Willie Nelson

 24 August 2024

The Democratic Convention is done and dusted for this cycle. While I didn’t watch any of it, it did bring back memories of another Democratic Convention, this one in New York in 1980. I had been working with the Carter Administration is a variety of ‘unpaid’ positions starting as  Office of Protocol consultant, then Deputy Treasurer of the DNC, and finally as an advance man for the Carter re-election effort. 

Most of us knew that Carter’s chances of re-election were shattered when the attempted rescue of the Iranian hostages went south in April of that year. Had that worked, who knows, but the country was suffering from lots of economic turmoil capped by an oil crisis that had Americans lining up for gasoline across the country. Not much of a record to run on, but run he did, and the convention was to be the kick-off for a new start to the campaign which was already in full swing. 

As someone who had coordinated two of his campaign stops, I was asked to come to the convention and ‘handle’ issues that arose during the planning and presentations. On the last day of the convention when Carter was to officially become the candidate for president, I was asked to take care of Willie Nelson who would be singing the national anthem at eight that evening to open the final night. 

We sent a car to his hotel to fetch him and his wife Connie and take them to the stage entrance of Madison Square Garden.  I met them there and escorted them to the Green Room where there were light refreshments and some wine and beer. Willie was, of course, an icon and I wasn’t sure how things would go - but I must say, they went well.  It was as if no one in the world had ever told him he was famous!  He was so very natural and gracious and always smiling. He greeted me like I was an old friend, introduced his wife Connie and asked how things were going. He was relaxed, lightly stoned, and very interested in the campaign and how it all might turn out. 

We had been talking for about thirty minutes when I got a call that Willie was to go on at nine o'clock rather than eight, due to normal screw-ups associated with the convention. He took it all in good spirits and asked if I might get them glasses of bourbon. Well, we didn’t have bourbon in the Green Room, just wine and beer, neither of which worked for them. I called my contact at the Garden, made my request for bourbon and was told it would take an hour or so. Unacceptable, especially in NYC where you can’t spin around with your arms out without hitting at least one liquor store. I had what they called an Everywhere Pass, meaning nothing was off limits and I could come and go as I pleased all over the Garden. I told Willie that I’d be right back and dashed to the nearest exit and sure enough there was a liquor store right across the street.

I bought a bottle of Jack Daniels, only because that is what my dad drank and it was the only bourbon I knew. I dashed back to the entrance where a guard was having a heated argument with someone in one of those ‘do you know who I am’ situations. It turned out that it was Dan Rather who had somehow misplaced his credentials and could not be allowed back in to cover the convention. I talked to the guard, showed him my pass and credentials and was told I could take Rather in on my authority.  I summoned Rather over and said we could get in and that I’d take him to get new credentials. Instead of a thank you, he said this was a poorly run convention and berated everything.  I turned him over to one of the other folks to let them handle this ill-mannered man.

Willie was delighted with the Jack Daniels and I admitted I knew nothing about bourbon but that my dad had two fingers of it now and then. Willie said, “well if it is good enough for your dad, it is damn good enough for me!”  What a guy!  He insisted that I had a drink with the two of them and I sipped away while he refilled his glass a few times.  As my confidence and comfort grew I told him that there was a woman named Frances who was the hardest worker at the DNC and she seldom got any credit for all she did. I mentioned that she was his biggest fan and would be waiting outside the door as we went to the stage - just so she could see him up close. He asked how to spell her name and got a pen and 8x10 glossy of him from Connie and signed the picture to her.

It was finally time to take Willie out to the stage and sure enough Frances was waiting to see him. He looked at me and I nodded and he handed her his personalized photo saying, “I’m told you are the heart of this organization, bless you, Frances."  With that marvelous gesture he took to the stage and the audience went wild as Frances wilted with emotion in the wings. If you were to ever watch a clip of his rendition of our National Anthem, you might notice that there are a few mangled words and some forgotten lyrics. Management takes no responsibility for any of these alleged errors, besides which, no one in the crowd seemed to care - after all, it was Willie Nelson!

Racing to Miami

 June 6, 2024

It is D-Day, the Longest Day, and we are now sailing to Miami for an on-time arrival on the 8th. Two things of note since the last blog: We had our finest meal on the ship the night before arriving in San Juan and we had a lovely morning in San Juan.  First the meal: Crystal has an exclusive relationship with the Japanese celebrity chef and restaurateur Nobu Matsuhisa and 

Crystal is the only cruise line with his restaurant. 

It is elegance personified! From the moment you walk in and are greeted by name with welcomes in Japanese from all the staff - until you walk out on cloud nine - it is a truly magnificent experience. Everything stimulates the senses, from the lovely small orchids on the table to the handcrafted chopsticks with NOBU burned into wood. The service is to your taste, by that I mean they want you to order at your convenience and pace. The table is yours for the evening and you may linger over multiple courses deciding at the last minute if you want more of something, which is exactly what we did.  We worked through the menu with gusto and savored every small detail and taste. We enjoyed it so much that we decided not to go back for fear that the second time would pale from the first and diminish our appreciation of the restaurant experience!

The Asian flavors were divine, starting with two tiny appetizers floating in miso, one tuna and one salmon, both garnished with caviar.  There were several dishes to follow, the highlights including lobster "smothered" with roasted peppers, tuna tataki in a cilantro sauce, and the black cod for which Nobu is famous.    

We decided to get off the ship in San Juan with three objectives:  a good PR coffee in a typical cafeteria, a decent haircut for me, and a new Panama hat to replace the one I purchased five years ago that was being held together with crazy glue and duct tape. We cleared immigration (so we don’t have to do it in Miami) and headed towards the area Cindy had determined would be the best place to find a barber. Sure enough she found the one we were looking for but they did not open for another twenty minutes. Luckily right next door was a down-and-dirty cafeteria called Mallorca so we popped in. We ordered two coffees, water, and something called a Mallorca, which turned out to be a panini made with sweet Puerto Rican bread and Swiss cheese, all of which was liberally covered with powdered sugar!  They do love their sweets and everything was delicious despite being served in paper and plastic. 

Once done with breakfast we stepped out the door and entered the barber shop that had just opened and I was in the chair in seconds. I got an almost Italian haircut; he was great and ever so talented. Cindy watched the entire show and said she learned a lot from observing (many future haircuts are likely to be done by her). I paid the modest bill and gave him a rather large tip for his artistry. As we were leaving I showed him my well worn Panama hat and asked where I might buy a new one.  Rather than give me directions, he simply said to follow him. He locked up the shop and walked us, without conversation, down and around narrow streets and deposited us in a magnificent hat store with a huge selection of Panamas and then silently returned to his shop!  I guess I tipped well! I spent fifteen minutes with the knowledgable clerk, selected and paid for my new hat, and left the old one with him for disposal. In just ninety minutes we had accomplished all we wanted and headed back to the ship. 

We started to see lots of people with maps and shorts and tank tops and kids, all wandering aimlessly and we knew that they were not on our cruise. Rounding the corner with a view to the dock we saw the largest cruise ship we had ever seen. It had docked after we had left the pier and there were thousands of people spilling out of this behemoth, which turned out to be the  Carnival Celebration and holds 5,340 passengers!! This thing has waterslides, roller coasters, fifteen restaurants and, well … you get the picture. There were scores of busses lined up for excursions and we felt like we were swimming upstream as the multitudes kept coming off the boat. We were ever so happy to get back on our little ship!!  Cheers - Cindy and Wm

Crystal Serenity

 June 3, 2024

Today is Cindy’s birthday and I arranged this cruise so that she could celebrate it in style on the high seas.  We are into day eight of a twelve-day cruise from Las Palmas (Canary Islands) to Miami, arriving on June 8th. Thus far it has been a perfect cruise with excellent weather, flat seas and spectacular service and food. We really didn’t know what to expect from the new Crystal after Covid and a corporate bankruptcy, but they are doing a fantastic job. 

There are people on board  who started this cruise in San Diego in early January and will finish the cruise there on the 21st of June.  I love cruising but can’t conceive of being on a ship, no matter how luxurious, for 140 days plus!!  Our first day on the cruise was very interesting since we were 200 or so newbies, and those who'd been on board for weeks or even months would look at us and size us up. There are about 250 passengers that have been on the entire cruise and of course they know each other quite well. The first night after dinner we went to the Avenue Saloon to hear a remarkable piano player and it was like being in Cheers. Everyone  (except the newbies) who entered the bar was greeted by name from the piano player, who incidentally never missed a note during his shout out. We have noticed that every night the same people occupy the same tables at drinks before dinner, in the dining room at dinner, and again in the bar for after-dinner drinks. One large family!

The ship is designed to carry 740 passengers in great comfort with almost as many crew members. On this leg of the passage there are only about 450 passengers, meaning there are far more crew than passengers and which might account in part for the great service. We are told that two hundred or so passengers disembarked in Cape Town when it was announced that due to piracy concerns in and around Yemen, they would no longer be visiting India, Oman, Jordan, Egypt or the five ports planned in the Med. Instead they would be going up the western coast of Africa for two weeks visiting countries that we only hear about because of famine, drought, civil war and pestilence! No doubt there were more UN Peacekeepers than  passengers in most of the stops.  Certainly I would have jumped ship!

Crystal is an all-inclusive cruise line and everything is included in the upfront price. That means that from the time I stepped aboard I only needed to carry my suite key, pocket knife, handkerchief, pedometer and some See’s Lollipops. All of the food, drinks, tips, and wifi are included. Our butler came on day #1 asking how we would like our suite bar set up and every day since he checks, replenishes and brings us canapés before cocktails. Perhaps I could stay for 140 days but they would actually have to use a crane to take me off my balcony at the end of the cruise!

In reality, we are always quite moderate on these cruises and usually lose a little weight since we have lots of time for exercise and we can choose from many healthy food groups. There are about six places to eat, three formal dining options and three informal which are mostly used at lunch time. We honestly have not had a bad mouthful of anything and the food is always fresh and well prepared. They offer lots of wine choices and the bars are stocked with top-shelf booze with well-trained bartenders and servers. What’s not to like?!

On this cruise we opted for a one-bedroom suite and it is delightful, well designed and maintained with a large comfortable balcony.  I suppose we could have breakfast or lunch out there, but really, who wouldn’t rather be waited on in air conditioned comfort in one of the dining venues? The balcony is a nice place to exercise in the morning and to sit and have a coffee or quiet drink. We used to choose cabins with large windows but no veranda/ balcony. That all changed during Covid when on the news we saw people being confined to their cabins with no access to fresh air - or worse yet, those that had interior cabins with no windows. With age comes privilege!

Speaking of age, we are in the category of youngest on board. Two thirds of the passengers are clearly in their eighties/nineties and there are lots of walkers, scooters and wheelchairs being used, but these passengers are a game bunch and they don’t let anything get in the way of having fun.  It's a good reminder for us to be thankful for our mobility and good health.

Prelude to a Cruise, May 2024

Almost two years ago we signed up for a Trans-Atlantic cruise departing La Seyne sur Mer for Miami on Crystal Cruises. We were looking forward to seeing how they have fared since going bankrupt during the pandemic. They were a favorite of ours and since they were departing from the south of France and calling at Barcelona and Gibraltar, we were eager t. We booked excursions in both Barcelona and Gibraltar; having never been to Gibraltar we were really excited, and we were looking forward to visiting the Palau de Music in Barcelona since on our last trip there we could not get in.  About three months ago we were informed that the trip was now only 12 days, not 14, and that it would depart from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. This was very unwelcome news for lots of reasons!  We had already booked and paid for flights and hotels in La Seyne sur Mer. Unwilling to kiss off thousands of dollars we decided to come here and enjoy three days of France and book a separate flight from here to Las Palmas.  We are happy we did that since this is a lovely little town, mostly a marina filled with huge yachts, large sailing and motor craft, and excellent bars and restaurants catering to the wealthy ‘boat folks’. 

Our trip here was uneventful, exactly what you would expect from Swiss Air. The service on the long flight from Dulles to Zurich was spectacular with restaurant-quality meals and wines. We kept saying to each other, “We are not on United anymore."  The short hop from Zurich to Marseille had equally good service and a nice lunch.

We'd hired a driver to get from Marseille to Toulon (actually the neighboring La Seyne sur Mer), and once we found him it was relatively quick trip in the sunshine.  Our hotel room has a large balcony overlooking the marina and the bay with lovely views of the hills of Provence in the background. Our room was extremely hot the first night since the AC did not work, so in the morning we asked reception to send up engineering to fix the system. We were somewhat surprised - but this is of course France - to hear that since it was not yet summer their AC system for the entire hotel has not been turned on!!  It was 78 degrees in our room!  They did give us two small fans, thank goodness - over the decades we have purchased more fans in France than we can count but we weren't about to buy one this time. It reminded us of how spoiled we are in the good old US of A, where even the humblest of rooms at a Motel 6 has AC. They may be right that Americans are spoiled but this is a Mercure, a top rate hotel chain, and the rooms are 250+ Euros per night!  C'est la vie!  La French Vie, at any rate.  

We were able to walk off a lot of our jet lag over the past two days and have enjoyed delightful meals in all of the bistros and restaurants we have tried. Our walks have taken us from the marinas to the inner core of the city and each has offered very special sights, sounds and smells. There are times when we are in Provence that we are not sure if we are in the South of France or the North of Africa! Certainly along the marina with its luxe sail and motor craft, you know you are in a very wealthy French city. The deeper you get into the core of the city the more you experience Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. The language and shops and aromas all are so very different from those closer to the marina. All of which makes for a most delightful cultural point-counterpoint. One example is that I had hoped to get a haircut here but all of the barbers seem to specialize in cutting initials, shapes or Arabic script into your hair! I’ll try again in Las Palmas!

From our balcony we have watched the ferry come and go to and from Toulon, so we decided to take it just for the fun of seeing our area and Toulon from the water.  They are small ferries, 100 passengers max, and they ply the route every twenty minutes. We hopped aboard, paid our two Euros each and settled in for the ride. What a bargain!! The short 17 minute ride took us past the Toulon Naval Base, the largest in France, past ship builders specializing in retrofitting the huge ferries that go to Corsica and Sardinia, and then into the picturesque Toulon harbor which is lined with scores of restaurants. We had been there before but still enjoyed entering from the sea as opposed to walking in. We wandered a bit though the Friday market, filled with local vegetables, fruits and flowers. The garlic alone was worth the trip, huge pink bulbs woven together to form a long chain of delight. It quickly clouded over and started to sprinkle so we just hopped on the next boat home, a delightful interlude. 

We depart tomorrow for an overnight in Lisbon to have dinner with our friends Robert and Mary and then an early flight on Sunday to Las Palmas. Tonight there is a “Bière Fest” right in the park we overlook from our balcony. We shall wander, street eat and see how the night develops, knowing it will be an early evening!!  Ciao, Cindy and Wm

Eclipse

 April 12, 2024

We returned home Tuesday from a 1200 mile trip to see the full eclipse in Upland, Indiana. Cindy had been planning this for at least years and had made arrangements to stay with her grade school friend in Upland. She was going to make the trip by herself since I had no interest in seeing an eclipse but I decided this would most likely be my last chance and I really didn’t want her to drive all that way alone. 

We stopped for two nights in Columbus, Ohio because it was on the way and because we had never been there. It is a strikingly beautiful city with lots of parks and green spaces. There are lots of museums, theaters, and concert venues, all rather close to the Scioto River. The river takes its name from the local native American word for deer and there are three whimsical statues of deer dotting the banks and bridges over the river. 

Columbus has a magnificent botanical garden called Franklin Park filled with specialized enclosed spaces for butterflies, tropical gardens, desert gardens and a host of other ecosystems focused on regional gardens. The outdoor space is huge and again filled with plants and trees and also benches for relaxation. We were lucky and hit it on a day that was just perfect - sunny and warm - and all the spring plants were in full flower. We spent about two hours wandering, getting lost, and marveling at the diversity of flora contained in this park. 

At the garden gift shop Cindy purchased some cards and the clerk asked where we were from and we told her and mentioned we would only be in Columbus for a day or so. She said that we absolutely had to visit the Topiary Park. No one else had mentioned it, we had not read about it, and it was pure chance (and good luck) that she told us about it. We were intrigued and walked over to the park the next morning. It is a re-creation of Georges Seurat’s painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, all done in shaped yew trees, absolutely stunning!

We were not terribly impressed with the food/beverage scene but we really didn’t visit Columbus to eat and drink, just to rest and sightsee. We went out of our way to see their supposedly fabulous indoor market, but it was just some tired looking food stalls with nothing that seemed even remotely fresh. We had a fun lunch at an Irish Pub where we were one of only two couples eating there. The hotel restaurant was, well a hotel restaurant, but convenient for our first night. Our last night was at a Tapa joint which was hit and miss but loud!  Enough said. 

On Sunday we drove for three hours to Upland Indiana in preparation for the big show on Monday. Cindy and her friend Kari had much to catch up with, and Kari's husband Steve is a pilot so the two of us just started talking flying as pilots are wont to do. The next day we busied ourselves until about two o’clock when we all went over to their son’s home to watch the show. It was a multigenerational event with three generations of their family sitting in the driveway, all of us with our Eclipse Glasses and filled with anticipation. I had read a lot about what to expect and thought the actual event might not be as great as I hoped. I was, once again, WRONG!

As the moon began its steady and ever so slow journey across the sun I could sense things  happening around us. First it was the birds who now thought it was approaching dusk; they all started to roost in the trees around the house, chirping their evening songs. Then I noticed the chilled wind picking up as we neared totality. The sky was clear but the horizon seemed to be cast in a haze as it got darker and darker. Finally, I noticed there was no shadow from the tree in front of me and I took off my glasses and looked at a full eclipse with the moon covering the sun and only the bright corona of the sun visible. It was now quite cool and the birds had gone quiet. There were suddenly several stars visible in the sky and the entire horizon was embraced in a shimmering golden/red sunset. It was a truly memorable and moving experience, unlike anything I had anticipated, and a welcome three-minute and three-second respite from the real world.

Prior to the start of the eclipse we had told everyone that we were going to be departing as soon as the moon started to expose the sun. We had read that there was to be a lot of traffic surrounding this event and we wanted to get ahead of it as we made our way to Springfield Ohio for the night. My trusty navigator kept us moving in an East by Southeast direction and we managed to avoid all the traffic and arrived at the hotel at six thirty in time for an Eclipse Cocktail. The next morning we departed at eight twenty, a record for us, and arrived home at three pm with only a stop for gas. The traffic was fine with only a few short delays, and we were delighted to be home and to have had such a marvelous experience.  

William Byxbee

Emeritus Dean

San Diego State University

France Feb 10-14 Finale

 

France Feb. 10-14 finale

Monday morning we awoke to a calm and brilliant sunny day. While Cindy went off on her run, I was charged with finding a boulangerie to get some breakfast goodies. My mission was successful and I returned to the room with two warm croissants and a raisin custard pastry, both of which were delicious, especially with the espressos I was able to make in the room. On my walk I had a chance to really see what this area is like. The road we are on is one long straight one with storefronts on either side that cater to the needs of cars, buses, and trucks. There are car/truck washes, dealerships, places to replace glass in windshields, and to repaint cars - and one large lot where the public buses sleep at night! Tucked here and there are strange little snack shacks, small restaurants open for lunch only, and one huge marina that has to contain at least 150 large sailing and motor yachts. 

By the time we were ready to leave for town the weather had turned against us and it was cold and cloudy with the threat of rain ever present, but that did not deter us for a moment. This city is divided into three neighborhoods all separated by water, ours (Jonquières) being the largest. To the west of us across the canal is L'Ile, a small island that looks and feels just like Venice. There are picture perfect little canals, small plazas with fountains and restaurants, and very few cars. It really is a beautiful and tranquil park-like setting. Crossing the next canal is the neighborhood of Ferrières. This seems to be where lots of the North Africans settled and you can see the influences in the restaurants, halal meat markets and cafes. After our explorations we retraced our steps and headed back to our own ‘village’ for lunch. We found a small bistro that was open that had a chalkboard outside with the daily specials. There are very few cafes, restaurants or shops open on Mondays so we were happy to find this one. There is no such thing as a small lunch in this town! I ordered a salad lyonnaise, one of my favorites and usually served in a small bowl with one poached egg. Here it was served on a large plate with two poached eggs and enough greens and bacon to feed three! Cindy ordered the special of the day, duck bourguignon with pasta, again enough for two hearty diners. All of it was delicious and the house wines were inexpensive and lovely foils to the lunches. 

The fun and games ended last night after a surprisingly good dinner in the hotel rooftop restaurant.  We tend to ignore hotel restaurants unless the weather is too foul for walking, but we have done a lot of walking and most of the decent restaurants are closed on Monday nights. The room itself is far from romantic, but we assume the views in daylight are swell. It had lots of (too much) light, and tables for two and one were spread over the large room,, reminding us that this is a business hotel. We were seated near an old music box of some sort playing the finest American Jazz you can imagine. Seems the manager is a big fan and therefore he calls the shots.  We started with two icy glasses of very good Champagne and shared a small but good vegetable tart. Cindy chose the tuna tataki which was not only visually stunning but tasted so fresh and filled with a variety of flavors. There was even a little scoop of delicious wasabi ice cream, a first for us. I had the lamb chops which were cooked to perfection and surrounded by little cuts of very fresh sautéed vegetables. We were shocked at how good everything was and the service and bottle of local Rosé made it a memorable meal.

But as I said, the fun ended last night! Cindy woke up at about one am and spent the next three hours in and out of the bathroom. Something she ate, most likely at lunch since I only tasted hers and I was okay until about six when I had a very, very minor incident compared to poor Cindy. We are recovering today but things are all in slow motion. We have already had a morning nap and will have another nap at three. Soon we will walk over to the music conservatory where Cindy went yesterday to see if they wanted her violin, they do, so we shall deliver that and use it as an excuse to get out of the room.  We’ll pack tonight and we have a car ordered for 8:15 tomorrow morning when we shall begin our twenty-two hour journey home. It gives us that much more time to celebrate Valentine’s Day with one another! It was a good trip, perhaps too long, but great fun in new places and worth the effort.  Happy Hearts Day, Cindy and Wm

Lisbon Feb 5-10

 Feb 10 2024

Our return to Lisbon was easy except for the 0630 wake up which was required for the early morning flight.  PDL is an easy airport, surprisingly busy for early morning until you realize that there are fourteen flights between 7 am and 9 am, most to other islands of the Azores and three to mainland Portugal. Check-in and security were a breeze and we settled in for a coffee and a Pastel de Nata for our one-hour wait. The gates are all a matter of walking to the plane - not jet bridges - reminding us of early days in Germany and Washington State, all very civil and well organized.  The flight lasted two hours and we landed on time and were at the apartment/hotel we booked by 13:30. Surprisingly our apartment was ready which was a thrill. Not so thrilling was the fact that it was on the third floor (US 4th floor) when we had been promised one on the first floor. They have no elevator!!  We settled in, went for a walk, had a quick light lunch and a lovely nap before meeting our friends for a pre-dinner walk around Lisbon.

We have never stayed in this part of Lisbon before and therefore we really don’t know much about restaurants so we decided to just amble down the pedestrian street that is lined with restaurants in order to read menus. Impossible!! Each restaurant has a shill outside who approaches you with a picture menu asking do you want to sit inside or outside, or special price for you, or come sit for a drink and read our menu. Impossible to look at any menu without being assaulted so we decided not to eat on this street. We finally found a place where no one came out trying to lure the farm boys in and ate a very decent meal there. Since then we have found other places that have magnificent food, wines and service so we are happy campers.

The weather was nice on Wednesday and since our friends had never been to Lisbon, we climbed onto the Hop On/ Hop Off bus for a tour with headphones. We have found these buses to be an invaluable aid to understanding a city and its history and culture. We have always been happy with the ‘guided’ tours and so we were a tad dismayed at how this one played out. It started well and we had great seats and the narration was very good; it filled in lots of blanks that we had and we have been here often. The trouble started when the bus came to the stop for the Museum of Coaches. We got up and the bus lurched forward and started on to the next stop. Cindy went down the narrow stairs and berated the driver for not stopping. He said if you wanted to stop you should have pressed the Stop button. NO such button existed where we sat. We did notice them on the next several busses but not on ours. We got off at the next stop and walked back to the Museum which, as the link shows, remarkable.

After our visit to the museum we walked out to the bus stop and one bus had just departed so we had been told that the next one would be in twenty five minutes. We poked around a bit in the gardens and after about fifteen minutes we noticed that another bus had come and gone; it seems they do not stop there! As we walked to the next stop we passed one of the famous bakeries that make the Pastel da Nata so I popped in to buy two of them for our friends to try. I am now officially an enabler! These things are habit forming and they are the first things we buy as soon as we arrive in Portugal(while still in the airport before retrieving our luggage).   We finally got on the bus for the fifteen minute ride to the Tower of Belem where we spent a most enjoyable time walking along the river and enjoying the day. On the ride back to our starting point there was almost no narration despite passing lovely monuments, castles and gardens. We will not use this bus company again, preferring to stick with the Big Red Bus.

Yesterday we visited the National Tile Museum. It was pouring rain so we were pleased to take an Uber to this museum and spend two dry hours just wandering around, most interesting.  Cindy had the great idea to go to another museum and for once I agreed. This one was the Museum of Beer!  I’ve never enjoyed a museum more than this one, although to be perfectly clear, we failed to go to the Museum part, instead favoring the food and beverage part for two hours. Other than the beer, which was great, they feature Pastel do Bacalhau a national dish that is well made and presented here.  Walked home in a pouring rain storm and settled in for a long nap.

Portugese food is lovely, but after a certain time cod, potatoes and pumpkin just don’t cut it. We found a lovely restaurant that had the best eggplant dish ever as well as special twists on seafood that gave us a welcome diversion from traditional foods.  The next night we decided on Italian and found an Italian restaurant in Portugal run by Napalese!  How is that for international? Magnificent food, service, and wines - and ever so inexpensive. A lovely way to end our time in Portugal.  Now it is on to France for a four day fix of foie gras, Kirs and Champagne.