September 7, 2022
Today was a good day. I woke up feeling almost normal, cooked a delightful breakfast, and walked to the Bolhao Market. It is in a temporary location, just until this Saturday. Then the vendors will be moving back to the newly renovated original market location.
The market was not crowded at all! It appeared that they were happy to have my business. In fact, they were all quite friendly, except for the olive oil lady who would not look up from her phone. I don’t know if she was deaf, disabled, or what. She would not look up. Maybe she was mad that she had to work and ignored all the customers.
That was okay because I ended up buying olives and olive oil from another stand run by a grandmother, her daughter, and her granddaughter. The teenage girl spoke perfect English and was the translator for her grandmother, who kept talking to me in Portuguese.
I wandered a bit more and ran into the Sao Bento train station with the tile murals. It was worth a look!
Then I found the gluten-free bakery, but they are closed for vacation until after I leave. I then looked for comfortable sneakers to allow my feet to breathe in the humid heat. I went with some Sketchers. The extra cushioning helps with the stone sidewalks!
Back home, I put away my groceries and heated up some soup for lunch. Still delicious!
I had a massage scheduled for 4:00 PM, so I thought I might take a river cruise. On the way, I stopped to ask about the Hop On Hop Off Tour Tickets. The man showed me my options, and I took the two-day pass with a river cruise for 24 euros. I wanted it to activate tomorrow so I could fully use it. He activated it through the tenth and said I could use it today. Four days? Okay!
I decided to get on the Blue Line and ride to scope it out the whole way. The route went to the Atlantic with some really enticing spots on the way. I will make tomorrow my park day, or Friday when the weather is better. So glad I got to see all the sights and get better oriented. It’s nice to be here for a week and not feel rushed.
When I returned, I walked around a bit more and found some reasonably priced sunscreen and a smaller water bottle that would fit in my purse. I then got myself turned around and went in the wrong direction. It’s easy to do here since the streets wind all over!
The massage was fantastic! And only 30 euros. It was a full-body massage, and I mean full-body. She even massaged my abdomen. Wow! She must have been realigning my Chakras. She also slathered me with oil. Quite a cultural experience.
On the way back to the apartment, I stopped at the little cheese shop and got some of the smoked cured ham to try. I can’t say I loved it; the flavor was too strong for me. I chopped some in bits and sautéed it with my green beans. I made roasted sweet and white potatoes, garlic, and carrots in the oven. That turned out pretty well! I’m having fun in my mini kitchen!
Wandering Shannon 