Blogs from Portugal, Europe - page 154

Auf nach Lissabon. Einer der besten Opodo Gutschein-Deals, war die Möglichkeit mit TAP über das Wochenende nach Lissabon zu reisen. Auch die Chance dem tristen Winter kurz zu entkommen, machte dies zu einem sehr angenehmen Ausflug. Nachteil, war lediglich der Abflug um 06:20 Uhr in München, dies bedeutete ein Aufstehen kurz vor 4 Uhr :( Nach einem ausgiebigen Frühstück und einem Weg durch das komplette Terminal zu G46 konnte die Reise nach Lissabon mit der bereitstehenden 319 der TAP starten. img=http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_vYykZYf-JOg/TW6NmNzLhXI/AAAAAAAAD7U/0YTIvBV48ng/s720/Lissabon%20002.JPG center Kleiner Snack auf dem Flug: img=http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_vYykZYf-JOg/TW6NsmL_WlI/AAAAAAAAD7Y/JiswO_X-uzo/s720/Lissabon%20004.JPG center On time erreichten wir dann auch schon Lissabon: img=http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_vYykZYf-JOg/TW6NxCT4LyI/AAAAA... read more

Maria ordered me a special request Muslim meal for my midair dinner. She likely figured this would flag me as suspect and hustle me into some full body search and scan at the hands of the Border Patrol. Such is the sense of humour posessed by my dear missus. There was some real confusion on the part of the attendant as she offered me the platter, to be sure. I just smiled and took what was given me. I considered asking which direction Mecca lay so I could unfurl my prayer rug at the appropriate hour, but I reconsidered and decided I best not confuse matters any more than neccessary. Worst of all, I feared that my designation might make it hard to order a glass of wine. The staff soon realized that I was not ... read more

As we are about to embark, Maria has decided that I need a makeover.I did protest feebly, but these things are not really worth resisting.What defence I had mustered was met with a general description of my daily garb as that which would be worn by a bum. Women can be so cruel, and those of the wifely variety, the most cruel of all. So it began. A haircut, innocent enough.And I must say that Maria did an excellent job.I must have stared at myself in the mirror for an hour and a half. I began to feel comfortable. Then the razor came out again, and it came toward my brow. Maria had determined that the eyebrows must be modified. More feeble protests on my part, met with the declaration that my fuzzy forehead made me ... read more

C'est fini, presque, pour cette fois. Je termine sur une note festive et canavalesque. Het is bijna voorbij. En ik eindig mijn verhalen over deze periode op Madeira met een feestelijk carnavalsverslag. It's almost over. This is the last story about this stay on Madeira, a cheerful one on carnival. Saturday evening at nine we had a (relatively) small fireworks display to announce the start of the float parade. Last year we'd seen the fireworks and the parade in the rain. This year the day was sunny and the night clear, but rather cold, only 12 degrees. Poor boys and girls, scantily clad in their flimsy veils and feathers. They were dancing away to keep themselves warm. No such luck for the people who'd bought tickets to watch from the bleachers, they must have been frozen ... read more

Most people were in suits whilst I was in my backpacker jacket and cargo pants. But I had my big arse zoom camera so I could get away with being classed as media. Yet after going through about 8 wines from the Douro Region at the wine festival I had to ask the question. I asked the question in that intellectual inquisitive style of voice “I’ve noticed that a lot of these wines are from the Douro region. Where is that exactly?” He answers in the simplest way he knew how. “You know the river that runs just there (he points to the one a block away.) Well that’s called Douro and it stretches to the valleys where the wines are harvested.” So it was clear I am just a dumb tourist. Portugal was the first ... read more