Just horsing around

 On our way south, we have stopped in to a farm for lunch. Before that we had a look at a few of the Lusitano horses they breed there. 

Before you ask, I have no idea which cut of horse they put in the casserole. 

Oh, and the bathroom is funky

Another difference about this bus. On the last one, reach down to where you might find your life jacket on an aircraft, and you will find 2 x USB charging ports. One type-A and one type-C.

So instead of fondling around near a perfect stranger’s leg for a connection (just stop it!), the new bus has it up where the air vent goes. Or the hostess call button.

The downside is that, with today’s need for perpetual connectivity, later in the day the bus looks more like a hospital ward, with all the IVs lined up in a row.

On the way from the 1000 hectare horse farm, we detoured to a famous little clifftop lookout.

On the road again.

 Stopped in the city of Setúbal. 

Ventured into a famous fresh market 

This guy obviously came second…

One clever idea here. There are a couple of cafes on the outer walls of this market. They are referred to as husband daycares. The lady of the house deposits her husband here with his friends, so that he can compare notes on how hard their lives are. When she is finished shopping, he will carry the bags to the car and they return home. 

One thing we noticed on the road is called stork nurseries. 

Apparently it’s a thing here. Everywhere!

Hitting the Hilights of Lisbon

 Went for a tiki tour of lisbon today.

Saw a few interesting ornaments.

Saw this. WTF!!!

Went to visit a monastery. 

Here's why you go with a tour, rather than just turn up. These people need to take a sun umbrella and lunch.

Quite nice inside, too. We only get to see the cloisters, as church was in use.

Popped into the monk's cafeteria

There are a couple of famous landmarks that you may feel don’t belong here. 

No, you’re not in Rio. 

And you’re not in San Francisco 

This guy was built by the same company that did the Golden Gate. The ABC. The American Bridge Company. 

Went off to a posh beachside town called Cascais

Discovered that many restaurants in this town don't do electronic payment. Certainly the two who sell the Portuguese chicken Sarah wanted.

As we had survived in Germany without needing a single euro in cash, we were hoping that our winning streak would continue.

Wrong!!

Despite being told that 97% of vendors in Portugal take electronic payment (with the obvious proviso for most street vendors), we weren't told that the remaining 3% are all in Cascais!

Luckily there are cash vending machines everywhere. Yeah not so fast...

The first one I tried, just next to a restaurant we were interested in (and recommended by the sign in the restaurant window) wasn't interested in either of my cards.

Went to another one over the road. It recognised my debit card, and was happy to tell me how many euros I had. It just wouldn't give me any.

Third time lucky?

I stood behind 2 other people using the 3rd machine. The first guy seemed to get rejected, so I didn't like my chances. The second guy was there for a minute, and came away without any cash. He may have just been moving money around. I didn't ask.

My turn comes, and the machine not only recognises my card, but it offers be a bland AND a withdrawal option. Phew.

Sarah's chicken is back on the menu. Here it is.

Their Peri Peri sauce is nothing like what she gets at Nando's. Seems to be flakes in oil.

                              

From there we went on to a place called Sintra. Up in the hills. There's a palace up there.

Took the road along the beach from Cascais towards Sintra. Unfortunately, there had been sand from the dunes to our right blown towards the ocean to our left, and had left residual over the road. This had caused a minor motorcycle accident. There were a couple of motorcyclists sitting on the side of the road looking sorry for themselves, a digger buzzing about scooping sand off the road and dumping it back over the fence, and assorted policemen stopping traffic in both directions.

Then an ambulance and a firetruck arrived. Everyone seemed to be old friends, because there was a lot of collegial hugs going around. Not a lot of clearing the road.

After more than 30 minutes waiting to be allowed through, our driver decided to back the truck up and turn around. He had to go back quite a distance, because this is a narrow coastal road and this is a long bus. Something to note about this bus. It must be hot off the press, because it has the new digital side mirrors. Our last one had the big ears that stick out on busses and trucks in NZ.

I had noticed these side mounted cameras on a couple of trucks in Germany.

I know that some of the flash EVs coming out have that option, but I'm not sure it's legal in NZ yet. 

Anyway, we eventually got to Sintra.

It's another one of those cute little towns with lots of busy streets and alleys going up and down in all directions.

We’ve joined another tour

Here’s my life for the next 11 days

 

Lisboa for a few days

 Our first hotel in Lisbon is very comfortable. 

The room is quite small, so even Sarah's Lojel addiction is struggling, but any normal clamshell suitcase would have no chance here.

Not important, because everything else about the hotel is great, if a little quirky.

It has either been added to, or absorbed previously surrounding buildings. The block with our room is not accessible directly from the foyer. Up the lift one floor to a lounge area with a bar, an outdoor (smoking) lounge and an indoor lounge. Some of the rooms are in this main tower, so those guests can keep going up. We need to walk past the lounges to the restaurant and the lifts to the rest of the rooms. 

Last night I walked through the first floor route, and a DJ was setting up in the outdoor area.

We went for a wander around the local area last night. Our hotel is just off what they call the Marquis of Pombal Square. A very busy roundabout surrounds the monument.

Within a few hundred metres we discovered a restaurant chain called Honest Greens. This must be a mecca for the vege set.

Time for some Asian Prayers

Here's the menu for anybody passing through. You can find them in Portugal and Spain, so far.

We'll be back. Hoping there will be one near our hotels as we continue.

I seen to have found a liking for these superfood bowls. I found one at the Novotel restaurant at AKLI.

Delishimo!

Healthy. I know, right? Go figure.

Laundry

 Laundry is such a pedestrian topic. When you travel for up to 2-3 weeks, you could get away with carrying enough clothes for the whole trip. 

If the trip gets longer, you need to think about laundry, even if it’s just t-shirts and underwear. 

It has been known for people to stock up on disposable underwear, to avoid this drudgery. They can be purchased from the online Chinese behemoths in packs of 50 or more. They could be paper-adjacent, like hospital use. They could just be super cheap cotton, perhaps 2nds or 3rds from a factory making better ones. 

For the rest of us, some version of washing will be the order of the day. Most hotels we have stayed at around the world offer this as a paid service. 

For example, where we are now, a shirt will cost 9 euros, a pair of trousers would be 12 euros, and an underwear item would come in at 6 euros. 

So 6 euros a day just for your undies. I don’t even think mine cost that much to buy, particularly a 5-pack in the K-mart aisle of value. 

So the final option is to wash them in the bathroom sink, with frequency based on available drying room. 

I can do that. I haven’t yet reached the age where, to quote Jack Nicholson, you learn to not trust a fart. So no hazmat suits required yet. 

By the way, Sarah has already warned that, the day that this inevitable event occurs, she will start checking out the yellow pages for a retirement home. 

I have been warned. To be fair, she may not choose one as nice as what my daughter would choose for me. 

Just sayin’