So let's start with the most comedic part of this fantastic day, before I forget. Tonight, we were either going to see Ive Mendes in concert, a Brazilian artist similar to Sade, or go to a fado bar in the Bairro Alto section of the city. I tried to figure out where the venue was where Ive Mendes was performing, but I could not find it on our map, and thus we decided to head to the Bairro Alto district for the night. Since we are staying at a different hotel the next two nights, in a new location in the middle of the center of the city, the walk would be a short one. On our way to find a fado bar, while we were walking up some steps to the Bairro Alto district, I happened to step in a huge pile of dog *&^%. I tried to scrape it off on the edge of the steps, but was unsuccessful. It was already dark outside, so I couldn't see very well either, and was unable to assess the scope of the damages. As soon as we got to the top of the steps, we found ourselves right close to a fado bar that I had seen advertisements for in our Lisbon entertainment magazine. We walked towards the entrance of the place, called Cafe Luso, and the guy out front ushered us inside as if we were illegal immigrants trying to cross the Rio Grande into Texas from Mexico. He told us it would be okay, but just to make sure NOT to tell anyone that we did not have reservations. Of course once inside, the matre'd (is that the right name and description of this kind of person...like a hostess, but a man) asked us immediately if we had reservations, and unable to lie, I said that we did not have reservations, and he said that was fine, and he seated us at a table for two, in the back of the cafe, where there were maybe a total of 4 more seats left in the entire place. We were told that we were to pay for our meal, and the fado show was included in the price. Well, the first thing we noticed, after being smuggled to our table, was that the place was very much high-class, we felt quite underdressed, the prices on the menu were quite alot more than what we wanted to spend, and that the atmosphere of this place was REALLY cool and trendy. All of the tables were aligned in rows, very close to each other, and as soon as we sat down, I could immediately smell the dog *&^% on my shoe. It didn't help that the 20+ people sitting close to our table were shamelessly staring at us. Here we were, with expensive food on the menu, underdressed, smelling like dog *&^%, and feeling like we wanted to crawl under the table and disappear. After debating, with forced smiles plastered on our faces, what the heck we should do, I said that we needed to escape before they brought anything to our table, and so that's what we did. We put our jackets back on, and quickly scurried out, apoligizing to the "border-runner" and walked back out into the night, embarassed, but deeply relieved. As we continued searching for not-too-shady-looking fado bars, a guy handed us a brochure for his fado bar, which we looked at, and after realizing they did not have fado players there on Saturday night, we continued on our way. But, the brochure, we realized, could prove to be a useful instrument in trying to scrape the dog *&^% off my shoe. So, leaning up against the outside wall of a bar, I strategically folded the brochure, and began scraping the bottom of my shoe. As I was scraping, and people were walking by, a bird sitting on the edge of the roof above took a *&^% onto Vee's head. Nice. Of course, we couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of what was happening to us, and at the same time feeling quite disgusted with our current condition. Eventually, after wandering through some pretty sketchy, scary, graffittied parts, we found a place that was still somewhat empty, but looked like a really cool, laid back place to have a drink and some appetizers. And it was fantastic. Our server was a sweet girl who loved our positive comments about the appetizers (smoked salmon, cheeses, olives) and kept our drinks filled the whole time. The best part though, was that in the mens bathroom, they had a toilet bowl scrubber, which was precisely what I needed, since the folded fado bar brochure was not very effective, to scrape the dog *&^% off of my shoe. And, the womens bathroom had everything Vee needed to clean out the clump of white pasty bird *&^% from her hair too. Cleaned up, we had a fantastic evening, and by the time we were finished with our drinks and apps, the place was packed, and it seemed as if the Bairro Alto area was just then getting started. Apparently we were early. Maybe that is why we got *&^% on so thoroughly. Anyway, on the way back to the hotel, we walked by a pasteleria, and purchased a late night pastry that would be our final treat for the night.
As for the rest of the day, it was fantastic, and our pictures really tell most of the story. Jose, Aunt Marina's cousin who lives in Cascais just outside of Lisbon, picked us up at 10 am. He was a half hour early, but we were not ready, and so unfortunately he had to wait in his car for a while. Jose turned out to be a fantastic guy, very thoughtful, very sweet, patient, and so giving of himself, and his time. We had an amazing day, driving in his beautiful Peugot, through downtown Lisbon, through Belem, into Cascais, stopping to see the Boca do Inferno and have quejeda and coffees, then to Sintra and a delicious lunch and to the palace and then back to our hotel. I cannot begin to describe the beauty of these places, and will defer to our pictures and videos. All I can say is that before today, after last night, I was ready to leave Portugal behind. But now, I want, so much, to be able to spend a few more days here, but we already have our flight booked to Barcelona for Monday night. Sintra was pure magic. Cascais was a coastal paradise. And Belem is full of interesting treasures. Tomorrow, we plan to take the tram to Belem, then the train to Cascais, meet up with Jose again, and have dinner at his place. We are both really looking forward to our day. I think the ticket to this part of Portugal is to enjoy Lisbon for it's nightlife and some of it's historical, and monumental sites, but to get outside the city for the truly wonderful stuff. Too bad we can't stay longer. But then, there is alot that awaits us in Barcelona, and Italy, and ...........
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