The Great Internet Search

Friday was kind of an odd/funny day because it was the first day that we needed to find our own internet access because we couldn’t use the hotel’s wireless network anymore (we checked out on Thursday) and our appointment with Portugal Telecom to set up DSL in our apartment is not until next week. We need internet at least every weekday so Lindsay can do her translation work and so I can write about the mundane details of our lives (and a few interesting things) for this blog.

We started our quest for an internet connection by going to the free internet café in the touristy part of town, but there wasn’t any way for Lindsay to connect with her own laptop and there was a 30 minute time limit to use their computers and a 30 person line behind us, so that didn’t work. The employee at the internet café told us about a wireless network in the park near the river, “near the Italian restaurant”.

We found the Italian restaurant, sat down, ordered a drink, and tried to pick up a wireless signal with our laptops, but we couldn’t really get a connection, and no one seemed to really know where the wireless network was located. I set off to find it by walking around the entire park with my laptop open, clicking the ‘refresh’ button on the wireless card every 20 feet. Luckily, only about half of the people in the park looked at me like I was crazy and I eventually found Portugal Telecom’s wireless network, which seemed to be mysteriously emanating from a small gazebo in the park. They charge an arm and a leg for connecting, about 5€ per hour or 50€ per week, but the connection is decent.

Friday evening we headed to the Forum, which is a big mall 5 minutes by taxi from our apartment. We did some more apartment set-up shopping and then had Burger King for dinner (not every meal can be a cultural experience). There’s also a McDonald’s, which seems to be the most popular restaurant there (it was still bumping at 11 at night), Pizza Hut, Subway, and about 15 other restaurants including Japanese, Chinese, and Brazilian restaurants. The Forum also has a Portugal Telecom wireless network in their food court and they have AC (unlike the park), so I think Lindsay and I will be mallrats this week.


- Jason

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