Back to Lisbon

I am back in Lisbon for a few days. It is from here I will fly to my next country.

When I left a few days ago there was so much I had left to see. Luckily I am able to come back, but this time alone 😦

I check into my rental. It was an adventure getting here (isn’t it always).

When I booked my rental I knew it was in Alfama and very close to the train station. I made a mental note that I should be able to walk there from the train.

Look at me, I upgraded to first class this time #treatyoself

When I am going somewhere I double check and triple check (maybe even quadruple check) things like addresses and whatnot.

When I checked my email after I arrived my google maps said the rental was miles away.

That seemed off and I was somewhat communicating with the owner of the rental at the same time but I didn’t figure out there was a problem yet.

Nope. I hopped in a Uber to my address.

When I arrived things still seemed off. This didn’t seem like the neighborhood I booked. There was no owner waiting for me.

So I checked my email again.

What I discovered is that google totally screwed me up.

Let me explain.

Google, or gmail in this case, tries to build in features to make our lives oh-so-easy. We become dependent upon them and don’t question them.

One feature is that google reads your emails and gives you a summary at the top for times and dates and addresses, etc.

In my case it saw something about “apartment in Alfama” and looked on its stupid little map and came up with some random apartment it thought it represented. I used the address in the summary for my Uber.

The actual rental address is different lower in the email message.

Once I realized what happened I called Uber back to take me to the correct address. The owner of the rental was visibly annoyed at my lateness. I tried to explain it was google’s fault. But whatever. I am checked in now. The kitchen is super cute and has a washing machine.

BUT NO AC. What kind of freak books a rental in Lisbon in the summer with no AC?There is a fan but it is a little fan and there is only one of them.

I sweat it out for a few days.

I keep meaning to let them know to buy a bigger fan.

Random Picasso

While wandering around Porto I came across a little exhibition of Picasso sketches.

A collection of 100 sketches can be seen at Suite Volliard at Palácio das Artes, in Porto.

Apparently this is a rare exhibit. It costs 10 euros and included a free Taylor Port. That and air conditioning? Sign me up.

It was kind of cool to see Picasso work through some ideas.

I am glad I stopped in.

Wandering around Porto Day 2

Porto train station

Wandering around Porto Day 1

Port tasting in Porto

My visit to Porto has been very pleasing. It is a nice relaxed city and to top it all off Porto has Port.

Port is fortified wine made in Porto but the grapes are actually grown in the Douro Valley (not too far away).

We stopped by some tasting rooms one afternoon. The tasting rooms are actually across the river from Porto in Gaia (you can walk across a bridge or take a water taxi to get there).

I saw a recommendation somewhere for Augusto’s so that was our first stop.

Augusto’s port is not distributed and can only be purchased in the tasting room. It is a small family winery.

We had a tour and a tasting. Money toward the tour can be used toward credit for purchases.

They talked about how Port was made and we got to taste a couple different ones.

Of course they get you just buzzed enough to make bad decisions. We didn’t end up shipping anything home (super expensive) but I did purchase a sampler of different ports. I spent the next few evenings trying to finish them off so I wouldn’t have to take them on to my next destination.

After that we stopped at a newer hip tasting room: loud music and crowded. No tour but it was fun to taste some others.