A flock came by my house to say, "Bon Voyage!"

The Great Escape Adventure

We're heading East on Oct 28. First stop: Ponta Delgada in the Azores.

Oh, my, the places you'll go, the people you'll meet...

And so it begins, another crazy adventure to parts away from the homeland, taking two car rides, two airport shuttles, three flights and the best part of two days to get us to Ponta Delgada, in the Azores. Whew!

The idea for this trip first started in February, when I returned from teaching soap making. I was pretty wiped out after a week of heavy lifting at the John Campbell Folk School, but Bill was feeling fine after his extra week of rest and recuperation and quietness. Or so I thought.

My recollection is that he broached the subject of a three month sojourn to Toulouse, France that would take us out of the US during the election and any craziness that might follow. He clearly had been planning rather than sleeping. I liked that idea, mostly, but I countered with staying in Germany instead of France, and only as long as he would do the cooking! After much discussion, we settled on a trip around the world, starting in the Azores, continuing to Porto, Portugal, a cruise through the Mediterranean, a short visit to Melbourne, Australia, on to New Zealand, and finally heading home via some time in Hawaii.

Getting to our first stop has been a bit of an ordeal. When Bill tried to check our seats and ticketing just days before our departure, he learned that Jet Blue had not only cancelled the original flight, but had also completely eliminated the route from Charlotte to Boston! The ongoing connection via SATA airlines was also changed by a day. And all this, without any notification!!!

To say my mild-mannered companion was agitated is an understatement. I realized that when he told me, in the most serious tones, "we are no longer Bill and Lory, we are now Doctor and Colonel when dealing with these people!"

Regardless, Bill persevered and managed to get us alternate flights (at more cost) that would still get us to the Azores within hours of our original arrival time. This was complicated by the fact that his internet connection kept dropping due to the slipshod repairs Spectrum did in his neighborhood after the hurricane (they ran an extension cord across the road, for everyone to drive over!).

That hurricane really set us back on our final planning for this trip. Thank goodness Bill kept the faith and his temper, and my only task was to supply the credit card to pay for those flights. Easy, you would think. Not so. In a PNC Bank twist of fate, my new credit card was repeatedly rejected (I don't give up after one try), and I began receiving notices from Experian that my credit score was dropping!!

Of course, this all happened as I was working early voting here in Watauga County, trying my best to hide my true feelings for the idiots who were intent on destroying our democracy. It was affecting my usual sunny disposition to see the old adage "Republicans fall in line" at the local polling places. The highlight (?) of my experience was when I told one voter who was parking in a spot reserved for curbside voting that she would have to move, and she slammed her SUV into reverse and actually hit me with her giant side door mirror! My gosh, don't ask anymore what I have done for my country!

Fortunately, my shoulder survived the attack, Bill completed all the travel stuff, and yesterday morning his son Mike drove us to our first flight out of Charlotte. We arrived at Porta Delgada at 3:30pm, exhausted, but finally here. And thus begins the first leg of our journey!

Lory's story and Bill's swill (can you guess who wrote this?)

The "Main Church" of Ponta Delgada

The "Floating Jesus" Icon

So many choices...

Here we sit in Porto, Portugal in the rental apartment we will have for seven weeks. We are in a quiet neighborhood close to the Douro River and the "Foz" (the strip of beaches along the Atlantic Ocean). We managed to pick up provisions at a supermarket that is about a block away, got unpacked, ate dinner at home, and now we are relaxing.

We did a lot of that in the Azores, and for perhaps the first time in my harried travels, I saw how nice it is to actually be retired. In Ponta Delgada, we just sat in the main square and watched people. How refreshing to be in a different culture, being exposed to new foods and customs and languages. Except, of course, everyone here speaks English!

Which is a good thing, as I find the Portuguese spoken language challenging. I believe I could learn to read it a bit, but my deafness makes understanding the nuances of the language very difficult. Bill picks up accents readily, so it will be interesting to see how he does here.

The Azores had been on my bucket list for about 30 years, and just seeing the astounding landscapes as we flew in from Lisbon was overwhelming. I especially liked the layers of sedimentary rock that had been lifted up during past geologic upheavals. Amazing.

I didn't know what to expect from the island people, but they were a delight--healthy and comely and very friendly. Although we have not encouraged political discourse, those Portuguese who bring up politics made it clear that they are all pulling for Kamala. I suspect many in the EU share those sentiments.

The food in the Azores was fantastic, and a local market we visited had a monstrous selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. I can hardly wait to explore the fresh markets in Porto. One custom that is hard for me to stomach (!), though, is the fact that many restaurants close from 3pm until 6:30 or 7pm. I will need to program in some substantial snacks while I wait for folks to start serving evening dinners.

Our hostess in Porto met us at the apartment and gave us a great introduction to things we might want to do while we are here. She doesn't know that we each came with plans to do some writing (Bill wants to finish another math book, and I want to put together memoirs for my grandkids). Of course, it is possible that we may get distracted from our mental work by other things--like the pastry shops Bill is right now checking out for our morning treat--or the list of various in home massages that our hostess will arrange. All in all, I'm thinking this could be a very pleasant seven weeks!

Lory's reflections and Bill's ruminations

Tram #1

On our first tram trip, on our first day in Porto, on Tram #1, there was another tram coming directly at us. But we both had to stop — there were two cars parked too close to the tracks for either of us to pass. The conductor came back on board and said, "Sorry — you had better walk from here."

São Francisco Xavier Fort

Tile Art is Everywhere in Porto

(Check the date!)

Igreja do Carmo (Carmo Church)

Interior of the Carmo Church

The Carmo Church tiles have a protective covering

Ups and Downs

We began our time in Porto by purchasing a month-long bus pass that allows us to travel any line in the city, with unlimited transfers, for 30 Euros. Each day, Bill figures out our destination and which bus we need to reach it. Several buses stop within a block or two of the apartment, which is the good news. The not so good news is that the scheduled times for the buses to arrive seem to be “suggestions” only. I have yet to see a bus get to the stop when expected.

We are also finding that not everyone in Porto speaks English. More of the younger people do, but the average older Portuguese stick to their language. We use hand signals and Google translator until someone passes by who takes pity on us all and does the translating. Always, when desperate and struck speechless, Bill asks if they speak French and I ask if they speak German.

After the day that shall live forever in infamy (shame on America!), our neighbor across the hall saw us as we arrived home that afternoon and asked if we needed anything. I immediately said, “Yes, a massage.” She got on the phone and called her sister and that evening both of us got a nice massage right in our apartment.

We found a Sunday market that is adjacent to a nearby park, and one of the vendors speaks great English, so we will frequent that shop weekly. We have explored authentic Portuguese restaurants and have been to the beach, the Sao Francisco Xavier Fort and to several historic churches. We tried a day of “shopping therapy” at a three-story mall on Thursday to distract ourselves. Unfortunately, one of the riders on the bus home kept talking about the election and Trump—she didn’t pick up on my super subtle hints (ha!) to drop that subject—so we were forced to eat several Portuguese pastries that night.

In addition to exploring the city, we have taken a couple of down days to work on our individual writing projects. All in all, I feel like we are settling into a nice routine and are enjoying ourselves. To break things up a bit, we will travel to Germany later this month to visit my cousin in the Black Forest. We would also like to take a few days before the weather gets cold for a trip to Paris. So much to do in this part of the world!

Greater metropolitan Porto has 1.7 million residents. We have enjoyed long-range views of the old city, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Douro River from our bus rides. Plus, today we got a little something extra. We were touring the twin Igreja Carmo and Dos Carmelitas churches downtown when I suddenly heard chanting and marching outside. We asked a salesgirl what was going on, and she was very unconcerned.

“It’s just a protest by the workers for better pay, better living conditions, social justice, the usual stuff.” Whoa, just what I needed to see! We took numerous pictures, and it was a joy to see people of all ages carrying banners and flags and joining in the march. They all gathered in the square right by the largest cathedral in Porto and listened to inspiring talks and sang patriotic songs. It was great!

This day ended on a high note, with a zoom visit to celebrate my youngest grandchild’s ninth birthday party, and more chocolate.

Lamenting Lory and Bemoaning Bill

The protest!

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