One Week

May 29, 2007

There is so much that happens in a week.

Monday: In Lisbon. I walked all over Lisbon on my own while Duarte spoke at a conference. We had an incredible Italian dinner overlooking the river.

Tuesday: On our way back to Chaves we stopped in Coimbra where Europe’s oldest university is still operating. We walked through a church that was almost 1000 years old. We enjoyed an amazing Indian restaurant (the first time since India Pavillion in State College way back in December). Got back to Chaves to find that the kids hadn’t missed us too much.

Wednesday: Out of the blue Jenna is talking!! She says “uh oh,” “mama,” “papa,” “hot,” “anda – which means come on,” “ja esta” (all done), ola (hi), “Hi,” “Lipe,” “sana,” “night night.” I ran for 1 hour and 15 minutes!! I saw a huge lizard along the river in Chaves. I thought it was a baby alligator but was informed that it was indeed a lizard. I’m not that excited to run along the river any longer. Lipe and Susana came over to Quinta da Mata for dinner. It was a great evening of family time.

Thursday: Went to Vila Real. Marcos and I walked across a high bridge while Duarte was at a meeting. Later, Marcos enjoyed his first taxi ride. I can’t remember what else we did that day. There is big drama at Quinta da Mata as they are trying to acquire a restaurant quickly… long story!

Friday: Big bike ride. Duarte said he was tired… let’s go easy. 3 ½ hours later we stopped in a small restaurant in a town called Aguas Frias. It was pouring down rain and we were beat. We had a lunch of bread, olives, homemade soup and a jar of wine – all totaling $3.00 for both of our meals! Sat outside –leaning against a shrine to the village saint - waiting for Lipe to pick us up. While waiting a lady pulled up in her car – oddly enough she was wearing a t-shirt with a giraffe print that said “Debrouillet.” Went out for pizza with Lipe, Susana, and Filinto.

Saturday: We went to Aveiro – a coastal college town - where many of Duarte’s college friends had gathered for a sport’s management conference. We ate these amazing hot, raw doughy deserts with chocolate in the middle… called “American Cookies.” I have no idea why. I ran for 1 hour and 15 minutes on the beach while watching kite surfer sail over the waves… It was beautiful. We drove home in the middle of the night.

Sunday: We watched a local village lead a procession in celebration of their village saint. Fireworks were shot off all day long. We took Marcos to another nearby village that has skateboard ramps. He’s getting pretty good at “trick biking.” You should see him on the half-pipe! An 8-year old boy befriended us while we were there and invited us to his mother’s restaurant for lunch. He sat with us while we ate and then followed us to the adjoining café where we drank coffee and had a dessert. Kids have a lot more freedom over here.

On our way home we saw some crazy event going on in the parking lot of the big grocery store in Chaves. There were all of these modified cars with grown men racing one by one around the parking lot. The race involved skidding three times around the light posts in the parking lot. It was so incredibly weird! Marcos loved it!

Susana’s parents had us to their mountain cabin for dinner. They grilled a chicken and potatoes right on the fire. Susana’s father served his homemade wine. We went up the mountain for a walk looking for wild mushrooms.

Monday: Funny day! Duarte’s boating buddies offered us to a day spa package at the local “Hot water spa” in Chaves. Portuguese people have enjoyed the spa and its healing waters for years and years – but always in a serious manner. Up until recently, only those people with a doctor’s prescription could utilize the services of the spa. The Portuguese people –probably because of their Catholic faith, like to bask in their misery or their ailments…they do not openly seek leisure – instead they need an excuse to pamper themselves…hence this spa designed for healing. There are 1-day packages all the way to 15-day packages. Health insurance covers the treatments.

Well, we had gift certificates and so we were treated to a whole day of services. The interior of the spa was much like that of a hospital. It was clean, bright, and sterile. After a quick medical assessment where the nurse asked if I was pregnant (due to my poochy stomach) we headed for our first treatment - a hot water bath – which literally was a very medical looking bathtub with hot and cold water shooting out from tiny jets inside the pool. Wearing a bathing suit, I sat down in the immense tub filled with warm water while a very buff lady wearing a sort- of nurse uniform came and sprayed my leg and arm muscles with a powerful hose inside the tub. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. It felt good – but it was too medical to truly be enjoyed. All I could think about were the old, ailing looking people that were waiting in the hallway before me. Who was in this tub before me? Next, I was led to a big box in the center of a small room. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. The lady told me to lay down – which I did. She closed my body inside a long box (kind of like a tanning booth) – while my head stuck out the end. I had an itch on my nose, but I couldn’t scratch it as my hands were encased inside the mysterious box. I’m not entirely sure what was going on inside the box – I wanted to look but, once again, I couldn’t move my hands. In the end warm water sprayed out in intervals. The final treatment was a massage- which I was looking forward to as I have some knowledge of how massages work. The massage room at least had some ambience. It was dimly lit and it smelled good –similar to massage rooms I’ve been to in the US. I tried not to pay too much attention to the strange assortment of music that was playing: Queen, Kenny G, and Sonny and Cher but admittedly, I was a little distracted. A very young, male masseuse who just happened to be a friend of Lipe’s was my masseuse. Great… As it turned out massages are a bit less modest in Portugal and I wasn’t wearing the nicest of undergarments. Because of the oddity of the entire experience and my deep embarassment, I succumbed to a huge case of the giggles so intensely during the massage, I nearly rolled off the table!