I know, we’ve been posting a lot on this thing, but it’s just so convenient with the free wifi — and these late-night espressos are keeping me up.

Had breakfast this morning with some folks from New Zealand. Good people. Wasn’t anticipating that we’d meet so many people along the way, so that’s been a pleasant surprise. Another surprise: Portugal is slippery. The slippery-est country I’ve been to. I’m serious. The sidewalks are all made of smooth white stone. Throw in some hills and a pair of flip flops and it gets ugly. I don’t know if it’s just us or what, but we’ve nearly wiped out on a few hills. It sounds stupid, I know, but it’s true.

Anyway, we went to the beach today in a town called Estoril — about a half hour by train. Old guys in Speedos, girls with armpit hair …the works. Everything you’d expect from a European beach.

Back in Lisboa, we stumbled upon the Portugal-Finland Euro 2008 qualifier in a cafe. Drank Super Bock and watched the second half of the match (they drew 1-1) and the first half of France-Italy. The Portuguese were pretty mellow. They just stared at the screen and didn’t say much. I was actually the loudest guy there. Imagine that. I tried to get a few chants going — to no avail.

So we slid back down the hill on the sidewalk to our room where I sit now, typing words to you, my friends and loved ones.

We’re off to Barcelona tomorrow. Not sure how to get there or where we’re staying. But Josh Cheatham will be there and the sidewalks will not be slippery. Adeus. (I only had one Super Bock. I did.)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 6th, 2006 at 6:00 pm and is filed under Portugal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.