Mr. Cab Driver

(posted by ange - a forgotten blog from Portugal)

Getting a taxi in Albufeira is so civilized. There is no standing on a corner of Granville Street, or Davie Street, or Broadway, or you name the street, competing with a gaggle of other pedestrians to hail a cab. No jumping in front of cabs to get their attention. No running to beat out someone else for a cab. No fighting with others who believe the cab that just pulled over is their cab (when clearly it is yours!). No trying to remember the phone number for the cab, no getting the phone number, calling and being put on hold for 20 minutes, or trying to find the number to another cab company, only to be put on hold again. No, here there is a system. It’s called the Taxi Stand. Taxi Stands are located throughout the town (i.e. outside the grocery store, around the town square) and involve a line up of cabs, where one goes to the cab at the head of the line, gets in and goes. If you go to a cab in the middle of the stand, or even try to hail a cab, you will be told to go to the first taxi in line at the Taxi Stand.

Your cab driver is friendly, helpful (if you have any bags he does all the lifting and unloading) and charges a flat fee. That’s right…go wherever you want inside the town limits and you pay one price (3.90 euros) If you call a cab from home there is a surcharge of 80 cents and if you have luggage, another small surcharge of a euro or two. This system was consistent throughout Portugal, including the bigger cities Porto and Lisbon. With petrol prices being what they are in Europe, I am left very confused as to why it used to cost me almost $10.00 to get the 8 blocks across the neighbourhood from my mom’s old apartment to my apartment! (It was raining!)

A Lovely Day in the Neighbourhood

Just one day like today makes me forget any rain, any weeks of grey, any cold, windy, snowy and just plain ugly weather we've ever had. It was a most beautiful day in the neighbourhood today... And YAY! I am pleased to announce that I actually woke up in time to enjoy some of it. I thank Dave for forcing me to rise and dress and get out of the house by 2:00. I was ready to just continue sleeping until he announced he would be leaving in a few minutes with or without me. Oh, all right, I'm getting up! I bitterly dressed and threw a hat on, but once outside I was so glad to be there. Our neighbourhood is in full bloom. The streets are lined with cherry blossoms and flowers are everywhere (thank you all you apartment managers who put out these pretty gardens!) The cherry blossoms are starting to fall, making it look, at times, like it's snowing. Raining cherry blossoms I call it. I think it's beautiful but I'm not so sure car owners are thrilled with it. So off we were...

As usual, and so Vancouver cliche-ish, we bee-lined it straight to Starbuck's before heading down to the seawall for a lovely, leisurely walk to Yaletown. I still can't get over the feeling I get when I'm at the water on a sunny day and looking out to see all sailboats and big ships with the mountains in the background and the grass and trees beside me. Everything is green, green, green! (If you don't live here this is meant to make you wish you did. ha ha) It amazes me how one day the trees are bare and then the next time you're out they are completely green. And the flowers! We actually stop to smell them. I'm not kidding. We are in full appreciation mode. In fact, as an aside...

On our first date, Dave and I walked around the seawall (after meeting at, where else, Starbuck's ). At the end we cut through the park and as we were walking over the bridge near the entrance at Georgia Street you could smell the heavy scent of whatever flowers were on the bushes that line this little bridge. So, of course, we stopped to get a closer smell. We were standing very close and our arms brushed and I got pollen on my nose, which Dave had to brush off. Dave calls this "all part of his master plan" to get closer to me (although it took him 3 dates to kiss me!). So we have been stopping to smell the flowers all along in our relationship.



Anyways, back to today... The flowers are amazing. Fully in bloom and so much colour. It really is Spring! We are so lucky to have this seawall and they really have done a great job of keeping lots of green space along the wall. The seawall is now open right along False Creek all the way through, with all those new high rises finally occupied. I know that a lot of people turn their noses up and say that we have no history here, it's all so new and so forth. But really, I love the newness of the big glass skyscrapers that make up a good chunk of our city. Our walk ended where these building first started going up, at the foot of Davie Street, and we headed into the heart of Yaletown for lunch on a patio - another favourite pastime of mine. This is my favourite kind of day and it doesn't matter how many times I do it, I love this city more each time and am always grateful that it is literally my backyard.

What to Say?

(posted by ange)

I have been thinking about posting a blog pretty much since I posted the last one, but haven't quite been able to connect thoughts to "paper". I think I have writer's block. And the fact that I have spent the majority of my time sleeping or wanting to sleep over the last little while hasn't helped. That is getting more than a little irritating, but in between being bitter and irritated about it I'm try to keep the faith that the maybe the next medication will actually do something about this! My psychiatrist is ready to put on Ritalin if there is no improvement by my next appointment. Imagine, being 35 and on Ritalin! I already have the acne of a damn teenager - I feel like I'm going backwards sometimes, in more ways than one! I, of course, think Ritalin sounds great, given that it's an "upper" so to speak. Hell, I'll take any kind of boost I can get at this point.

So, given the above, what have I got to report? Well, for one, Dave has finally stopped moaning about the fact that nobody commented on my blog about his birthday. (everybody say "aaahhhh"). Poor Dave. Ya right. I have met my match respecting the length of time the celebration of a birthday can be drawn out. I love it! Finally someone who understands the need for a variety of celebrations on and around one's birthday. One day is just not enough. A week, however is, and Dave's birthday is now officially over.

Part of Dave's birthday celebration included a 3 night stay in Whistler, which was great, but too bad I was so damn tired! I did ski two half days though, exerting all effort and concentration to make it down the green run in one piece whilst being passed by mad skiers and boarders whizzing by me yelling "to your left" "to your right" like I was on the bloody seawall in the wrong lane. These dumbasses wanted to "really kick it" (yes, I heard them say exactly that at the top). Of course I wanted to tell them to slow the F down or go kick on over to the blue runs where they belong. Instead I saved all this ranting for Dave, my friend Kim and an eavesdropping stranger on the chairlift. I don't know what Kim and Dave thought but the stranger made it clear that I should just try to enjoy myself. (Asshole!) Aaahhh...but really it was quite great to be on the mountain. We had great weather and the snow up top was excellent. And in the end I was able to conquer some bluer runs and even a few mogels (which I came upon by mistake).

On another topic, I am still having some post-Portugal withdrawals. At times it seems like so long ago that we were there and then other times it seems like we were just at our Algarve apartment. I miss that apartment. A lot. I now detest my kitchen like never before, with it's zero counter space, no dishwasher, small fridge. I miss a dining room table to eat at, as opposed to a couch and coffee table. I miss having a patio to BBQ on. I think when it's time for us to look for a bigger apartment our expectations are going to have risen dramatically from what they were pre-Portugal!

While I am longing for the hot summer weather to arrive and so looking forward to my time at English Bay and that time of year where I always feel like I am on vacation, I am also constantly thinking about where I want to go next. I have already started the Next Vacation Savings Fund (donations always accepted) and can't wait for the time when we're ready to go on another big adventure. Of course, we'll have lots of small adventures in the meantime. I mean, my life itself is a trip and I'm sure that for Dave, living with me is just one big continuous adventure!

And finally, in case anyone is wondering...yes, you will see photos of Portugal. As soon as I get some energy and when Dave gets a break in his workload, we'll both be sorting through the masses of pictures to make it painless to look through the bunch. Apparently Dave will be making a website so everyone who wants to can go and look at them. When this will actually happen is anyone's guess!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!

(posted by ange)

Tomorrow Dave turns 35! Although he doesn’t look a day over 25 with his greying facial hair, balding head and well, I guess that’s it really. Actually, now that I think about it, he’s really quite a looker (or am I just biased?) and I’m so short, I would have never have even noticed the balding head had he not pointed it out to me. Still, I thought it would be fun to share with everyone the “then” and “now” Dave… So, here is Dave at 25(ish) and now at 35. How times change!


















We will be spending an entire week celebrating this GREAT event. Tomorrow Dave and I will have a nice dinner together before we head up to Whistler Wednesday, where we’ll be spending 3 nights for the Telus Ski and Snowboard festival. We’ve got 2 days of skiing planned before retiring the skis for the season and hope to catch some good concerts, etc. Wish us luck… generally when Dave and I set out on any kind of road trip, something goes wrong with Dave’s car either just as we start it or on route out of the city (luckily never too far from home and a fix it place). When we come home, Dave’s birthday celebration will still not be over, as he’d like to have dinner with some friends to continue to celebrate (you’d think he was turning 65 not 35!!!!)

Aaahhh… but then shouldn’t we celebrate ourselves not just on our birthday but everyday, so we never forget how special we really are? I guess a week of planned celebration is fair enough.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!!!!!

The Italian Store

(posted by ange)

I finally made my way to the Italian Store today. This is not actually the name of a store, but rather what my nana and great aunty refer to as the place they go to buy their Italian foods – whole salamis, cheeses, pastas and such. As a child the Italian Store always held a sort of mystery for me. Where was this place? Why couldn’t you get the salami and cheese Nana served up anywhere else? Why didn’t we have an Italian store? Why wasn’t I ever taken to the Italian Store? I always had this picture of a little store filled with whole salamis hanging from the ceiling, big rounds of parmesan, pastas I never saw in Safeway, and old Italian men behind the counter, ready to cut up meat. I’m not sure from where I pulled together this image, but this was it. As I grew older, I became aware that the Italian Store was not one specific store called the Italian Store, but rather a few Italian delis frequented by my Nana and Aunty Eda on Commercial Drive. Any real Italian food purchases would be made at one of these places and to this day I believe my aunty still makes regular trips to the Drive to stock up. And I’m pretty sure Nana goes with her sometimes.

I love it when Nana has been to the Italian Store for one main reason: the whole salami. This is the freshest salami, the tastiest salami and makes the best spaghetti sauce. I am frequently lucky enough to be passed a whole or huge chunk of this salami to take home for myself. I’m also lucky to sometimes be passed an extra bag of pasta or parmesan skins (something that only those who love the skins of the parmesan will appreciate!)However, I realize that I cannot rely forever on Nana to be making these runs out to the Drive! I really should be making these runs and bringing things back for her!

Anyways…to get to the point of this rambling short story…Dave and I headed out today in search of some of the deli items we so much enjoyed in Portugal. While we didn’t find a Portuguese deli, we did come across an Italian Store or two and so I had my first taste of picking out a whole salami, choosing my piece of parmesan (not pre-packaged), picking some pasta and on and on. When I realized that the entire salami was the same price as a little sliver at Safeway I almost fell over and became instantly converted to the Italian Store. Dave and I look forward to making forays to the Drive more regularly to shop for our deli treats. And I look forward to telling Nana all about my trip to the Italian Store!

The End of the Trip: Lisbon and beyond

Here, my memory is beginning to get very vague. I was delighted to see our room…INSIDE the actual hotel, complete with comfy bed, nice shower, bath robes, room service, mini-bar. All the amenities I would need should I choose to not leave the room. My only difficulty was getting the shower to work, and after accidentally disconnecting the shower switch and having water go EVERYWHERE (and I do mean everywhere!). But once that was sorted out, I was all good where I was.

By Lisbon, I am both depressed and irritable and have difficulty getting myself together to do anything but sleep. I do recall getting out for a walk around a great shopping district, but (thankfully for my finances) not being a mood to shop. I know I thought it was beautiful and sort of recall feeling that sense of being in an old European city, again, like the movies. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, most of my time was spent sleeping and Dave is really the one who can tell everyone about Lisbon. Bless him again, he had oodles of patience for me but didn’t (as far as I know) let it ruin his time in this city. I am disappointed that I wasn’t able to enjoy it with him and that my mood couldn’t hold out for the duration of my vacation, but it was still overall the trip of my lifetime (so far) and I’m so glad I even got the opportunity to go!

The trip home was a nightmare, none of which I recall, and only mention here to, once again, say that Dave is an amazing man for being able to cope with his manic girlfriend through two flight check-ins, two flights, 2 security checks, customs, and baggage left in Frankfurt, not to mention getting me home and settled (or not). I know he will read this, so thank you, thank you, thank you Dave for loving me no matter what and despite it all. I am a very lucky girl and know it. xo

The End of the Trip I: Porto

Warning: This is long, so get comfy!

I am sure many of you are wondering “So, how was the rest of the trip?” I guess I left you hanging after all that first class train talk. Well, as many of you know or may have guessed, my moods caught up with me and I just wasn’t able to put words to paper by the time the trip was winding down.

First of all Porto. But before that even, omens. Okay, my belief in omens in semi-serious, but the day we arrived in Porto we had three bad omens, which I think helped to turn my stomach on this city on the river. Firstly, just outside of Porto, as we were coming up to a train station and therefore slowing down, we passed by a DEAD person on the side of the tracks. I am talking face-planted in gravel, stiff looking DEAD person. Nobody seemed at all concerned, although since I don’t speak or understand Portuguese, I was not able to eavesdrop on other passengers as to whether anyone else had witnessed this. I thought we should tell the conductor, but Dave insisted that a local person who could speak the language would report it. As he pointed out, he didn’t think we could adequately describe “DEAD person on the side of the tracks” with our LIMITED Portuguese and the conductor’s LIMITED English. I finally agreed, but found it quite disturbing and today I can still picture that body and exactly what it was clothed in, lying there, face down, in the gravel. UGH.

Okay, so we arrive in Porto, get a porter (so smart) to manage our bags, get our tickets to Lisbon, get a cab, and head to the hotel. As we hit the street from the train station, Dave taps my shoulder and nods out his window. We are driving by a hearse with a casket in it. Ya, that’s another DEAD body. Okay, creepy. But at least someone cared enough about this poor soul to plan a service or burial or whatever!

We arrive at the hotel… an old mansion converted to a hotel. Cool. Looks really cool. High ceilings, all ornamental and painted, big French windows. A quaint sitting area where they will make you tea and coffee. Lovely. But no time to hang out here, we’re off to see the city. My initial impression is that it is amazingly cool. I’ve never seen so many old buildings and large squares and the riverfront is beautiful. It’s a real European city, like in the movies! I’m terribly excited about it all, love the day and we enjoy an amazing meal on the river. Walking back to the hotel though, I start getting a toned down “Main and Hastings” sense. Around this time, just as we walk under a street lamp, it goes out. This is the 3rd omen, in case you’re wondering. I’m thinking this is a death sign and three in one day cannot be good. Get me back to the room!!!!

Back in the room, on further inspection, I decide it’s somewhat creepy (the pipes all around the tub, the VYNAL bedspread, the people sleeping in the park across the street – these were just a few of the tip offs). Okay, so it’s cool, but I’m not totally sure. I notice the lock is literally the kind of lock used on a bathroom door and if you lean against the outside of the doors, they actually separate slightly. Our room is outside of actual interior of the building and we have to be buzzed in. We also have to turn in our key when we leave the room, which is odd to me, but perhaps normal in this situation. One thing I do know, I do not feel safe in the room and there is no way I will be staying in it for any amount of time without Dave! This turns out to be a bit of pain in the ass for Dave, as my mood crashes and all I want to do is sleep and all he wants to do is explore. But I’ll save those details to save my own face.  (Although I think the scene outside the hotel one of the days that consisted of people yelling, a woman running into the sitting room to call the police and general carrying on for an hour somewhat backs up my sense of things!)

Okay, so about Porto itself. Well, in the light of day and my depressed mood, I determined it definitely reeked of Main and Hastings minus the junkies and with ¼ of the homeless count, and did not feel safe. It looked grimy and dirty, with lots of abandoned buildings, and just not as impressive as my initial intake. We did see some amazing old churches, including a room filled with old tombs and the bones of monks 100s of years old (some 300 I think). A little more creepiness, but not something you’ll everyday. I had a lovely panic attack as we climbed the tiniest winding 225 stair-staircase to the top of a church and quickly returned to the bottom to wait for Dave, whose patience for me is completely astounding and for which I am so, so thankful. What was wonderful was the riverfront, taking a cruise on the river, eating on the river, seeing the port caves and seeing a couple of cool museums and beautiful parks. Not all was bad in Porto. I’m sure my mood influenced my opinion. But I’m still not in a hurry to return. For a more unbiased opinion, talk to Dave!