Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
For our last day in Lisbon, we had plans. First, we needed a quick run downtown to get one more Pastel de Natal, the custard confection Marianne developed a taste for - at one specific store. We walked down to our normal Metro stop and jumped on-board. Mid-way on the three stop trip to Baixa-Chiado, her stomach was developing "that feeling". Shopping was less important now, so we stopped at McDonald's, did what had to be done, and turned around and retraced our steps back home. Along the way, I texted Tim to say we would not be making the one o'clock date for lunch with him and his friends. We were now oh-for-two in meeting-friends meals.
The travelers dilemma resolved itself after two or three hours of rest, so we needed to walk locally for a light lunch. These buildings reminded me of our flat in Kyiv, probably from the same era: late 19th, early 20th Centuries. Not all of these places are as nicely restored as these, but plenty are. (In Kyiv, our building was run down on the outside, but great on the inside.)
A couple of blocks away, we ran across Pils, a bright and sunny lunch spot. It was not the restaurant I had Googled, but we decided it look inviting. It was all we could have wanted. I had a roast beef sandwich and a non-alcoholic beer, while Marianne had German-style goulash. We finished with two pieces of excellent Basque cheesecake. A recommendation.
Our evening was scheduled with two Zoom meetings, the monthly one with cousins and the weekly one with sons. Keeping time zones straight was not easy, and it meant we had to stay up a bit, but the meetings were fun tradition.
The cousin discussion ran its normal course, starting with health discussions. The stories of Tim's bedbugs, Kathleen's recovering knee and Tina's long coved got first-person reports. Reports on cousins Pat and Kim added somber notes. It kind of comes with the age.
After that, it was a bit of politics and we all agreed we are living through dangerous and scary times. Someone suggested that Tom and Kathleen gather family together and escape from far-right Idaho, but nothing would be easy. We'll all just wait and see what the next weeks, months, and years bring.
The next Zoom, our weekly meeting with sons, was limited. Brian called in from Colorado OK, but Geoff was missing. At least we got in some chatting and keep the tradition alive. Next week, we will try to connect from Germany.
And that was Portugal. We fly out in the morning on a two-flight journey to Frankfurt.
Stay tuned.