The family have been and gone and life has returned to normal for the time being. It turns out that I was unnecessarily concerned about the visit. We all actually had a really good time. The weather was good and we found the perfect mix to keep everybody happy. This mostly involved walking very slowly between restaurants to accomodate my mum and nan, followed by a couple of beers in the local which filled my teenage brother with unbridled joy. Or at least he slipped out of his hormonal coma for a couple of hours over a lemon-flavoured beer or three. Favourite moment of the week was meeting the clan in a trendy cafe where they told me that it was 'only' seven euros for one beer and two coffees. I laughed and then took them to my Bulgarian mates bar, where we ate steak sandwiches and dessert and drank local speciality cocktails and at the end of the night the bill was just under twelve euros. He gives me staff discount. And the remote control for the TV. Who could ask for more?
It's notable that, wherever I seem to go, the friendliest and most helpful people (read: bar owners) are also foreigners. It's something about people when they settle for a long time in foreign countries. You need to have a very laid-back temperament to accept a new culture in a country that very often doesn't want you.
The attached pics were taken in Belem, where you can get the best cakes in Lisbon - trust me, it's worth the forty minute bus journey! - and the Elevador that takes tourists up and down my street. We literally live on the road you can see in the picture and the little yellow bus ferries its' load past the front door all day long. The novelty of seeing people from all over the world that have come to take pictures right outside my house still hasn't worn off. Sometimes I imagine that they have come to see me. Other times I am sure of it.
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