Pruning the Palm Trees and Fixing Umbrellas

I didn't know that some palm trees need to be pruned. The other day I heard all this noise and talking outside our bedroom balcony and went to see what it was. I'm glad that I was dressed for the day because as I came around the corner into the bedroom there was a man in a bucket, who turned his head and looked at me as I came to the sliding glass door. He was using a small chainsaw to cut all the dead fronds off the tree. They worked on several trees for several hours and then packed up and went away.

Later the umbrella repair/knife sharpener guy came along blowing his flute and looking for customers. This is a job that is a cultural heritage type of thing that they don't want to let die out - the government pays these guys a wage to push the bike around and play this type of pan flute to let people know they are in the neighborhood. (Remember the ice cream trucks that used to go around neighborhoods when we were kids, playing music to let you know they were coming?) Usually on the weekends he is out playing the flute earlier than he should be but I guess on this Saturday he had to wait until later in the day to do his rounds as no one could have heard his flute above the chain saw noise.

Big Game in September

I'm a little behind with the blogging but have a few minutes now, so will try to write at least one...

I can't remember if I've ever mentioned Benfica and Sporting, two of the well know soccer clubs and top rivalries here in Lisbon. We happen to live between the two stadiums, about a 15-20 minute walk to either of them from our apartment. At least twice a year they will play each other and they have a custom that is interesting to see. It is also the times of the year that you will see the largest amount of police, police vehicles and vans, police dogs, and medical vehicles all in one place at one time - well, maybe the Pope's visit to Lisbon topped the Benfica/Sporting games but it would have been a close call. It is surprising to see so many security personnel and vehicles when most of the time you rarely ever see any.

The home team fans gather at their own stadium and then walk to the "away" game stadium. The police block off the streets and then escort before, behind and along the sides, the huge mass of people that are walking, singing and chanting as they go. One of the streets that they take passes right in front of our building, so on that day we know to leave or come before or after the crowd has passed by.

The visiting team has to stay in the stadium for a whole hour after the end of the game and then they are released to do the return walk with all the security again. If they let them out at the same time it would be too hard to control the crowd.

The last game they had was September 19 and Sporting lost to Benficia, so they were a little more subdued on the walk back to their stadium but that didn't stop them from stopping in the walk from time to time to loudly cheer their team and sing the team song.

Embarrassing to say, as I was taking pictures from our balcony, I had to delete one that I had taken and had not noticed that 3 of the male fans had come into the yard of our building and were using the bushes to relieve themselves of some of the beer they were drinking.

The team colors of Sporting are green and white, Benfica's are red and white, and I can't help but think  of the Harry Potter movies and the "teams" when I see these fans. (Side note: it was too dark to get a good picture on the return walk that night. I'd intended to get one of all the police vans but missed that one too.)

Metro Stops and Meeting Needs

It is still hot in September, really hot, and most days we look to find some shade and/or a cool place to study where we won't get totally sleepy right away. The nice thing about city living and using the metro is that you have lots of options on where to go. Between our metro stop and where we get off to go to language school there are several nice choices.

One day, after class, we got off at the metro stop that comes out at Campo Pequeno, an area of the city with the building of the bull fights. We walked around until we found a park bench in the shade and then got our books and homework out. It was still hot enough, with very little wind, for us to have trouble staying focused and we began to watch some of the things going on around us.

We watched as some birds began to gather at a place on the cobblestones where the sprinkler that was watering the grass was getting water on the walkway and pooling up some. The pigeons were quite comical as they sat in the sprinkling water, taking a little shower like we would, opening up one wing and then the other and holding them out and up so the water could get under their wings. Other little sparrows would come right down among the pigeons and roll around, soaking up as much water as they could.

It made me think about how the overflow of water was being used by the birds, water not intentionally meant for them, and how our own lives should be a little like that. Out of the overflow of our walk with Christ, needs around us will be met and some of those needs we will not be ones that we even thought about meeting.

Campo Pequeno

Thinking about Golf and Cooler Places

It is hot in August in Lisbon, but it is also the month that a large majority of people in Portugal take their month long holidays. Shops will put out signs and say they are closed from this day to that day - usually covering at least two weeks or more. Our little neighborhood market was opened today but as of tomorrow they will be closed until the end of the month, and last night we went in and said, "Boas Férias" to our friendly clerks. We already miss these people and the hot rolls they sell every day : ) 

It is also strange for our "American" minds to think that they would just close up shop and miss all the sales that would come from the store being open.

Today we went driving around to see if we could find the golf course near our neighborhood. We drove in congested Friday traffic, took a few wrong turns, but found it at last. Some courses are better than others but Don would just like to play sometime. Well, this is August and once again we found that this place has "holiday hours" and you just can't walk up and play anytime.

Well, seeing this course today brought back happy memories of days of golf in Pennsylvania and reminded us that even though we had very long, hard, cold winters at least for awhile it was cool and beautiful ; )

We are finding though like Paul, that we can be content in all situations and even grateful for variety. But it would be nice for Don if he could play somewhere as it has been well over a year since he played and he would just like to play somewhere.

Doors and Windows in Évora

Tiny Streets and Open Plazas

There are tiny streets and open plazas in almost every town in Portugal. When you walk down the small streets, you have to be very careful because there is not much room for your body and a car that might be passing at the same time. This day in Évora, a very hot, over 100 degree, day (most of the people were in the shops, cafes or restaurants staying out of the sun), we were looking for a place to buy some hats. There was a sign at the head of a street,  just off the plaza, with a store listed that sold hats (chapéu). We went down to check it out and our friends each bought a hat. We then went on to a little restaurant, tucked away in another side street that served traditional Alentejo food (the region of the country). I found that I really enjoyed everything I ate - even the little appetizer that was made of bacalhau (cod fish).  We stopped at several cafés for water or coffee, visited the palace, an art exhibit, and the Chapel of Bones, and just had a very good day spent with our Portuguese friends.

A Normal Day

Yesterday we found out that our driver's license paper (the temporary paper we have before our real Portugal cards come) was expiring today.  A few months ago, I would have had a little worry attack, dreading all the possible difficulties, but this time the first thing that came to mind was, "Lord, help me not to worry about this and help us to just get this taken care of."

Not only were we able to find the place this morning (about a 25 minute drive away), with the help of good directions from a friend, be we also had our Portuguese friend able to go with us, as his day was open. There was no problems and then we went back in the afternoon (again with our Portuguese friend) to pick up our "renewed pieces of paper"(aka our temporary driver's licenses).

But the biggest thrill of the day for me was being able to drive there in the afternoon traffic, navigate the traffic, not stall the car or grind the gears, make all the right turns and have the sense of things just being a "normal" day. (Have we told you about there being very few legal left turns on the roads here and when you miss an exit or turn you have to sometimes go a long distance before you can find a way back?)

When we got back to our apartment building and were going into the garage I didn't have the sense of relief I used to have when we'd go somewhere new (usually with a few wrong turns) and would get back - so glad to be off the roads and safely home. It was just a normal day that I thought would never come!

From Segovia back to Lisbon

Castles, Kings and Queens

I have always loved going inside houses and seeing how people live (or lived), what their daily lives look like as they move around the rooms, how they decorate, the view from their windows...

I have always wanted to go inside a castle, too, to feel what it might have been like to have lived in a certain time period. Last week I got to go into two castles in Spain. The splendor and workmanship that went into the surroundings was beautiful and in some cases, according to my taste, almost gaudy. But more than that, I had a feeling of hollowness, an emptiness, of knowing that years have come and gone, wars have been fought, some of the kings and queens were good rulers and others horrible. Living in a castle might have made life a little better but not necessarily happier, and a life without God and the love of Christ leaves only the momentary wealth and power of a spec in eternity.

I am so happy to be living in a small apartment without a lot of worldly possessions and having a relationship with the creator of the universe! And, as far as grand houses go, isn't that what Jesus said, that He is getting a place ready for us in His Father's house?

Come Inside the Castle (Segovia, Spain)

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An Old Picture of the Castle

Outside the Castle (Segovia)

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Storks

Storks are a common bird in Portugal and Spain. As we were driving we saw many areas where the nests would be on top of the power line platforms, one after another, and sometimes a field would have a whole flock of them on the ground pecking for grain or whatever it is that they eat.

When we were walking down to the castle in Segovia we saw this little park and Don looked up and noticed a stork. It was sitting by it's nest in the tallest tree in the park.

Market Day in the Square (Segovia)

A Trip to Madrid and Segovia

On Sunday, this past week, we took a trip to Madrid for four days of meetings. It was nice to be with co-workers, re-connect with friends from past training, be blessed by worship and music in English (!), and just be out of our city and apartment for a break.

For this meeting we were able to ride with co-workers who have been here for more years then we have and have worked and traveled in Spain. There is just something comforting in being able to go to a new place with someone who already knows how to get around and can navigate and show you some interesting sights. They even brought along a delicious picnic lunch to eat on the way.

We had an afternoon off on Tuesday and went to see some of the sights in Madrid and then on the day we left, we went home to Lisbon by way of Segovia - a really neat town in Spain, known for the best preserved aqueducts left by the Romans on the Iberian Peninsula. There is also a beautiful castle that was used by the kings and queens over the years. I'll put more pictures up later.

To Madrid

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Landscapes - Lisbon to Madrid (most out the car window)

Last Friday

Some days things happen - like losing golf balls and not getting to eat at the restaurant that you'd planned to eat at. But that doesn't mean the day will end badly.

Don went out into the little "garden" that we have in front of our apartment building to practice a little on his swing. He only had two practice balls (lightweight nurf type) and he came back with only one. I think he spent more time in the bushes looking for the ball than getting to practice.  I couldn't help but also think that the crowd of young people, walking by right after the wind took the ball to (or through) the bushes, had picked it up off the sidewalk and taken it on with them.

Then later in the evening we left our apartment and walked around the next block to the building where our Portuguese friends, Rui and Susana, live. We had decided to go out to eat for the evening and were riding with them into the downtown to eat at an "American" place - The Hard Rock Cafe. There was a wait of at least an hour and we had to stay there, standing on our feet, if we wanted to keep our place in line.

We decided to walk around a bit where there are many restaurants and cafes lining the streets and where you almost get accosted by the waiters who are out to drum up business for their tables. After walking around a bit we ended up going to a very well know Portuguese restaurant that was not in the center of the tourist area. We enjoyed some really good steaks, some good time with our friends, and a very good end to the day.

Pictures of the day in the Baixa