On to Lisboa
Our day began once again at Santa Eulalia, the little coffee
shop we discovered on Calle Espejo. Sometimes I hate finding these places because
then I am sad to leave – I just want to go to them again and again and again. Habituated
mainly by locals, we were once of a couple of tables of travelers. Everything about
this place is perfect, the coffee, the chocolate covered croissant, the 17th
century interior walls. Even the music, today it was Mozart’s “Requiem,” made all
that much more special but the beams and the ancient brickwork. I had a long
chat with the owner about the music, and then about Portugal, our destination for
the day. We bid him “adieu” for the day, promising to pass on the wonder of his
place and to return next year.
We’ve had the best luck with taxi drivers on this trip. Today’s
was from Ecuador, and we had a long talk on the way to Barajas about the climate,
Mexico, the traffic and anything else that could stretch our Spanish. Talking
with these guys has been a big highlight of these trips, it just makes that
person to person connection that travel is supposed to grant you, all that much
more vivid.
There were many hours between our arrival at the airport and
our departure time, so we spent them hanging out in the TAP (Air Portugal)
lounge availing ourselves of the food and the WiFi. Lunch was a nice little pot
of stewed beef shank and potatoes, not something you’d find in the Admirals
Club at DFW.
While we were standing in line to board, we had probably the
weirdest little coincidence possible. Yesterday at the coffee shop when I went up
to pay, I saw a middle-aged couple sitting near the coffee bar. The guy, sort
of a dumpy gray long-haired fellow, was reading the same Madrid guide that I favor.
I mentioned this to MLW and we chatted about the nature of tourists for a
couple of minutes. Today, they came into the coffee shop again and sat across
the room from us. They were joined by another couple, and the two women got
into a loud, passionate discussion about “something.” Well, this stuff happens,
other travelers find the same place as you’ve found and you see them a couple
of times before everyone goes on their separate ways.
So, I’m waiting to get on-board, and I take a look off to
the side and lo and behold, there’s that same dumpy gray long-haired guy walking
up to get into the boarding line at the next gate over from us. I do a full
scan, and his partner is there along with the other couple that had joined them
in the coffee shop. I mean, c’mon – from an obscure coffee shop on an even more
street in Madrid to the next departure gate in one of 4 terminals at Barajas
with the same departure time. Really? The universe works in strange ways.
The plane ended up being about a half-hour late, but eventually
it took off for our (all of) one-hour flight. Speaking of time zones, we are
being seriously being put upon. Our switch to DST at home, -1 hour, then +7 hours
to Spain, then -1 hour to Lisbon today and then +1 hour this coming Sunday. I’m
not sure where we are or what time it’s supposed to be. Although, being on
vacation, I suppose it really doesn’t matter.
Anyway, it was a short uneventful flight, but it was very interesting
coming in for a landing. As I mentioned, Lisbon is a new one for us so the
vista out the plane window was extraordinary – the huge estuary of the Tagus
River, long, beautiful bridges from the city to the peninsula, an ocean beach
that went on for as far as I could see and thousands of red-tile roofed buildings
hugging the water. In the late afternoon light, quite extraordinary and very
beautiful.
The airport to the apartment – tomorrow.
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