will WE play in Peoria?

After snoozing from about 6:30 last night until 7 this morning, we all woke up ready to try to salvage our time in Lisbon. But our morning started with discovering trails of ants in our bathroom. They weren’t very smart ants because we had food in our room… no where near the bathroom. But that’s where they all were, marching along the bathtub and sink. Yuck. I suppose it could have been much worse.

At breakfast (we ate upstairs in the breakfast room this time) we decided that since we were up so early ,there was time to go to the aquarium before having to check in at the cruise ship… especially if we take a cab. (Now that we’ve found that not every cabbie is out to rip us off. Although standing on that street hungry and pissed off, I didn’t care what it cost to get to the Hard Rock Cafe.)

We checked out of the hotel and left our luggage in their care, then we walked down the street to the trolley stop, which is next to the taxi stand. Bill stuck his head in one taxi and asked to go to the aquarium. And the driver just looked at him, sort of shrugged, and made zero effort to figure out where we wanted to go. I guess he was happier sitting there doing nothing than making a few Euros. Bill handed me the tourist map we’d gotten at the hotel and I got in the cab and tried. I showed him where we were trying to go and he said “oceanariumo” or something like that and I said “yes, si, oui” (to cover my bases) and we got in. It was a pretty far drive in the opposite direction than we’d been going the last two days. And it is in the new, modern section of town, which Bill liked. We now know he isn’t thrilled at going to places filled with old, crumbly buildings. How unfortunate, given that all our travels are in Europe right now.

In the center of the aquarium is a huge tank filled with all sorts of sea creatures like sharks and sting rays and some really ugly fish I’d never seen before. It was pretty cool. You could see it from different windows all through the building, so as you walk through and look at the other exhibits you can stop every so often to check out the different vantage points into the big tank. Kaitlyn was a lot more interested in the aquarium than I thought she would be. (And far more interested than she was in those coaches.) We saw penguins and sea otters and jelly fish and sea horses that look like seaweed and star fish and I think just about any fish you can think of. And the aquarium was just the right size… just about the time Kaitlyn was getting bored we were done. She picked out a tube of plastic sea creatures in the gift shop. She says now her dollies can play pet shop. It’ll be one weird pet shop. Outside we stopped to get a small lunch. We ate at a cafe right there, rather than risk finding one along our walk to where we could catch another taxi. (Lesson learned yesterday, thank you very much!)

Today has gone much better than yesterday or the day before. Bill is right. Planning is important when you travel.

After stuffing ourselves at the Hard Rock Cafe with nachos, chicken strips, and hamburgers, we headed out to tourist central. We no longer had any sort of plan, that went right out the window.

We realized we were near the Elevator de Santa Justa… built by an apprentice to Eiffel (of the Eiffel Tower). As walked there, I realized more and more I’d made a real mistake in my hotel choice, but there’s nothing I could do about it now.

We got in line for this elevator and I was surprised to see that our fare was paid for with the transportation cards we’d bought yesterday in the Metro station. I stood by the window ready to try to get video of the ride up… nine whole floors. Nine floors. This is the big attraction in Lisbon. An elevator that doesn’t go as high up as the elevator in the condo building where my dad lives.

At the top of the elevator we walked over to another part of town where there was another square and cafes. We caught a trolley and rode to still another touristy area with shops and the like. Finally, we’d found what we had become convinced Lisbon was lacking: things to see. But Kaitlyn could do nothing but whine and beg to watch tv at the hotel so we dragged her back there for a nap. She finally fell asleep thanks to Bill lying with her counting sheep. Unfortunately all that sheep counting also put me to sleep.. and Bill to sleep. Bill and I woke up around 8 or 9. We couldn’t get Kaitlyn to wake up. We had no idea what to do about dinner. I finally remembered seeing a few sandwiches listed on the hotel bar menu, so I called and ordered three sandwiches which the bartender made and brought down to our room. Kaitlyn still wouldn’t wake up. Bill and I nibbled on ours but we really were still full from that huge stuffing at lunch. We tried watching some Portuguese TV (the show Bill was interested in on Discovery was, naturally, not in English). I fell back asleep. I remember Bill woke me up to take off my glasses. I guess we were all pretty tired.

Bill and I were determined to have a plan today, since yesterday we didn’t really have one and things didn’t seem to go too well. We had breakfast delivered to our room and while we ate decided the best idea would be to go to the Coach Museum which got big thumbs up for kids and then to a palace I’d read was still decorated in its original grandeur. They are pretty close together and it seemed like a good start. Two places that are close together should be do-able for Kaitlyn.

Today we knew where to go to switch trolleys to get to the museum. (It’s down the street from the bakery with those yummy custard thingies.) I’d told Kaitlyn she’d get to see coaches that princesses used to ride in… like the one Cinderella’s fairy godmother made out of a pumpkin. Our welcome to the museum was getting ripped off by the ticket seller. I gave him a 20, he said I gave him a 10, but I couldn’t prove it. It stunk. He must be a former cab driver. The museum had some very fancy coaches. The fanciest were made for the Pope to use when he’d come to visit Portugal. Kaitlyn’s interest waned after the second coach. Then she and I dashed around and I did my best to find things to keep her interested. Finally I gave up and found Bill. Then he tried to keep her entertained while I went back and read a little more about the coaches I’d rushed past. Good thing the museum isn’t very big; it’s inside an old royal stable. When I found Bill and Kaitlyn she was sporting a new princess key chain.

It was around noon when we finished there and I suggested we eat then go to the palace. There were a couple of cafes just outside the museum, but Bill thought we’d be better off walking to the palace and getting food somewhere around there. It looked close enough on the map, but of course maps don’t show you that you’ll be walking uphill. We paused under a bus shelter to avoid another massive downpour and when it stopped, we trudged ahead. We went past a few restaurants but none seemed to have any English on the menu and Portugese is not close enough to English or French for us to be able to decipher. We got to the palace in time to discover it closes for lunch. And to discover there’s no where near it to eat. We went to a trolley stop and stood there for about 20 minutes but no trolley ever came. So we walked back down to the little row of restaurants to see if another look would produce more promising results. It did not. So we stood at a bus stop that no bus came to. After about 20 minutes of that, I’d had it. We’d all had it. Kaitlyn was hungry and whiny. Bill and I were arguing about how the vacation could have been going better had I just planned more before leaving home. So I stepped into the street, hailed a cab, got in and said “Hard Rock Cafe.” Five Euros later (he charged us what the meter said) we were in the middle of where we’d probably wanted to be all along: tourist central. There were restaurants and shops and a big open square and lots of people and lots of English. And the hotel Rick Steves had recommended and I don’t remember why I didn’t book us there. We had to wait for a table at the Hard Rock, but we didn’t care. We felt much better just to be somewhere that we could understand what people were saying and where we knew a hamburger or mac and cheese or nachos or some other American dish was waiting.

We say that our first night in a new city when we’re traveling is always rough. At one point, that was a true statement. Now I’m afraid it’s become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

We took a cab to our hotel in Lisbon and were promptly ripped off by the taxi driver. The last time I checked the meter, which was while he was driving us in circles unable to figure out how to get to the road our hotel is on, it said 12 Euros or so. When Bill went to pay him, the driver wanted 24 Euros. Nice. I’d read that the taxi drivers from the airport will try to cheat you. Glad to know we were given the official greeting to the city.

The hotel was ok. I’d picked it off Trip Advisor. It’s on a small side street and is definitely a little worn around the edges. Clean, but in need of some freshening up. The desk clerk led us to our room. I’d booked a family room. We got a family room with a private terrace. It had an incredible view of the city and the water. Too bad it was too cold and rainy to sit out there. The clerk told us he’d given us the upgrade because he had the room free… which may be true… but I had requested it. Still, we got the room with a separate sitting area where the couch folded out into a bed, doors that closed off the bedroom, a tv in each room, the terrace which was bigger than our entire room inside, and a decent bathroom.

It was about 2 when we were ready to head out. I was afraid that if we went to the aquarium, we’d just end up eating then running out of time to see the fish. Although Kaitlyn tends to run past exhibits anyway, so I don’t know why I was even worried about it. Wishful thinking that maybe she’s finally getting old enough to actually look at at least a few exhibits. We decided instead to just head toward some of the other attractions we wanted to see, to get a lay of the land, and find something to eat.

The trolley stop is a couple of blocks downhill from the hotel. We went down there and stood waiting until finally a trolley came along. It stopped across the street, at a little turn-around in the track. Everyone got off, so we figured the trolley would turn around and go back down the hill, headed where we wanted to go. It sat. And sat. And sat. Finally we walked over to see if we were supposed to get on there. The driver barely stopped her cell phone conversation long enough to chew us out for trying to get on in the wrong place. So we walked back across the street just in time for her to hang up the phone and drive right over to where we were standing. It was stupid. So we got on and rode down the hill.

We weren’t exactly sure where to get off. We got off one stop after the one that Bill said looked like where we should have gotten off. There was absolutely nothing at our stop. Why it even stops there I have no idea. The only thing that is there is a little cafe with a big sign for ice cream out front, so we had to buy ice cream for Kaitlyn who was by now getting hungry and cranky. Then we walked back down the way we’d ridden and finally turned and walked toward the water along a pedestrian street. There were people sitting at tables outside what looked like rinky-dink cafes so we sat down to get real food. We asked for pizza without anything but cheese and the waiter told us it wasn’t possible. Nice. So we got up and left there. We wandered closer to the water and closer to a lot of nothing. I saw the Tourist Information office and went in to ask about buying a transportation pass for the trolleys and metro. The woman in there couldn’t put down her phone long enough to acknowledge me. Another clerk finally came up and some woman stepped in front of me and started asking questions. I didn’t even say anything, I was getting so frustrated by everything already I was just ready to throw in the towel. Finally the first clerk finished her phone conversation and begrudgingly offered to help me. She convinced me not to buy their transportation card but to go the cheaper route by buying a card at a metro station. Across the big square outside. So I went back outside and found Bill and Kaitlyn and we went down into the metro station and found the machine and bought the tickets.

We didn’t actually get on the metro. What we needed was another trolley But I was getting so hungry I couldn’t even think and had to stop for food. (Anyone who’s been unlucky enough to be around me when I’m really REALLY hungry knows I become entirely unreasonable.) There was a restaurant with people sitting outside eating so we went there. It was unbelievably overpriced. I ordered garlic shrimp for 13 Euros. It came out in a bowl smaller than a cereal bowl. The menu also said they’d charge us for every packet of butter we used on the bread. It was insane. The guy seemed less than thrilled that we didn’t order much and didn’t order wine. I don’t normally fuss over the price, but that was just too much.

Once we’d had our 60 Euro “snack,” we got on another trolley to go over toward the monastery and bakery I’d read about. It was way on the other side of town, a pretty long ride. Of course, at our stop there seemed to be cafe after cafe with reasonable offerings. The bakery was easy to spot: the line was out the door. It’s where a specialty of the city was supposedly born. Pasteis de Belem… a custard filled pastry that only four people in the whole world know the recipe for… the brainchild of a monk. We got in line and Bill ordered 8 of the pastries. (They aren’t big, slightly more than bite-sized.) You sprinkle your own cinnamon and sugar on top. We took ours just outside to the sidewalk and found an awning to stand under because it had been pouring rain off and on all day. I thought they were fantastic – finally something the monks did right! Bill didn’t like them. Kaitlyn ate part then wanted to give the rest to the birds. While we were standing there eating the sky did open up and it poured buckets. By the time we finished eating it had finished raining… so we pushed on to the monastery down the street. The outside is covered in carvings of faces, animals, flowers… you name it. The inside was already closed for visits, so I don’t know what it looks like. Bill wasn’t that impressed and didn’t want to plan a return trip to see the inside.

We wandered from there to the ocean and a giant monument to Portugal’s conquests. It wasn’t too thrilling, but was in a good location to see the bridge that looks just like the Golden Gate bridge. After a few minutes fighting the wind, we decided it looked like more rain was not far away so we made a beeline for the trolley stop and got on just in time.

For dinner I tried to get us back on track by picking one of the restaurants out of the Rick Steves book. He says it’s small and locally run and authentically Lisbonesque and a good place for a heaping plate of seafood. It wasn’t too far from our hotel, just a couple of stops off the trolley line. It wasn’t easy to find, there’s no sign outside the place. I’d have never guessed it was a place to eat without reading about it in the guidebook. I was pleased to find steamed crab on the menu. I was less pleased when the waiter said they didn’t have any. I didn’t feel like taking the bodies off my shrimp, so I skipped that order. I was temporarily overcome with a feeling of adventure and ordered something under specialties called bread and shrimp. He told me it was a local dish with shrimp and seafood and tomatoes and olive oil and bread. It sounded pretty good. Kaitlyn got some broiled fish and Bill ordered the fried fish. When the food came out everyone else seemed pleased with their choice. Then I looked at mine. I hadn’t counted on the seafood in my “stew” consisting of tiny octopuses and clams and I don’t know what else. I picked out the shrimp the best I could and ate the bread but that was all I could muster. The waiter asked if I hadn’t liked it and I couldn’t bring myself to admit that I really hadn’t. I even told Bill I liked it, but I think he knew better.

Day one hasn’t been stellar. I hope day two goes better.

The pilot said we’d have a wonderful smooth flight until we got to Lisbon. And he couldn’t have been more right. About the time he announced that we were crossing the border from Spain to Portugal, the blue skies started to fill with clouds. Ok, clouds can be a little bumpy. But then it got windy. Really windy. The plane was rocking back and forth as we approached the runway. All I could think about was that video on YouTube of the plane that nearly tipped on its side landing. Bill pointed out that the video ends with the plane taking off again safely. Details, details. I was scared. I think the last time I squeezed Bill’s hand that hard was when I was in labor before I got the epidural. We landed just fine. But what a welcome to Lisbon.

Flying out of town on vacation in the middle of school holidays turned out to be, well, crowded. We got to the airport in Lyon two hours early like we wanted to (because we flew on Easy Jet which means you aren’t assigned a seat in advance… so promptness is extra important). But we still didn’t get in line to check in until 90 minutes before our flight. That’s how long it took us to find a parking place then ride the shuttle to the terminal. The parking lot made lots at malls at home on Christmas Eve look wide open. We drove and drove and drove. From the paved lot, onto a dirt lot, back to a paved section. It was crazy. Then we went to get on the shuttle bus… along with far too many other people. We were the first stop, so we managed to get on ok. But at the four stops that followed, people still stuffed their way on. I should have asked Bill if it rivaled the subway in Japan, but I think it had to. The problem is… next time I’m planning a trip… it will be during a school holiday… on a cheap no-assigned-seats airline… I guess we’ll just have to leave for the airport even earlier.

The “maiden voyage” of the NCL Hawaii cruise we took a few years ago wasn’t the world’s best cruising experience.

But at least it didn’t get canceled on us at the last minute.

Friends who booked a Greek cruise on Easy Cruise’s maiden voyage have been so excited about their trip. Then they got an e-mail at 5pm tonight saying their cruise… which leaves Saturday from Athens… is canceled They aren’t ready. Aren’t ready? Like the company didn’t mark the date on their calendar to make sure they’d get everything done in time?????

Now they’re scrambling to figure out what to do. They have plane tickets Friday to Athens. A hotel there Friday night.

We’re supposed to see some rain on our cruise next week. At least we’ll be on the cruise!

I’m trying to get ready for our vacation Friday and my to-do list refuses to shrink. But I still had arranged for Kaitlyn to play with two of her friends… figuring it would be good for her and not bad for me to try to relax a little.

After going to one store then the dry cleaners, we met them at a park. The three girls were happily playing when a gang on French child-twits started harassing them. The girls tried walking away and the gaggle of goons followed them wherever they went. They taunted them with the intelligent phrase “naaaaaahhh naaaaaaahhhh.” And their leader appeared to be about 4 years old. So the 8 and 10 year olds must be real thinkers to follow his lead.

Kaitlyn did a pretty good job of ignoring them and trying to just enjoy herself. The other two girls kept running up to me and their mom and reporting that those kids were being mean. I told them that bullies just want you to react, so just ignore them as best you can. Well, the naaaaahhh naaaahhhh gang just kept getting in their faces with their genius chant until the girls’ mom lost it and chewed them out. In English. Which, really, only made things worse. We finally decided that it was time to leave the park (which it was) and those stupid kids actually followed Carol and her girls to their car so they could continue to point and mock. Which is completely bizarre.

Driving home I realized I don’t even know how to say “go away” or “buzz off.” What I do know to say works with adults (some four letter words are understood everywhere), but I thought it wasn’t wise to try that in the park. I also realized I do know how to say “where are your parents?” which likely would have stopped the morons… and had they lead us to them I could have figured out something. Or Carol could have, she knows more French than I do. Now I need to ask for a special lesson on playground survival.

I’ve been cat-sitting for some friends who are on vacation. It isn’t too hard, the cat doesn’t really need much because it has a big auto-feeder and auto-waterer. What the cat does need is attention. It meets me at the door and begs to be pet.

I drove over there this afternoon after taking Kaitlyn back to school from lunch. I sat in a chair and the cat jumped up on my lap to be pet. He was purring and nuzzling me… it was really relaxing. So relaxing that I woke myself up with my own snoring. I’d dozed off for about a half hour. I guess it was a cat nap. There’s something so relaxing about sitting in a cool, dark room with a purring kitty on your lap… in someone else’s house so you can’t be doing laundry, or vacuuming or anything else.. just relaxing. I may have to volunteer to cat sit more often.

This morning I drove downtown to pick up a couple in town for their house-hunting trip. Bill and I are their “mentor” family… which means we’re supposed to help them navigate the challenges and introduce them to the other ISE’s.

I got to their hotel and both looked really refreshed and peppy. I don’t think I looked either the entire week I was here house-hunting.

We were supposed to have breakfast, but as I was getting to their hotel I realized I don’t know downtown very well and really wasn’t sure where to go. They told me they were up for anything and that they’d passed a little cafe the day before while out walking that they thought might be open. (A lot downtown is closed Monday morning to make up for being open a couple of hours on Sunday morning.) So we walked down the street to what turned out to be a bar attached to a tabac. (Cigarette/magazine store.)

We ordered our coffees and I wasn’t sure if we’d get any kind of breakfast. Which was not great, since I hadn’t eaten at home and my stomach was starting to growl. The waiter (who I think was probably the owner) offered us croissants and pain au chocolat (basically croissants with chocolate inside). But he only brought two pain au chocolat. Which I really don’t even like. So I went up to the bar to ask for a croissant. He said they were out… then offered some bread with butter and jam. Sure. I sat back down and after what seemed like quite a while to bring me a chunk of bread, he arrived at the table. He had cut what had to be an entire small baguette in half then into pieces about 6 inches long, piled it on a plate, along with an entire block of butter and new jar of jam. He must have thought we were really hungry. Although we did our best to make a dent in the bread. It was really, really good. I’ve actually never even put butter and jam on my bread before… turns out it’s good!

It also turned out to be a nice welcome for a new family.