Cobbled Stone Streets

Let me tell you that this morning the grass cutting man was awake before me, therefore I then woke up when he decided it was time to do his job and trim the bushes right outside the window. That also means that Luiz wasn't going to be able to come in and gently awaken me from my slumber... but have no fear... we reenacted the whole morning routine just so it could be like every other morning. We then slowly got ready for the day and for breakfast this morning, I consumed what is also known as candy. It was different, yes, but still equally good.

With a new friend from YoungLife Belgium here for a visit, Luana, her, and I all packed up the car to head over to the YL office once more to pay a visit. Luey went and had his eyes checked, meaning he wasn't with us. So, after popping our heads into the office, Luana and I, then headed out to one of the largest outdoor markets in Lisbon. Goody goody! We make it to the tent covered place where there was a huge variety of goods from flowers to fresh fish to little Catholic saint figurines. It was unreal. So many older business people asking "what can I get you?" if you stop in front of their booth for just a quick second, or other merchandisers screaming out the low cost price that they have in their own area. It was a riot... there was such an assortment of things in the section that looked to me to be one large garage sale type of deal. You could buy knock-off handbags for only € 5 or they even carried jeans, books, anything and everything that isn't really a necessity... it was there.

In the front of these large flea market area there was the fresh fish market, which we of course had to go and check out the little guys to keep the high (fish) protein diet alive. Walking into that place was like a smack down of being right underwater, as if in a submarine. There were sooo many different types of fish all flopped onto the table organized in a matter that only one who truly knew their fish would be able to choose the right section to buy from. They had to be fresh... and to be fresh, there were certain qualities one would look for. With all the shiny scales that distracted me, I let Luana do her thing and decide on which little fishers we would be taking home for dinner. Once chosen, the fish expert went right away at preparing the entire fish to a standard that was meant for home dining. (I'll save you the gorey details.)

Leaving the festive fish area, we stepped into what seemed to be a fruits and veggies farm. Once again, sharp eyes were needed to scout out the best looking produce for our purchasing. Were the strawberries ripe enough? The peaches squishy enough? So many questions had to be considered before choosing which would the highest quality... When we finally gathered about every delicious fruit you could imagine, I then was shocked at how cheap all of the fresh supply actually cost us... and total it was ONLY € 15... Un. real. y'all. We got so much natural, definitely organic, produce for such a low price. I want that in the states.

Leaving with sacks full of yummy treats, we headed back to the apartment where we grabbed Luey and his two cousins, Gui and William, and headed over to their place where there was food waiting for us. His aunt had prepared just the basics, but it was a good home-cooked meal which we ate in front of the TV that was showing the Brazilian news. Having fully bellies we went back to Luana's to munch on ice cream, and without a doubt drifting off into a nap...

We all piled into the car and then headed to the YL Bible study that was going to take place. Everybody in a large group was so cool... everybody spoke English, and most of them weren't from Portugal. Meaning, there were many different countries filling this one room to worship and learn about Jesus. Okay, yes! Meeting all these new people and getting to know the basics about them, I could tell that this YoungLife group was authentic... their relationship with Jesus wasn't because that's what they knew to do. (like parts of the U.S.) To end the learning session, we all gathered up our stuff and walked over to apparently the most famous little gelato shop in town... Santini's. It was precious inside. Sort of like an old 50's diner... but with solely ice cream! Whammy!

After hanging out for a bit longer on the cobbled stone sidewalks, we all eventually went our separate ways and that meant back to the house for us where we were going to prepare a dinner of fresh (super fresh) salmon from the market. We hung around and killed time soaking up the fresh breeze from outside, and taking in the view of the sunset causing there to be multiple shades of pinks and reds in the sky while Luana prepared a extraordinary meal for the 4 of us. We ended up all sitting around the dining table with the same course meal, but with all different fruity drinks, and appreciated each others company. Night time snuck up on us quickly and little meaningless things filled it up until it was time to go to bed.

Ciao, ciao!