Glad you survived! And laughed a little too hard at the bit about the panties on your rear view mirror. I remember one year (on my husband's birthday to boot) our air conditioning unit went kaput during 40C weather in Florida. Let's say the repairman was our hero when we were able to get him around two days later.
Thank you, Rebecca! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. And yes, I'm glad that I kept my reptile on ice. She is back to her normal routine now: sleeping pretty much whenever she's not eating or in the hammock.
I enjoyed reading this so much! It reminded me of the handwritten signs taped to Italian shop doors in summer "Aria Condizionata Libera" which always made me chuckle.
I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure with all the humor and surreal moments! Thanks for the laughs, as another reader commented, there's not a lot of 'happy' in the US these days.
Thank you, Eljay! I know that a lot of awful things are happening now (they affect me too, emotionally if not quite so much materially). But I think that in order to survive, we need to shift our perspective from time to time to things that will make us feel better and want to keep moving forward.
Hi Kaila. Yes, traditionally flats in Lisbon have neither air conditioning nor heating. Why? Because the climate is "perfect". (And people are poor.) The newer flats, built for rich foreigners, all have split systems that do heat and AC, but most people get by without this. At least until humans started screwing up the planet, there was only about one month of cold and one month of real heat, and people just learned to deal with both.
I have laughed 😂 at your panty misadventures, both hanging from your car window or left under your lens on a Parisian rue. I can seriously vouch as a born and bred Venezuelan, that we are -across the different tiers of our classist society- loath to wear any second hand or as they call them "gently used" clothes... de que vuelan, vuelan. The witches and their bad juju.
The only exception to this rule is daughters pilfering stuff from their mom's closet
Thanks for that further confirmation, Janine! (For others who may be confused, she is referring to the piece linked to below.) I will endeavor to write a couple of pieces now with no panties whatsoever. Wouldn't want to end up in the wrong genre.
Gorgeously and entertainingly written as usual. Nice pix - especially the one with the karate poster. Someday I'll snag your email and send you my old 'tangential traveler' pieces. I think you'd like 'em. Closer to emigrating. Once there, I hope to upgrade to paid, and, even though I'll be near Braga, at least to start, meet you in the flesh some day. Kudos. Again!
Thanks, Samuel! It always makes me happy when someone mentions a particular photo as a favorite. (That was mine, too.) Your pieces sound interesting. Hopefully we will meet up once you're over here!
When I woke this morning at 6 I was shocked to see that the temperature was a mere 21.5 degrees. I've been outdoors three times today, and we only got to 28 in Switzerland. I might not melt after all.
Do you like Arinto? My wife worked several years doing Arinto wine tastings in Bucelas, 30 minutos from Lisbon. If you like snails we can go to Snails Festival in Loures. Great combination snails and Arinto.
PS: The heat was not that bad, only 2 days above 40 without east winds.
I do like Arinto, Paulo, but I don’t really like snails. I tried them, but it makes me sad that they have little faces. They seem just a bit too much like turtles for my comfort. I am always happy to try white wines with other things, though.
And yes, I didn’t say so in the piece, but it never did get as hot as they predicted. So we were spared the worst of it. And the Atlantic was there doing its thing for us.
It wasn’t quite that hot here in The Hague but it was brutal—our first summer without air conditioning in many years. I made pasta before the heat set in, and we had a variety of cold bean or bulgar salads until the rain finally broke the heat. Survivors!
It's almost 8 in the morning here, soon too late to go walking. Though it is only 80ºF (hmm 80/1.8-32 . . never mind), it will be 90º (ha! approximately 32ºC!) within forty minutes, and the humidity: ouff. That's okay, it will end eventually. Around October, usually. We, fortunately, do have a/c. We must, living here.
If I lived in New Orleans, I would want AC too, ND! I hope you'll manage to get out before the heat becomes oppressive. I remember what that's like from my time in Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. I wouldn't wish high heat and humidity on anyone... Or, well, not on most folks.
Glad you survived! And laughed a little too hard at the bit about the panties on your rear view mirror. I remember one year (on my husband's birthday to boot) our air conditioning unit went kaput during 40C weather in Florida. Let's say the repairman was our hero when we were able to get him around two days later.
Well this was a delight from start to finish--congrats on protecting your beloved companion from Melted Turtle Syndrome!
Thank you, Rebecca! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. And yes, I'm glad that I kept my reptile on ice. She is back to her normal routine now: sleeping pretty much whenever she's not eating or in the hammock.
I enjoyed reading this so much! It reminded me of the handwritten signs taped to Italian shop doors in summer "Aria Condizionata Libera" which always made me chuckle.
Thank you, Dustye! You have to draw them in however you can, I guess!
Captain Underpants
Oh I really don't need that nickname! Plus, I'm obviously no superhero. 🦸🏼♂️
You can always count on IKEA! 😅😅
Javisst! (Eller så kan man också Undvika. 😄)
😂😂
I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure with all the humor and surreal moments! Thanks for the laughs, as another reader commented, there's not a lot of 'happy' in the US these days.
Thank you, Eljay! I know that a lot of awful things are happening now (they affect me too, emotionally if not quite so much materially). But I think that in order to survive, we need to shift our perspective from time to time to things that will make us feel better and want to keep moving forward.
Sounds like quite the adventure! Is it uncommon for flats to have aircon in Lisbon?
Hi Kaila. Yes, traditionally flats in Lisbon have neither air conditioning nor heating. Why? Because the climate is "perfect". (And people are poor.) The newer flats, built for rich foreigners, all have split systems that do heat and AC, but most people get by without this. At least until humans started screwing up the planet, there was only about one month of cold and one month of real heat, and people just learned to deal with both.
Thanks for the cultural insight!
Oh my oh my I laughed out loud ! Such a fun read. Stay cool, Gregory !
That makes me very happy, Denise! Thanks!
I have laughed 😂 at your panty misadventures, both hanging from your car window or left under your lens on a Parisian rue. I can seriously vouch as a born and bred Venezuelan, that we are -across the different tiers of our classist society- loath to wear any second hand or as they call them "gently used" clothes... de que vuelan, vuelan. The witches and their bad juju.
The only exception to this rule is daughters pilfering stuff from their mom's closet
Thanks for that further confirmation, Janine! (For others who may be confused, she is referring to the piece linked to below.) I will endeavor to write a couple of pieces now with no panties whatsoever. Wouldn't want to end up in the wrong genre.
https://livingelsewhere.substack.com/p/the-dreams-of-stuff
Or maybe the right one... who knows?!
Sure, who knows where any of us will end up? Maybe I should do an underpants Tarot reading. 🤷🏼♂️
Please do!!!
You almost made me want to be in Lisbon.
Almost.
Thanks, Michael! Be glad that you're not—at least not exactly right now.
Gorgeously and entertainingly written as usual. Nice pix - especially the one with the karate poster. Someday I'll snag your email and send you my old 'tangential traveler' pieces. I think you'd like 'em. Closer to emigrating. Once there, I hope to upgrade to paid, and, even though I'll be near Braga, at least to start, meet you in the flesh some day. Kudos. Again!
Thanks, Samuel! It always makes me happy when someone mentions a particular photo as a favorite. (That was mine, too.) Your pieces sound interesting. Hopefully we will meet up once you're over here!
Thanks so much for the many laughs in this piece. There hasn't been much to smile about here in the US this week.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Ricka. I do my best to help people balance out their lives so as not to lose hope. Hang in there!
When I woke this morning at 6 I was shocked to see that the temperature was a mere 21.5 degrees. I've been outdoors three times today, and we only got to 28 in Switzerland. I might not melt after all.
I hope you won't melt, Caroline! Here's to numbers under 30!
Do you like Arinto? My wife worked several years doing Arinto wine tastings in Bucelas, 30 minutos from Lisbon. If you like snails we can go to Snails Festival in Loures. Great combination snails and Arinto.
PS: The heat was not that bad, only 2 days above 40 without east winds.
I do like Arinto, Paulo, but I don’t really like snails. I tried them, but it makes me sad that they have little faces. They seem just a bit too much like turtles for my comfort. I am always happy to try white wines with other things, though.
And yes, I didn’t say so in the piece, but it never did get as hot as they predicted. So we were spared the worst of it. And the Atlantic was there doing its thing for us.
It wasn’t quite that hot here in The Hague but it was brutal—our first summer without air conditioning in many years. I made pasta before the heat set in, and we had a variety of cold bean or bulgar salads until the rain finally broke the heat. Survivors!
Well done, Gillian! We will eat beans and we will survive! (And we may just take off our underwear and leave it somewhere.)
Yes, in that heat, I can understand leaving your drawers somewhere. If you're melting, you won't feel them sliding down.
It's almost 8 in the morning here, soon too late to go walking. Though it is only 80ºF (hmm 80/1.8-32 . . never mind), it will be 90º (ha! approximately 32ºC!) within forty minutes, and the humidity: ouff. That's okay, it will end eventually. Around October, usually. We, fortunately, do have a/c. We must, living here.
If I lived in New Orleans, I would want AC too, ND! I hope you'll manage to get out before the heat becomes oppressive. I remember what that's like from my time in Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. I wouldn't wish high heat and humidity on anyone... Or, well, not on most folks.