Portugal 2019/Part 3–
Shortly after I arrived at Christina and Sussie’s hotel, we decided to head out to explore the area, because their room wouldn’t be available for check-in until much later in the afternoon. We decided to take the subway to the Alfama neighborhood of Lisbon. We walked up and down a few of the narrow back streets and I was absolutely fascinated by the azulejo tile. Some of the buildings were completely covered with tiles, where as others had small decorative tiles near the doors and windows.
It was a really hot day, so after walking around for a bit, we decided to stop in the main plaza for something to eat and drink. I ordered, of all things, a grilled cheese and banana sandwich. I’ve never heard of that combination before, so I had to try it! I love cheese and I love bananas, so it sounded like a win-win. It was good!
As we were eating, I glanced across the plaza just at the right moment to see a young kid careening out of control on a Segway. Just as I said, “Oh, no–he’s going to hit…” he slammed into a small stand that was selling homemade Ginjinha. The old woman who was manning the stand must have seen him, because she was able to move out of the way before the crash. The entire stand was wiped out and her wares (small bottles of ginja and chocolate cups) were strewn all over the pavement. Ginjinha, sometimes called Ginja is a Portuguese sour cherry liquor.
Another woman from a neighboring stand immediately started yelling at the kid, as the group he was riding with slowly made their way over to him. Nobody from the Segway group made a move to help her set her stand back up, and nobody checked to see if the boy was okay.
The group stood and stared at the mess for a long time, and they appeared not to know what to do. Before long there was lots of yelling. Were not really sure if they paid her for the damage, but it was quite a scene to watch from afar. You might say that we had dinner and a show!
Welcome to Lisbon!