long, long time.

We walked to the beach and dabbled in the ocean, but it was way too cold for swimming. The rest of the day was spent lazing in the sun until Katia got home. Then we went for a drive in the country with David, Tracy and Katia. It was a few hours of touring around the small towns and visiting the Palace of Sintra, though we got there too late to visit. This wasn't really a problem because Bridge and I decided to spend the next day there anyways.

We stopped to buy the most amazing fresh bread stuffed with chizoro sausage that I've ever had. It was delicious, and the snack was topped off with a fresh donut-type pastry dipped in sugar and cinnamon. MMmmmmmm.

AND then we went out for dinner. And oh, what  a dinner it was. Seafood, rice, salad, more seafood, and still more seafood. It was delicious, and we stuffed ourselves till we could barely move. It was almost midnight when we finished dinner (they eat later here), and do we decided to call it a day.