As some of you may or may not know, I have been lucky enough to be given the opportunity to finish my first project for my Masters degree in Portugal, and today I arrived. I figured this was an excursion worthy of documenting as it is not every day I get an all expenses paid jaunt abroad.
The journey here has been fraught with amusing mishaps. First off, I need to be slightly frank. Have any of you ever used one of those new fangled toilets which operate their flushing mechanism via infra-red? Apparently it is for hygiene reasons, and it is a good idea in practice. However, (warning: this is about to get fairly disgusting) I was "on one", if you catch my drift, today, and, having some time to kill at the airport, was milking it slightly, having a read etc. Anyway, I had been up since half five, so naturally needed a "tired man stretch" and decided to execute this maneuver on the loo. Unfortunately this triggered the "clean flush mechanism, soaking my exposed areas in what I can only describe as my own filth. I am not entirely sure why I felt the need to share this, but take heed if you are ever in a similar situation.
I'm not a huge fan of flying at the best of times, not because of the actual act of flying, but because of all the waiting around. I really am hopeless when I have nothing to do; in fact my idea of hell is sitting in an empty room by myself, but today I had to catch two flights to get to my final destination (Lisbon). A delayed flight didn't help matters, but I was delivered a golden bonus ball when I arrived in Frankfurt for my connecting flight, assuming I had another two hours to kill, only to find I had forgotten about the time difference. So by the time I got to my gate (which, no joke, was a mile and a half walk) I was ecstatic to receive my boarding call. Even the lolloping child next to me on the plane couldn't quash my spirits and I was in Lisbon in no time.
Once I'd arrived in Lisbon I had the task of locating my hostel. I didn't help myself as I got off at the wrong bus stop, but after an hour of wandering in the sweltering heat, I found what I can only describe as the best hostel I've ever stayed in. After a quick shower and a chat to my new room mate (who was fairly non-plussed with Lisbon) I hit the town for the first time in my life on my own. I don't know if any of you have ever gone out on your own, but it an odd experience. It's great at first, because you're calling all the shots, essentially it's like going out on your birthday. But it's very odd sitting down to a drink and a meal alone in a strange town. Luckily I discovered a cafe on the street right next to a live band so my entertainment was sorted for the evening, despite calling early doors at half ten (I drink a lot faster on my own...). On a different note, if you ever want a lot of drugs, get yourself to Lisbon. I have been offered "hashish, marijuana, coke?" around 6 separate times now, but the drug dealers are so friendly it's hard to refuse. Needless to say (really?) I resisted.
Note: I'm in my hostel partially drunk typing this, and I only discovered the apostrophe on the this swish Mac half way through typing.
More updates soon!
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