Day 12 - Bits and bobs

Qne is so... How to put it?... Overwhelming, that I had to go there a second time before leaving Portugal.

I even got lucky enough to take a picture with Rute, one of Gina's daughter! Joana, the other one, is too fancy, working at Twin Towers (it's no bad joke, but the name of two buildings in Lisbon).

I also got lucky and met Raquel, a really cool PE teacher! One of the few that mingled with us... Maybe because we allowed it!


Pipe (yet another nickname of his) and me, being Japanese.


The cafeteria at the school is closed, because they don't have enough personal to staff the thing! So no lasagna on this day either and we went to the same restaurant as last time. Here's a very bad picture of Maria Jose, just the way I like pictures!

Grace had told me about these new shoes she had bought. I immediately told her that she should bring them on this day, and so she did. And they were really cool indeed. I think she is the Imelda Marcos of Porto Salvo!

Service was quite slow this day. For no apparent reason... So people were a little late to go back to work. Still, I stopped to chat with a group of teachers that were having lunch at the same restaurant, outside. One of them was unrecognizable, as she was not wearing her Mickey Mouse t-shirt, but actually fashionable stuff! Eat that!

I didn't want to wait for the bus on my own, so I asked Pipe to stay with me. So did Crista Bomba for a while.
Here's "the slut and the sacristan" picture.

And "the bus is not coming" picture.

It was hard having ti say goodbye to these people. The good thing is that is always a tomorrow... So I'll be back!

Off I went to Lisbon, yet again. I got off the bus at Alto do Parque, just to see this view of Lisbon. I think it's one of the best in all the city, just above all the old town! And yet the river down there, looking at the city.

The park is called Parque Eduardo VII, and it's known for the under-aged male prostitution and the big cars that go there. There have been many big scandals with pedophilia in Portugal lately, so I wonder how things are nowadays...
Still, during the day it's a really nice area to walk around.
And on top of the hill, there's this huge flag of Portugal. That did surprise me, as flags popping like that are highly unusual in Portugal.

Here's the Parque subway station. My mother used to never get off here, because the only way to go up and down to the platforms is by escalators. But she now does it by herself! Good girl, I say!

Tiles, everywhere. And also the station of Baixa-Chiado, a huge galleria dug under Downtown. It was kept "clean" on purpose, under direct instructions from the architect. The result is superb.

I had to rush to visit my good old friend Sonia. We grew up together, as her parents live on the same street as my grandmother. She is an architect which is, I think, always fancy.
She took me to her and her boyfriend's place in an area I really like: Alvalade. I would live there if I could too!

It was a pleasure meeting her again.
We talked for a bit and then it was time for me to go back to my city to see my father. It was on this day that he felt a bit depressed. And I guess that me going there didn't help that much.
I stayed there for a while and then my great ex-doctor, Eduarda, picked me up, as we were going to Belem area, by the river, to have some afternoon tea.
The afternoon was absolutely perfect, and talking to this lady is always great. She is so realistic and cool!

It was here that I got a phone call from Carlos in California. Unfortunately, my cell phone was short of battery, so we couldn't talk that much, but it was great to hear him again. Well, I do hear him from time to time on Skype, but we yell a lot and that's not the real thing, I guess.

The scenery is the one you see: the old bridge over the river. Crossing it, on the train, is so beautiful. I believe that either from the bridge or the ferries crossing the river we get the best view of Lisbon! Try it!

Here's Eduarda, with those beautiful colors of the sun going down...

My day wasn't over either. Eduarda dropped me off at Alcantara, I took tram 18 (I love taking the trams!) and them the subway at Cais do Sodre, where there are more tiles on the walls of the station.
Actually, part of the Cais do Sodre hub (ferry, train, subway and bus) is under construction. I just don't really understand why...

You are wondering why did I take the subway... I took it to Senhor Roubado, where my sweet Claudia Ines (sorry for writing your name so overtly!) picked me up! We were having dinner at her and her husband's flat!

I even got to see her wedding album and took some pictures!

We waited for Rui, but he didn't get there on time. Ines was pissed, but I told her not to worry about it! He had probably just got stuck at work! But she thought it was rude of him missing me being there! No problem, dear Ines!

Here I am with her. I had a great time chatting to her, over a great roasted beef with potatoes and salad!

She drove me home. And, to tell you the truth, I was quite tired, as I had been going around all day long! But it was worth it!