St. Patrick's Day Weekend 2024

17 March 2024 Lisboa, PT

Sunday (St. Patrick’s Day)(actually revised on Monday 18 March 2024)

Apple has installed another application on my iPhone. It is called Journal. Each day Journal pops a picture or a map up on my phone screen and suggests I write something about it before it fades from my mind. Today it showed me a picture of the parade I was at yesterday. Given I had written a good night piece for Facebook last night I decided to expand upon those words and create a blog post.

To summarize the weekend, here is what happened. 

Had to go to CUF Tejo Hospital. Had to get a test done.  The test is part of getting settled into Portugal with a good doctor and accessible health care. After the visit to the ever-efficient CUF facility I stopped by and ate at Burger Pro about a city block from the hospital Friday night. For 5 euros, I had a burger, fries and sweet lemonade. Very tasty. Sweet lemonade is not the norm in Lisbon. Lemonade here is usually tart lemon water; ‘tis so tart you could probably clean your wounds with the drink.

Took the bus home. Got lucky. We found a stop just north of the burger joint that our bus passes before pulling up in front of the hospital. Catching the 738 heading for Campo Pequino increases chances of getting a seat fivefold. Lots of people board the bus right outside the hospital.

When we got home we watched a bit of TV. In particular we saw the ending of “Masters of the Air”. Great show. Highly recommended. The three lead actors really inhabit the roles they play. Over an average week, I watch roughly an hour to an hour and a half of television per night. If I am reading a novel that number drops dramatically. Some of my favorite shows include detective shows and Spanish-language social dramas. I have seen so many Spanish language shows that I have favorite Spanish actors. These include Ester Exposito, Jose Coronado, Georgina Amorós and Pedro Casablanca. If you are searching Netflix (and if you can handle subtitles) search out one of these actors and see something they are in.

On Saturday I did three loads of laundry. All clothing is clean and most of it is dry. I left some of the heavier US weight blue jeans on the line overnight. I will get what was still damp off the line by midday today. 

Clean sheets everywhere, clean duvets and pillowcases too. When my sons left on Thursday, the smell of "guy" needed to be aired out of their rooms. With them safely back in the US the two bedrooms of the Todd B&B are ready for the next round of visitors.

After doing laundry, I headed out to the mall to buy a hairdryer. One that was purchased previously, at a discount store of course, died after a couple of months. Thus, we headed to a real electronics retailer to get another one. We bought the hairdryer and then we picked up a second dehumidifier. The dehumidifier was on sale. The dehumidifier was the same model as our current one which works really well. The only difference between the models we have purchased is the second one is improved with blue tooth WIFI and can be controlled from a distance. Ugh. Not everything needs to be WIFId. I still have to empty the collected water by hand.

The sales rep told me they delivered on Mondays and Thursdays. I was told the dehumidifier would probably get to my apartment on Thursday. The door alarm rang at 9 am on Sunday. Who delivers appliances at 9 freakin’ am on a Sunday morning? A sadist. Nothing in Portugal moves fast, nothing. But the delivery of a dehumidifier qualifies for next day deliveries?

Awakened I sent notes to the sons about stuff to do back in East Lansing. Later I made it to a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Lisboa where the skies were clear and the temperature was in the 70s F. Apparently it was the first annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Lisboa. Did see beer. Didn't see green beer. Bagpipes galore. Big fun. This is my life in a big city.