19 October 2025

Greetings from Lisbon, Portugal. I’m here with my friend John from Denver. More on that after a weekly update.

For my pending visa application, I finally got my fingerprints sent to the FBI this week. I had arranged for Fedex to pick up the envelope last Friday. But with the heavy rains, they never arrived. I waited on Monday and they still never arrived. So, on Tuesday, Vicente very kindly drove me out to the main Fedex station, where all the trucks come into town. They apologized and got the package into the system. By Friday, it still wasn’t delivered. When I contacted Fedex, I learned that US Customs was holding it, waiting for a Commercial Invoice. So I found a pdf form on line and got that completed and sent. As of today, it’s still being held up. Hopefully, it will be delivered Monday or Tuesday. Of course, with the US government shutdown, who knows when it will be processed?

I met my friend Rafa for lunch this week. For me, it was a wonderful reconnection. I hadn’t seen him since December. He apologized for not being available, saying that he’s been going through some difficult times. I told him that I can’t fix his problems but that friends walk with their friends through good times and bad times. He’s such a wonderful friend. I’m glad to have him back in my life.

Vicente and I had lunch on Thursday at a cool Japanese restaurant. It will be weird not seeing him for two weeks.

A couple months ago, my friend John in Denver asked if I’d like to join him for two weeks in Portugal. I’d never been. So, I jumped at the opportunity.

So, I left early Saturday morning, and we met at the Lisbon airport. We couldn’t get into our AirBnb until noon, so we had a coffee in the airport and caught up on each other’s lives.

Once settled in the AirBnB, we took off for some sightseeing.

First stop was a cool flea market that was happening just outside the AirBnB. Antiques, souvenirs, junk, and cool stuff were all on display. It was fun to explore.

Second stop was the Monastery of San Vicente. The amazing tiles were everywhere. But the highlight to me was the roof top views.

The monastery was founded in 1147. The current buildings were built between 1582 and 1629, started by King Phillip II of Spain, when he was also King of Portugal.

After a delicious lunch of tapas with cut meats, cheese and fresh fruit, we went to the Cathedral.

After a good nap, we went out for dinner and found a great restaurant for typical Portugese cuisine. I had pork with clams and roasted potatoes.

We stopped for drinks after dinner and sitting across from us was Enrique, a guy I met in Valencia in my very first day there in December 2023. I knew he lived in Lisbon and often visited Valencia. But to run into the only person I’d ever met from Lisbon on my first day in the city was a bit surreal.

The evening ended rather unfortunately when our Uber was struck by another car, who promptly sped away. We saw it all unfold when we were turning right, and a car came at us, turning left, and grazed against the front left side of the car. Fortunately, no one was hurt. But it damaged the car we were in. The driver had to deal with that emergency and we were able to get another car to take us home.

Today, Sunday was another full day. We had a lovely breakfast at a cafe near the apartment, next to the Pantheon. Then we took an Uber to Belem, and saw some impressive monuments.

Located along the Tagus River, is the Monument of the Discoveries.

The monument celebrates the Age of Discovery during the 15th and 16th centuries. Built in 1960, it honors Henry the Navigator, the king who commissioned much of the exploration of the age.

We went to buy tickets for the Monastery Jeronimos. It was about 12:30. The next available tickets were for 3:30. So with time to spare, we walked along the river to see the Tower of Belem. It was covered in scaffolding for restoration. So there wasn’t much to see.

Then we walked back and ate lunch at the famous bakery, Pasteis do Belem. We had ham and cheese sandwiches on freshly baked bread, followed by a fresh pasteis.

The Monastery of Jeronimos was worth the wait. The cloister is stunning to behold.

The inside of the church was also disappointing because it was covered in scaffolding for renovations. The one interesting thing to me was the tomb of Vasco de Gama, the Portuguese explorer.

By then, we were done! So we took a ride share home and slept for a couple hours.

For dinner, John found a charming Italian restaurant called, Nonna’s. I had spaghetti with shrimp and a tomato and onion salad that was wonderful. For dessert, we had Nonna’s secret recipe of an almond tart. It was served with a delicious sherry. A perfect way to end the day.

Wherever your travels take you, may you have delightful surprises and food that makes your heart sing.