Mi Vida en España...

Monday marked our final day in Lisbon and we weren’t really sure what to do with the day. We had an evening flight back to Spain but we were required to check out of our hostel by noon. We woke up, got ready, ate our leftover noodles, then I braved the nerve to ask the hostel owner if it was okay if we left our bags there until we came back to catch the bus in order to get to the airport. She said it was fine, along with a lot of other stuff that I didn’t fully understand but all I needed to know was that she was okay with it.

Before doing anything else, we went to find the bus that we would need to catch to get back to the airport. Because of the bus fiasco arriving in Lisbon, we didn’t want to take any chances. We saw that there were buses coming at like 5 and decided to try to catch that one, meaning we had a few hours to explore around.

Kaitlyn had read about some sights that we could see like the Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery, we just needed to figure out how to get there. We decided that the best plan of attack was to take the metro to the train station then take the train over. This was a good idea, except once we got to the train station and purchased tickets (which was a confusing feat in itself), we couldn’t figure out which train to get on. We had an instinct that we should get on one so we started to, but first I asked a little old man who was walking onto the train too to make sure that it went to Belem.  He said that it did, so we got on. However we weren’t overly convinced so we got off. Just as we got off, the train across the way, which was the one that we were trying to get on, left. So we didn’t know what to do, so we were like okay, we can wait, or we can try to get on this train. So again, we got back on the train. I swear, people must have thought we were crazy or something because how often we were getting on and off the train. But at this point, it was our only option so we got on hoping for the best. Sure enough, the little old man was right and it was the correct train.

We get to our stop and get off and start to look for the monastery, which we quickly see because it is absolutely ginormous. We also so a huge compass which I thought was really cool but it was on the other side of the street so we figured we’d easily make our way over there later.

So first we went to the Monastery and took photos of that monstrosity but only from the outside since the inside was closed, except for a little tiny garden area. Then we continued walking in hopes of finding the Belem tower. We saw something that said Belem so we began walking through it in hopes that it was what we were looking for. It wasn’t it was just the cultural center, so we earned some mega tourist points with that one.

So we kept on walking, however the main road in this small area was rather weird and it has a fence as a median so we could not just cross the street at any time, so we had to walk to the next area where there was a bridge so we could cross to the other side of the street. Once we crossed to the other side of the street we saw the Belem tower so we went over to it to take some photos. Since the weather was nice (and hot) we took a seat to enjoy the area. Kaitlyn noticed that there were some fish by the man made steps that lead into the water, the poor fish would try to swim to freedom but as soon as a wave came, they’d get pushed back against the steps. It was actually a fairly sad sight to see. But anyways, we sat and chatted and enjoyed relaxing before we decided to continue walking towards the large compass object that we had seen earlier.

While walking to that, we accidentally tried to take a short cut and ended up walking in the police parking lot, so we joked that we were going to get arrested and thrown into jail in Portugal, of course that did not happen. We got to the compass thing and realized that it was the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Wall of Discoverers), so we took some photos but by this time we were both hot and tired and wanted to head back to the area near our hostel.

We walked back to the train station and waited for the train, I think I could’ve fallen asleep on the train because I was so exhausted. We soon got back to the area near our hostel and then went to go visit the green area, which I thought to be a park nearby. Somehow by this time, we were in a mega time crunch so we literally snapped two quick pictures then headed back to the hostel to get our stuff.

We basically ran as quickly as we could to pick up our stuff because we thought that the bus was coming soon. I am going to guess that we missed the bus that we were trying to catch because we got to wait for quite some time for our bus to get there. Other buses even came back on their route before ours got there. It was ridiculous. We did finally get the bus and we were just riding along (and of course saw a few grocery stores) when someone asked us if we were getting off at the airport. We said yes and they told us what stop it was. I was really confused because it was not the stop that I remembered from when we arrived in Portugal but we got off. I found a flight attendant to ask where we should go for EasyJet and she said that we were to take a bus to the terminal where EasyJet was. Fine and easy enough. We ended up getting to the airport fairly early but both of us just wanted to desperately be back in Madrid so it was alright with us.

6.4.12

As you might have previously read, despite my difficulties with traveling home from the concert on Saturday night, I decided to go to see Bruce Springsteen on Sunday night. Since I had not bought my ticket yet, I didn’t want to leave the hostel too late because I didn’t know how late the ticket office was going to be open. I took the metro and had no problem getting there, I got to the ticket office and was happy to see that they were still open. I went up to them and asked for a ticket and I gave them my American debit card because at this point, I had drained all my funds out of my Spanish card because I was going to close the account in a few days. Well boy, wasn’t this just a big mistake because they do not accept Visa’s. So that’s great because I had NO cash, only my debit card and now I was really hyped up to see Bruce Springsteen and the Legendary E Street Band. This completely perplexed me because I was fairly certain that I purchased my Stevie Wonder tickets with my American debit card and it worked just fine. They said that they could try my credit card to see if that worked, but when they ran that, they were asking me for a pin number. Most everyone knows that credit cards do not require pin numbers so much card wasn’t working that way. Of course I did not have any cell phone credit to make any phone calls so I asked them if there was an ATM around where I could take out cash. They told me that there was one close by but when I got to the street, all I saw was a big highway and absolutely no ATMs around. So what was I to do, I certainly was not giving up on seeing Bruce, but that would mean that I would have to go back to the area right around my hostel where I knew there were tons of banks. So I got back on the metro to head back to where I just came from. I had about an hour to go back, get some money, then return. I didn’t think it would be much of a challenge but I was still scared.

I got to the metro stop right by my hostel, which was conveniently located in from of a bank so I go to the bank to try to withdrawl money. No can do. I am not sure why banks in Portugal hate me so much but they do. So I rush back to the hostel and look for Kaitlyn, hoping that she has money I can borrow. I go into the room and she’s not there but I hear the shower running. I knock on the shower and luckily for me, she hadn’t gotten in yet and heard me. She had an extra 50euro that I was able to borrow. I thanked her and ran back to the metro stop. This time, I had to wait quite a long time for the metro to come. I am fairly used to weird people who ride the metro but there was a scary old lady walking up and down the platform asking people for money. Luckily for me, she didn’t ask if I could give her any. She didn’t bother me at all.

I get back to the concert and I am able to buy my tickets. So I rush up to the venue doors and realize that Bruce has not started yet. It is fairly crowded so I picked a spot in the grass that wasn’t too crowded. I wasn’t there to see anyone besides Bruce so I figured I’d wait a little bit until the Portuguese performer before Bruce finished before I try to find a place to sit where I could see better.

Luckily for me, I had my iPhone all charged up so I could read my book from it while I sat in wait. When the band finished, I tried to get to the area I had been the night before. I was stopped by a man who wanted to know why I was just getting there, what I thought of the Portuguese performer and also was excited to hear I was American. I left his drunk self and kept walking. I actually think that my “seats” might have been a little bit better for Bruce, but I just found an empty piece of grass to claim as my own. I was kind of sandwiched between families but it was alright with me. So I just sat and waited and soon enough, Bruce Springsteen and the legendary E Street Band took the stage.

The entire performance was absolutely incredible, I have never seen so many talented people collectively performing on one stage together. In all honesty, I don’t know how Bruce even has the energy to be running around as much as he was but he did a great job. I think it might have been one of the greatest performances I have ever seen.

There is just something about Bruce Springsteen, he’s so opinionated and sometimes goes against his home country but he’s still American through and through and I just love that. I felt so much at home watching him perform. When they played “Born in the USA” I sang extra hard despite my knowledge of what the song is really about.

The songs that they played that night were:

1. We Take Care of Our Own 
2. Wrecking Ball 
3. Badlands 
4. Death to My Hometown 
5. My City of Ruins 
6. Spirit in the Night 
7. Because the Night 

(Patti Smith cover)

8. No Surrender 
9. She’s the One 

(Sign Request)

10. I’m on Fire 

(Sign Request)

11. Shackled and Drawn 
12. Waitin’ on a Sunny Day 

(With a kid from the crowd)

13. The River 
14. The Rising 
15. Lonesome Day 
16. We Are Alive 
17. Thunder Road 

18.  Encore:

18. Born in the U.S.A. 
19. Born to Run 
20. Glory Days 
21. Hungry Heart 

(Sign Request)

22. Dancing in the Dark 
23. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out 

24.  Encore 2:

24. Twist and Shout 

After the show was over, I was exhausted so I went back to the area I was at the night before to catch a taxi. This time I felt like a pro, so I was able to get a taxi and I had brought up the screenshot of the hostel where I was staying so the driver knew the exact address and there were no difficulties getting home. To make it all better, it was even cheaper than the night before! I got back into the hostel and I was so hyped up on the show that I stayed up for a bit talking to some friends before I passed out.

6.3.12

On Sunday morning, we both woke up and we were starving but since we didn’t find a grocery store the day before so we decided to once again visit the golden arches of McDonald’s. We got our “brunch” and then decided to walk around to look around Portugal a bit. We went down a street where there were a lot of shops and restaurants. We also saw the Santa Justa Lift, which we decided wouldn’t be worth the cost to take the elevator to the top. Then we continued walking down the main street and passed a man playing the accordion with an adorable dog. We resisted the urge to pay too much attention to the cute, little puppy and kept walking along. We wanted to find the water so we kept walking south in the direction of the “beach”. On the way, we saw the Museum of Modern Design which had it’s exterior decorated solely by Post-It notes, which was really cool.

We kept on walking though because we were on deep pursuit for the water, we desperately wanted another trip like Mallorca so we thought maybe just maybe we’d be able to find the beach. In a few minutes, after we passed the Praça do Comércio, we found the water however it wasn’t the beach that we were hoping for. Instead it was a port of some sorts but this didn’t stop us from kicking off our sandals and putting our feet in the unknown body of water. While we were standing in the water and trying to figure out who we might be able to ask to take a photo of us, an elderly Canadian couple straight up volunteered to take a photo for us. Got to love North Americans. Turns out that they were on a big European travel and they were going to visit Spain next. Kaitlyn and I were very excited to not only have someone to talk to in English, but also someone who was kind and were from close to the same place as we are from. We were also really excited to spot the Jesus statue which we believe to be a replica of the one that is Rio.

After taking some photos, we decided to continue walking on, so we got out the map, which I had ripped at this point. Luckily for us, it wasn’t our only source of direction or anything…oh wait, it was. The map was still useable though, so we started walking in the direction where I thought I had seen some sort of indicator of a tourist attraction. We walked for a few minutes and quickly gave up because the Portuguese sun was beating too hard for walking out of a whim. So we started making our way for the Castle, which was one of the big attractions that Kaitlyn recommended that we see. As we were walking to the Castle, I think that heat induced delirium was starting to kick in because all of a sudden we were walking by this parked car and I saw movement underneath it. I freaked out, causing Kaitlyn to freak out as well. Here we are, gasping on the Lisbon streets because I saw what I assumed to be a body moving under the car next to me, when it was actually only a little kitty cat. Clearly the Cockroach Incident of 2012 has left me quite skittish.  Kaitlyn did not let me hear the end of that for quite some times, mostly because I made her freak out for nothing and because she loves cats oh so much.

We continued walking and quickly learned just how hilly Lisboa is, as in, I wouldn’t be surprised if I came back home with a toned butt just from trekking the Portuguese hills. Along the way to the Castle, we came across the Lisboa Cathedral as well as a water fountain, which we both were extremely excited about because a) water fountains essentially do not exist in Europe b) we were baking in the sun and needed some hydration. Naturally, we both drank some water and took photos to document the rare experience. We peaked into the Cathedral but unfortunately, being in Spain has desensitized my feelings towards cathedrals to apathy. After all, they are the crux of any town so I think I have seen more cathedrals than anything at this point.

After the cathedral, we kept hiking along because we really wanted to find this Castle. Along the way, we came across this cool restaurant that had an empty pool and a great lookout of the town and the water. We didn’t stop to eat there because we were on a mission, but I thought it was a cool and potentially fun place to dine. But we kept hiking along and you may think I am exaggerating but I will tell you that I most certainly am not. This was some serious climbing we were doing. When we finally arrived to the entrance gates of the Castelo de Sao Jorge, I soon realized that this was not just a big building, it was an entire community. We entered the gates and got on line for our tickets (naturally we had an annoying family with a more annoying child in front of us in line) but within the castle gates, there were other restaurants and shops. Then once we entered the Castle, we got to see the big Castle itself and the smaller parts to it. There were cannons there and some great sights of the water and the city from every angle. The most interesting sight that we did see were the peacocks though. I never thought the day would come when I would see such a collection of peacocks outside of the zoo, but if you want to see them, go to Castelo de Sao Jorge.

Since this Castle is quite old, there were a lot of very narrow stone stairs, which I was scared of climbing up simply because I didn’t want to fall and kill myself. Kaitlyn, being the daredevil that she is knew no bounds and was ready to climb anywhere and everywhere. After walking around for quite some time, we went back to where the sights and the cannons are and got some ice cream. I was able to indulge in some Ben & Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream which was ever so nice. After we ate, we looked in a few shops because Kaitlyn was searching for souvenirs then left.

Since we got to the Castle in such a roundabout way, we figured that we could find an easier way back to our hostel. How could it be hard? Well apparently it was a lot harder than either of us thought it could be because we got rather lost in a not so nice area. We just kept walking and were trying to find a main street. We finally got to a main street, which looked mildly familiar to us so we just kept walking. We ended up coming across the Praça de Luís de Camões, which I had passed in my taxi the night before. I knew that from there, our safe haven aka McDonalds was only a block over. Once we were back by McDonalds, we had no struggles getting home.

On our way back to the hostel, I decided that we should walk on the other side of the street, just to see if there were any neat stores that we had missed walking on the same side the entire time. Well luckily for us because we were walking home and we noticed a convenience store, which is essentially the next best thing to a grocery store and we both had just given up hope on the idea of a grocery store at this point. The selection was not the greatest but it was better than McDonalds so that was alright with us. We were able to buy some noodles and cookies, which we brought back to the hostel. Our plan was to create butter noodles for dinner using the butter in the refrigerator at the hostel (sorry hostel lady, we used your butter!) and then we thought we could have the cookies as snacks for the next day.

We got back to the hostel, had our noodles and sat out on the little porch that our hostel had. Kaitlyn got quite excited because she spotted a cat from across the way just walking on the roof, then multiple cats appeared and she was filled with glee. All the meantime, she was skyping with her friend Bridget and rehashing the events of the day, including my cat under the car mixup.

Throughout the day, I was still on my concert high from the night before so I made the decision that I was going to go back to the concert and see Bruce Springsteen and boy was I excited to finally see the Boss, live in concert. Since I only cared about seeing Bruce, I took my time eating my buttered noodles before packing up my bag with a towel and as many jackets as I could acquire since the night before I had almost froze outside.

6.3.12

A few photos from Rock in Rio - Lisboa - June 2, 2012)

Joss Stone’s Set List:

1. (For God’s Sake) Give More Power to the People 

(The Chi-Lites cover)

2. Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin’ on Me?) 
3. Big ‘Ol Game 
4. Stoned Out of My Mind 

(The Chi-Lites cover)

5. Teardrops 

(Womack & Womack cover)

6. Don’t Cha Wanna Ride / Bad Habit 
7. You’ve Got the Love 

(The Source cover)

8. Put Your Hands on Me / I Got the Feeling / Baby, Baby, Baby 
9. While You’re Out Looking for Sugar 

(Honey Cone cover)

10. Fell in Love with a Boy 

(The White Stripes cover)

11. You Had Me 
12. Right To Be Wrong 

Bryan Adam’s Set List:

1. House Arrest 
2. Somebody 
3. Kids Wanna Rock 
4. Can’t Stop This Thing We Started 
5. I’m Ready 
6. Hearts on Fire 
7. 18 til I Die 
8. Back to You 
9. Summer of ‘69 
10. (Everything I Do) I Do It for You 
11. Cuts Like a Knife 
12. When You’re Gone 
    (Bryan Adams & Melanie C cover)(singed alongside Vanessa … more)
13. Heaven 
14. Cloud #9 
15. The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You 
16. Run to You
    Acoustic 
17. Straight from the Heart 
18. All for Love 
    (Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart & Sting cover)

Stevie Wonder’s Set List:

1. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) 

(Marvin Gaye cover)

2. My Eyes Don’t Cry 
3. Bird of Beauty 
4. The Girl From Ipanema 

(Pery Ribeiro cover) (Snippet)

5. Você Abusou 

(Antônio Carlos e Jocáfi cover) (Snippet)

6. Master Blaster (Jammin’) 
7. Higher Ground 
8. The Way You Make Me Feel 

(Michael Jackson cover)

9. Don’t You Worry ‘bout a Thing 
10. Hello, I Love You 

(The Doors cover) (Snippet)

11. Overjoyed 
12. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head 
13. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours 
14. Isn’t She Lovely 

(with Aisha Morris)

15. Part Time Lover 
16. I Just Called to Say I Love You 
17. Sir Duke 
18. My Cherie Amour 
19. Superstition 
20. Another Star 

I took my final trip to Lisboa, Portugal. The flight to Portugal was fairly quick and therefore uneventful. Since we had previously had issues with getting to our hostel (see the first day in Mallorca blog if you are questioning this), I had looked up the bus route to take and then walking directions from the bus stop closest to our hostel. We get outside of the airport and see only airport buses and immediately know that that is not what we should be taking. So we keep walking a little bit to see if we can find just the regular buses, which we do find. However we do not see the bus that I had looked up. So thanks for the help Google Maps but apparently Lisboa Airport doesn’t recognize the bus that you suggested; so much for trying to be ahead of the game for once. Fortunately, the hostel gave us a list of other buses to use, we just didn’t have any information as to where we should walk to after we get off the bus.

When we get on the bus, Kaitlyn goes first and I overhear that she is having some sort of an issue. Apparently they couldn’t change what she was giving and they were asking for some centos, unfortunately they were asking in Portuguese so both of us were a little lost as to what they were saying. This would unfortunately become a recurring theme over the next few days. We finally figured out that he wanted 5 centos so I leant it to her so we could get going. We took spots on the bus and hoped for the best. We didn’t realize that we took the seats reserved for the handicapped, pregnant and elderly, but oh well, we can just blame it on being tourists.

The drive from the airport was fairly short and while we were driving it had started to drizzle. It’s amazing how unexciting and bland a city looks in really crappy weather because the whole time we were driving on the bus, we were both wondering why we even bothered to come at all. We had wanted another trip like Mallorca where we could relax by the water and I wanted to go to home to Madrid. Since we didn’t know where exactly our stop was, we were starting to get uneasy. We didn’t want to have another Sa Coma incident where we miss the stop and then have to walk for god knows how long back to our stop. I finally get up to ask the man which stop we should get off at to make sure that we hadn’t missed it and he muttered something to me in Portuguese which I could only interpret as “Not this stop, but two after”. We basically only knew that it was our stop to get off at because he gave me a look and then muttered something in Portuguese so we thought we ought to get off.

When we got off the bus, we didn’t see any street signs, we had no idea where on earth our hostel might be but we were really close to a huge traffic circle so we walked towards there. There were some banks around so I contemplated asking for help, but we figured they might be closed on Sunday. When I had looked up my directions from the airport it said to take a left near the traffic circle, so we started walking left in the cold, windy rain. We walked about a block down the main street and just had no clue where we were going. We didn’t see any maps or anything that might indicate where we were and more importantly where the hostel was. Finally, when we were about to cross the road so I could ask a hotel for directions, a very sharply dressed man asked us if we needed help, in English. To say that we were both excited and relieved to get his directions that the hostel was only two blocks down the road was an understatement. We followed his directions and finally get to the street that matches with the street name that we were looking for. We finally get to the hostel and realize it is literally right across the street from where the bus had dropped us off. Maybe if Portugal had some street signs, we would have found it without having to walk in a circle but whatever.

We check into the hostel and realize that we have a room with three bunk beds and immediately wonder if we are going to be sharing the room with anyone else, which was not high on my list of things that I wanted to do. Turns out that we didn’t have to, so that was pretty nice. The landlady was really nice, however she didn’t speak much English. After we put down our stuff, we decided we should go try to get something to eat because we were both starving so we began our big pursuit for McDonald’s. We decided that our best bet was going to be to walk along the main street (Avenida de Libertidade) where I was quickly greeted with some lovely shopping sights such as Burberry, Gucci, Armani and Louis Vuitton. We also came across the Hard Rock Café Lisboa while we were walking down the street and the Teatro de Eden, which had a really cool forest on the terrace. We also passed by a train station and the Opera House before we saw the heavenly golden arches, which was located in Don Pedro IV Square.

We went into McDonalds and both ordered our kids meals then headed upstairs to eat our food. Unfortunately, air conditioning is quite the luxury here in Europe so this McDonalds was about 1000F so I wanted to sit right in front of the fans, which we quickly learned was a bad idea once our stuff started flying around everywhere. We moved places and began eating, where Kaitlyn was quickly disappointed by two things: her McFlurry wasn’t adequately mixed and we both received lame boy toys. After we finished eating, I ran to the bathroom and Kaitlyn went to exchange my unopened toy out for a girl toy. I think that I have definitely compromised my sanitation requirements being in Europe but that bathroom was quite possibly one of the grossest bathrooms that I have ever been in. For starters, when I got to the bathroom, I noticed a girl waiting outside the bathroom so I asked her if she was in line and she responded that she was so I figured there might be only one stall in the bathroom. Then once someone came out, I realized that there was more than one stall so I was a little perplexed. Anyways, I waited for someone else to come out before I went in. Once I entered, I saw the same girl again who told me that she was still in line. Finally, someone was finished using one stall and she was loudly talking to her friend in the other stall in some weird language I have never heard but I am confident that it was not Portuguese. Knowing that that girl had been in the stall for quite some time I didn’t really want to use her stall so I waited for the girl in front of me in line to be finished. When I get inside the stall, I realize the doors don’t lock but I figured oh well, I’d chance it. Of course, the lady behind me in line and her young daughter try the door and I have to quickly close it. The also opened the door of the other stall where the girl was still in and get yelled at by her and her friend. Portugal sure has some nice people, let me tell you.  

After we left McDonald’s we explored the neighboring area and got our cards and postcards then we figured we should start making our way back to the hostel and hopefully find a grocery store so we could cook the next few days however for some reason it does not appear as though Portugal has any grocery stores at all, at least none that we could find. We did come across a railcar, which was pretty nifty because one was featured on the postcard that Kaitlyn bought. Defeated, we went back to the hostel were I allowed myself to relax for a little bit before I thought that it was time to go to the concert.

In order to get to the concert, I looked up that I could take the metro, so I bought a metro pass for there and back, not thinking that the metro might close before I was heading back. I got to the concert with very little problems because by now I am a metro pro and also, there were flocks of people going to the concert too so once off the metro I tried to memorize my surroundings for later use. I followed the crowd and found the ticket booth where I was to pick up my ticket then continued walking towards the park. Since it was a huge festival, there was lots of security and little checkpoints to go through. I finally got to the park and found a spot on the hilly incline where I figured I would be able to see but I wasn’t extremely close that I would be in the pit and having to stand for the entire night.

When I got there, there was a Portuguese band performing that I had never heard of but I only had to listen to a few of their songs before their set was over. Then the waiting game began for Joss Stone. Why it takes so long to set up for each subsequent performer is a mystery that I have never solved while attending the many concerts that I have been to. After waiting for probably about 45 minutes, Joss Stone took the stage. I had only listened to a handful of her songs before going but they were pretty good, I enjoyed the jazzy feel of them and her voice is quite good. She performed for maybe about 45 minutes before she finished. By the time her set was over, the sun was down and I was starting to regret not bringing more than my light cheetah print sweater with me to Portugal and thus to the concert because it was not providing me with the warmth that I wanted. More waiting then occurred until Bryan Adams took the stage, who put on a really good show. It was partly surprising and partly hilarious how fanatic the Portuguese fans were for Bryan Adams. Regardless, I enjoyed his set because I had a general awareness of his music from the radio play that he still gets in the States. After he finished we had to wait over an hour for Stevie Wonder to take the stage. By this time I was incredibly exhausted and freezing and Stevie didn’t take the stage until 1am. I had come to Lisboa specifically to see Stevie Wonder, but my god did I want to leave while I was waiting for him to come on. When he did take the stage, I was as impressed as I thought I would be by him and his band. I have grown to appreciate seeing older musicians because they really have the whole package. I honestly think that it was harder to become a musician back in the day because there weren’t computers that could create the sounds of a guitar, bass and drums all at once. He played a lot of my favorite songs and even did a nice tribute to Michael Jackson. My favorite moment was probably when we brought his daughter over, who is one of his backup singers, to the piano and he sang “Isn’t She Lovely”.

He finished his set around 3am so naturally there was a mass exodus of people leaving the venue. I figured the metro was closed by this time but I had no idea how to take a bus back to the hostel so I figured I’d suck up the cost and get a taxi. I followed people out thinking that someone else had to be taking a taxi back to their respective destinations. While walking, I figured I’d ask a traffic security officer if he knew where I could get a taxi so I went up to him and said, “Excuse me, English?” and he replied in a rude tone, “No. Portuguese” so I asked, “Español?” and he replied, “French?” Clearly this was not going to work out so I just sadly said, “No. Thank you” and continued walking. I am not going to lie, I was kind of scared at this point, mostly because I don’t like being in a place where I don’t speak the language at all, because I didn’t know what form of transportation I was going to take home, because I didn’t even know the address to my hostel and the icing on the cake, my cell phone was dead. All just form a great combination. So I continued walking down the street and finally found a line of taxis, so I flagged one down and got in. The man of course did not know where my hostel was but I remembered that it was very close to the Avenida de Libertidade so I just told him that. Of course he started asking me questions in Portuguese but I just apologized saying that I didn’t know how Portuguese. I was soon discovering that Portuguese was close enough to Spanish that they could understand me, just not me them. So that was just dandy. He got me close to my hostel so I stopped him, paid the bill and ran up the street to my hostel where I couldn’t wait to get some rest since it was 4am and I had a long day of traveling, walking and concerting.

6.2.12