We have acclimated to our life here in Portugal, and it is a life that has become very comfortable to us. We have become accustomed to the nightlife which begins 9:00 p.m. and lingers into the early morning hours. We have embraced this lifestly so completely that even I cannot imagine getting up at 4:00 in the morning. We have connected with some couples from Ireland and enjoyed the late evenings with them. We are sure our kids would not even reconize these people we have become. We don’t even reconize ourselves.
With such late nights it is hard to get up my 10:00 where we have a leisurely breakfast of coffee, toast (sometimes with cheese and ham), jams, cereals, and juice. While meager by some standards, for the Portuguese this is the norm. After breakfast we walk to the retaining wall of our fortress where we sit in the tower in a small enclave and talk about our plans for the day.We watch the boats leave the harbor and often daydream about owning a sailing yacht. If we could find one to hold you all we would do it in a heartbeat.
The only modern facility on the base is the Internet café. It is perched high on the mountainside and is all glass. The views are spectacular and this is where we catch up with you. We get a cup of coffee or sometimes a beer (best price in town here .65 euro) and take care of any business that we have. We look things up on the Internet, things we’ve seen or places that we may want to go.
We stroll through town before dinner. We have met some lovely people and often times this is where we run into them. We found a pub that is famous for it’s breakfast menu and soups at night. Yvonne runs it and she is from Ireland. Sometimes we will stop by for a bowl of soup and share travel stories (she is also smitten with travel) and she often recommends places for us to try. She told us about Trinidad’s, a place the locals go and that they are famous for their steak- on- a-stone dish.
Here you are served chateaubriand raw on a very hot stone with garlic and olive oil. You slice your own meat and it cooks on the stone at your table. You are given a little bowl of olive oil and garlic to dip it into and eat it once you have cooked it to your desire. It is fabulous! We ate outside in the warm evening while a group of local men were playing cards behind us. We all had a marvelous time.
Soon we will head for Spain again. I think we will be in either Cordoba or Granada for Tom’s birthday. We have found a farmhouse in the countryside, which is between the two cities. We find we like to be off the beaten path for the most part but we are considering staying in a Parador in the Alhambra!
We are off for now. We thank God for His continued goodness to us and we love and miss you.
Tom and Nancy’s Journeys 