While in Gothenburg, we had organised a return flight to Lisbon. Yes, we traveled all the way to Portugal. The timing could not have been more problematic for our itinerary, and the location is about as far away from Scandinavia as you can get without actually leaving Europe. But for us, there was no other option. It had been a long-time dream of Naomi's to attend Boom Festival, one of the largest in the world of its kind... and so we made this detour because for some lucky people, dreams do indeed come true.
Good fortune shined on us once again, and we had a fantastic apartment up on the hill near Largo da Graca. From there, we could look out across the neighbouring houses all the way to the river Tejo and the sea beyond.
Inside the apartment, the owner had made all sorts of cute little decorative touches that gave the place a lot of character. Amongst these were original paintings, murals on the walls, and trinkets carefully balanced in unexpected places.
The view was spectacular, from both sides of the building. We would stand at the balcony window and watch hoards of children line up to jump into a pool again and again and again.
Where all these kids came from, we had no idea. The pool was in the grounds of the local fire station, just across the road from our apartment. Perhaps firemen are particularly virile.
The jumping into the pool really did look like fun. If only we had been brave enough to try to join in!
Soon after our arrival in Lisbon, my cousin Daniel joined us. It was fantastic to see him. He had been traveling through Europe, and was also looking forward to Boom Festival. We made it a part of our mutual plans to meet in Lisbon, and head there together.
It was disappointing for me that we would miss much of the Olympics while the festival was on, but we did manage to catch the opening ceremony and the first day or two.
So, 08-08-08 was exciting not only because it was my grandmother's 88th birthday, but also because we could watch the opening ceremony together and even catch a bit of the swimming. It was all in Portugese, so we were out of touch with much of the commentary. The name Michael Phelps seemed to pop up quite often for some reason or other.
The day of our departure for Boom was approaching, and we caught the subway to a nearby mall to gather some last minute supplies. It was an interesting experience, particularly when we discovered the bargain basement area. Daniel was on the lookout for a shirt - with no mirrors handy (foolish of us to expect them in the bargain basement) the digicam showed him why he should let this one go.
Although I really loved the look and feel of the streets in Scandinavia, it was a refreshing change to see once again the character and grit of the Mediterranean cultures. Portugal was certainly a long way from Sweden.
The post in Lisbon, we soon learnt, arrives by noble steed. Although we kept our eyes and ears peeled, the thundering of hooves never happened in our home street of Rua Da Veronica.
As in all cultures where street maintenance is of minor importance, improvisation can often produce moments of brilliance.
An innovative use of the built environment by this street vandal brought me a smile.
Naomi found herself slipping into a familiar theme with the Portugese culture, as memories of her time in Brazil came back in our everyday moments on the streets. She would pop out a few words here and there, and was delighted to find Guarana soft drink on the shelves of our local mini-mart.
In a few short days, our time in Lisbon was coming to an end. We enjoyed the views, we enjoyed the windy streets... but not so much the steep hills. It was wonderful to have Daniel meet us, and together we enjoyed the sunshine and the apartment, and also the start of the Olympics.
Michael Phelps.
But we did not come to Portugal to sit in an apartment. There was something happening further North and both Naomi and Daniel were increasingly excited to get there...
(making sandwiches for our travel day)
0 comments:
Post a Comment