During our stay here we learned a few Portuguese expressions such as Bom dia, boa tarde, boa noite, sim/nao, por favor, obrigado (male), obrigada (female), desculpe, a conte por favor, ate mais tarde, ate logo, beijos, abracos, vai com Deus!, so many similarities with Spanish that it has been easy for me to guess the meaning on a written word, but the pronunciation not so easy. In case you didn't know the meaning and you are curious... here they are in the same order: good morning, good afternoon, good night, yes/no, please, thank you, excuse me, the bill please, see you later, see you later, kisses, hugs, go with God or be with God. It's easy to interpret if you know spanish not from English. Definitively it has been proven once again than immersion is the best way to learn a language but you have to want it.
We walked and know all the neighborhoods from Alfama the old town; Baixa the commercial and chic center by the water with the nice arch built after the great earthquake (in the 1700s); Chiado the hip area with fancy shops and a first class mall on a six story building; Barrio Alto a chic and expensive neighborhood; Belem where the museums are located. We went almost anywhere by foot, took the bus, train, or tram only when the distance was too long and never got lost in this maze-like city. We certainly did a lot of walking up an down the hills as the city is all hills with cobblestones everywhere, some with designs, some plain.
Yesterday was laundry day. We washed some clothes at home hoping they would dry and were planning to take the jeans to the cleaners. Well no such luck, no overnight service, so we ended up at a laundrymat we had seen on our walk home up the hill. Nice laundrymat! The name "Jardins da Roupa" or Gardens of Clothes, was very clean and top of the line equipment; all automated soap included and super fast, washing took 30 minutes and dryer 17 minutes. We paid 5€ to wash and 2€ to dry. It had security cameras and very clear instructions in Portuguese. But again, with my Spanish I was able to translate for the most part and making some guesses, too.
Now, remember my earlier story? Britt is the one that let me use her phone for free while we were here. She owns a shop on the first floor of our building selling clothes and a very nice line of "Bijuteria" or Jewelry from Brazil. The interesting part is that the jewelry is made from a flower "Capim Dourado." It looks like gold and it will never rust or get black. In Brazil it's considered a craft. It's becoming popular with celebrities. She showed me pictures of Angelina Jolie and other models wearing it. The best part is the price starting at 8€, a great price!
Here are some pictures.....
Well, the journey continues. Almerindo, the owner of the apartment we rented picked us up and took us to the airport at no charge. His wife did the same when we arrived. What a nice gesture!!!
From here we move to Spain, flying to Sevilla, and then by train to Cadiz where we will make our next home base. We can hardly wait! New food, new language and a lot more to learn.
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