March 5th, 2006

My bottle of port is half empty, or half full. I haven´t decided which yet. Let´s just agree that it is at the half-way mark.

I had no idea what time the local Sunday Masses were, or even where exactly the nearest church was. But with all the churches in Europe I just said a prayer and headed in one direction. I ended up finding a church and walked in right as Mass started, the only one of th day at that church.

After that I caught a bus to the west end of town, where the main cathedral is. It is called Mosteiro de Jeronimos, and it also served as a cloister back in the day. This was by far the largest cathedral I have ever seen, and it was impressive all around. I took some photos but I don´t think they do it justice. I didn´t know this, but I found out that Lisbon was the wealthiest city in Europe, up until Spain took it over for 90 years beginning in 1580. That 90 years crippled the spirit of the Portuguese, and I guess they were never able to fully recover.



I stopped in to a famous local cafe for some of their Pasteis de Nata, a local pastry specialty. I must say they were quite tasty, especially with a good espresso. I went out to wait at the bus stop. Right as I finished reading the map, I turned around, only to see a local girl about my age get nailed by a water balloon. Apparently it was thrown from a passing car. Reminded me of my younger years when my brother and I would do the same thing. I guess I avoided Karma´s attempt at balance this time. I have a feeling it was aimed at me, but I thnk right after they threw it I moved aside. I felt bad for the girl though, it was not your normal sized water balloon.

Today I was again offered more hash, and twice it was that little shizer from yesterday. Apparently all the drugs this guy does heavily affect his short-term memory. I mean come on. Unfortunately, this would not be the last time my little friend and I would meet.

Back to the room for some more port and Brothers K.