Lisbon

Here are some pictures of Lisbon, which was really a lovely city. It wasn't hot, but much warmer than here, and sunny, so we really enjoyed the chance to sit outside on a patio, having a coffee or a beer. It was such a laid back city, easy to walk, friendly people, and very safe feeling too--we both just really liked it. It reminded me in some ways of Vancouver, being right on the ocean, two huge bridges as well as a ferry to get to the other side of the city...but then Vancouver doesn't have a gigantic statue of Jesus overlooking it (which is fine by me!)

The yellow tram or funicular climbs up the steep hills of Lisbon so we took it--because the hills are kind of steep, but mostly just because I wanted to take it. We also went and heard fado music Saturday night, while having dinner--we liked it, but got shushed by the management when we started to have a conversation over dinner while the music was on. Luckily they took lots of breaks so we did get to talk as well as listen.

I love all the pastel colours of the buildings, the tile work, the clay tile roofs. I thought there was a LOT of graffiti though (you can see it in some of the photos) and I thought that spoiled some of the beauty. Mary didn't agree--she liked seeing the expression of political views, so we agreed to disagree on that one.

The other thing that took me aback was that smoking was allowed everywhere--taxis, bars, restaurants--so we were in a lot of smokey places, and I am not used to that. I think we washed every item of clothing we took once we got home!

We didn't do so well on finding other lesbians. A couple of places we found on the internet were closed or no longer existed...and the bar life started a little too late for us (they didn't even OPEN til midnight, and not get going til 3 am.)

Mary has developed a bad cold, so is coughing and sneezing away, and just trying to rest up. We have company this weekend--Bill, from New Hampshire, who has been working in Africa and is coming back through England, so will stay with us for four days. We are SO looking forward to his visit.

Hard to believe it is December already. Weather here has been pretty good--not too cold, nt too rainy. We missed two stormy days while we were in Lisbon, which was nice.

All in all, life goes on and we are happy in our little country home. Hope you are all well too!

Karen