Lounging about in Lisbon

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October 22nd 2013

Published: October 28th 2013

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Dr sandy

Lisbon

The street in Lisbon where Peter's cap blew off the bus

Hello from rain sodden Lisbon, Portugal where there has been local flooding.

I’m sure it’s a very nice place but after 3 hours of battling torrential rain and gusty winds I gave up and returned to the ship. Peter’s off to the Beer museum when it opens at 12:00. I have caught the cold that is going round the ship. Better that than norovirus which means you are confined to cabin and the staff come in in moon suits to clean up.

We had a wonderful couple of days in Valencia and Cartagena. They were both compact towns with lots of sunny squares bordered by shops, mostly expensive ones. I guess the shopkeepers live in hope that someone wants to spend 200 euro on a jumper.

Valencia claims to be the birthplace of paella. The traditional regional style is saffron rice with chicken, rabbit, beans, snails and artichokes. Poor bunnies! There are more than 200 other varieties combining seafood, shellfish, game, vegetables etc more. I don't think we got the authentic paella. The one we had was awful. I was so disappointed to learn that Valencia oranges don't come from Valencia. They are an American variety.

Cartagena

Peter loved this museum!!

The name says it all!

is a collage of Roman, Spanish, Arabic and European cultures. Valencia claims to be the birthplace of paella.The town has made a big effort to save the Roman ruins from destruction. It’s a place of beautiful churches, yellow and pink buildings and cobbled streets. It was very easy to get round and enjoy the sights. Nice cafes serving delicious Spanish coffee and equally delicious beer according to Peter.

We spent the next day on the ship yesterday thinking we could have a rest. It doesn’t really work like that. We ran around doing trivia, having a tour of the kitchens, meeting friends for drinks, going to dinner etc. Oh yes and then there was the art auction again. They served very nice (free) champagne and I learned a bit more about American art.

There has been a lot of art to look at and think about over here in Spain. It’s built into to the culture of the towns and cities we have visited. I’ve seen a lot of Picasso style pieces and it’s growing on me a bit. I absolutely adored the modernista style of architecture in Barcelona. It reminded me a bit of buildings in Fred

Gibralter

Passage in daylight this time

Flintstone cartoons: sort of offbeat and asymmetrical. I’m going to look more into the Barcelona modernista architecture when I get home. Maybe I could tile the front entrance of our house in Mediterranean style. What do you think Jules?

The renovation of our stairs and front entrance is progressing well. Julie has put up vj wood panelling where we used to have scruffy looking wallpaper, replaced the bottom step (which was chipboard and had swollen and looked awful) and has prepared the walls for painting. It’s going to be absolutely gorgeous when it’s finished. I might even have an official opening!!

Yesterday night the bad weather came in and it was quite rough. I was staggering around for most of the day and by about 8:00pm I decided I had to lie down before I fell down. I knew it was bad because I watched the curtains sway backwards and forwards towards the bed.

I wasn't the only person affected, apparently there were lots of others. Everyone looked drunk but they weren't. Or maybe they were using the rocking motion to disguise it!!!

Looking forward to a nice day in Vigo tomorrow.

Love