Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2003 08:43:49 -0800 (PST)
Subject: In Lisbon, Portugal now -- I had food today!
Bom dia,
I ATE FOOD TODAY!!!! it's actually pretty funny - back in the U.S., all restaurants and many gas stations are closed on christmas, new years, and thanksgiving day.. and i know on my previous roadtrips in the U.S. i had similar problems with finding places that were open, but there would ALWAYS be a Denny's open... good ole reliable Denny's.
There aren't any Denny's in Spain.
Anyway, this morning I had a big breakfast at the hotel, then started driving toward Lisbon. Along the way I also picked up another vege sandwhich at the next gas fill-up stop. Those are pretty good. And convenient to eat while driving. So that became my lunch. FOOD!!!! I WAS EATING FOOD TODAY!
it felt good!
Well, southern Spain is nothing exciting -- lot of farms on hillsides... but the drive through Portugal was nice. First of all, while the speed limit on the highway is 120kmph, there is no one going slower than 150 except trucks. Even trucks were probably going 130 or 140... I kept up with everyone else, averaging a good 160kmph or so... which was actually faster than my average through Germany on this trip! And all this on long straight stretches of mountain roads! So good scenery too.. Again I saw a few more castles on mountaintops -- they're all over the place...
Now I've checked into my hotel in Lisbon - and thanks to the food and the drive today, i'm in a much nicer mood than yesterday! I'll be here all day tomorrow touring the city, then leaving for Porto on Sunday morning.
i should remember to keep my spanish and portugese straight though... already today i've said "gracias" when i should have said "obrigado", and "hola" when it was supposed to be "bom dia". Last night i was reading in my tourbook that the Portugese dont appreciate foreingers coming in here and speaking Spanish! Of course, its still better than english........
Chao.
View from my hotel room:
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Other Spain and Portugal pictures:
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