Current Location: Lagos, Portugal (~pop. 19,000)
(37°06′N 8°40′W)
Day 4
Expedition Outlook: Multiplicative
Number of feral cats living at our hotel: ~6
*Bonus Data* Feral dogs and cats living together: Mass Hysteria!
Hello again from Lagos, faithful readers. Today is the start of our two day transition period from the Algarve back north to Lisbon and its surrounding environs. My brother will be officially joining us from the states and we’ll also see the addition of the first of many recurring characters: my cousin Pedro and his lovely wife Anna.
I discovered the existence of probably three more cats. Another female calico (I don’t think it’s one of the Fates, but a new player), a male tabby and their adorable kitten. I have named them Zeus, Hera, and Hermes. The only thing I saw Zeus and Hera do was fight over a piece of ham and occasionally stealth abduct food from abandoned place settings. Hermes adorable chased his own tail, lost a fight with a bamboo leaf, and is apparently capable of short distance teleportation, because I have no idea how he got on top of that table, but it was extremely adorable when he fell asleep in the sun and rolled the edge. No worries, readers, he is a real cat, unlike some others we might know and landed safely on his feet.
Pre arrival of the family it was a lazy day. The Expedition split into separate excursions. Pop and Lady navigating the old town districts while your darling navigator returned to the cliffs to commune with the gods of land and sea. Definitely one of the advantages to operating out of a single base for a few days as opposed to finding somewhere new to sleep every night. It was actually quite nice to have zero timetable pressure; to be able to head out and switch off for a few hours, which isn’t something I was ever really able to do on the last Expedition. Well, except for in Moab , but as you may or may not recall, that was the only time we stayed in the same place for two nights in a row.
My cousins and brother arrived without ceremony. It’s strange really, not having to battle the wrath of angry gods or hostile Batlabians. It’s quiet in that too quiet kind of way. It makes me wonder what is awaiting us up north.
The rest of the day was spent idly socializing and finished with a magnificent dinner. I’m going to point out that the daily routines here favor late lunches and late dinners, typically around 8:30 or 9:00. I really love it because that’s the schedule I tend to keep anyway. Of note for the dinner, beyond the quality of the food, was the quality of the service. We were in what would easily be considered an upscale restaurant state side. What was amazing was that we got the kind of service you would expect from such a restaurant but never actually see. Small courtesies, little touches and nuances in the way the staff conducted themselves and went about the process of serving dinner. Everything from the way a plate was cleared to the way wine was poured to the class of the uniforms. Tiny gratuities that were significant not in their value but in their presence. My brother ordered a four course tasting menu. The first course of which was a tiny cup of soup. Instead of serving just him and letting the rest of us watch him eat, the restaurant served us all the soup course free of charge. It was a tiny espresso cup full of soup and a piece of salmon maybe the size of the first knuckle on your thumb, nothing of great substance, but the thoughtfulness was noted and made a huge difference. The meal was full of those little touches. I was very impressed. And this, also, in a culture where servers are paid a decent wage and tips are neither required nor counted upon. These people weren’t fishing for a big tip, they were conducting themselves professionally. It was a nice change of pace.
Upon the conclusion of dinner we had a pleasant walk back to our lodging whereupon we began preparation for our departure the next day. A low key day, but very pleasant for its lack of activity. I hope the opportunity for such a day presents itself again in the future.
In member news, Pops is clearing up nicely, but he appears to have passed along his malady to the Lady. Ever forward into the swirling maelstrom of chaos and catastrophe we travel, bastions against the malefic forces of the cosmos. Lisbon, you are in our sights. I hope your loins are girded, because we are coming for you. Thank you, and farewell, this is the Nickness signing off.
 |
| "Let me see what Spring is like on Jupiter and Mars..." |
No comments:
Post a Comment