Travel
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Some Differences Between the USA and Portugal
Jun 10th
Jon Graham’s Travel Journal : Lisbon, Portugal
“Channel 1 Networks Jon Graham has moved from Boulder to Florida and now Portugal. Jon will be sending dispatches from Portugal, Europe about his travels and impressions of European life compared to American Life.”
10 miles equals about 16 kilometers / 10 kilometers equals about 6.2 miles
60 miles per hour equals 97 kilometers per hour
100 kilometers per hour equals 62 miles per hour / 50 kilometers per hour equals 31 miles per hour
Today, 100 USD is about 88.9 euros. 100 euros is about 112.32 USD. So 10 euros equals about 11.23 US dollars right now, but the rate varies from day to day.
I think this is the least favorable exchange rate for us I have seen so far since we arrived almost one month ago. It was 10 euros equals about 12.50 USD then.
There is also a high rate surcharge conversion fee charged at banks and also an expensive access fee at ATMs. We found a bank named Millenium Bank that does not charge conversion fees and access fees at ATMs.
It was somewhat difficult but we opened a Millenium checking account here. We had to have a Portuguese tax ID number and an original fully signed rental contract with our address on it before we could obtain a banking account.
Bureaucratic paperwork and processes made getting these things somewhat difficult to obtain. There is not much free enterprise here and many businesses seem to be run by the Portuguese government. Each person usually takes a ticket with a number and waits for their turn.
17 degrees Celsius, less commonly called Centigrade here, is about 63 degrees Fahrenheit.
19 degrees Celsius is about 66 degrees Fahrenheit
25 degrees Celsius is about 77 degrees Fahrenheit
30 degrees Celsius is about 86 degrees Fahrenheit
This week’s temperature range in the daytime has been about 78 to 83 degrees F. (or 25 to 28 degrees C). It is humid here but much less so than Florida. It becomes cold at night sometimes, but the temperature fluctuates a lot. It can be hot for thirty minutes, then cold.
Milk, with the brand name Mimosa, is sold in one liter wax paper containers. It is stored at room temperature and does not spoil easily. It has a different taste and I think something is added to it to keep it from spoiling. The ingredients are listed in Portuguese so I cannot tell. See http://mimosa.com.pt/produtos/
At the market plastic bags are sold for a small fee. They are not free so it’s better to bring your own used ones.
Meat has a different flavor. It is not aged as it often is in the US. Eggs are brown and the yolks are a darker yellow with a more hearty taste. Most food is not salted as much.
Most of the fruits and vegetables available in the markets are grown in Portugal and are more ripe more before they are picked. Apples are coated with a thin layer of wax. We have also found mangos, avocados, oranges, apples, cherries, potatoes, lemons, strawberries, and lots of fresh fish in the small markets downtown.
There is much dried, salted cod fish available in the small fish markets but it has to be soaked several days in water before it is boiled, not fried. People here make a fish stew with it by adding cabbage, carrots, leeks, onions, and other vegetables. It is not a convenience food at all. Fresh fish is fried.
We drink purified water sold in seven liter plastic bottles for about 1.50 euros each because city water from the faucet gave us the runs and other symptoms.
A liter is slightly more than a quart. One gallon is 3.78 liters. Petrol is maybe 50% more expensive here than gasoline is in the U.S. Many cars are small to conserve gasoline. There are more smart cars, motorcycles and tuk-tuks. Most vehicle brand names are different.
Restrooms are called WCs for water closets. There are few of them for the public and often you have to be a customer in a cafe or restaurant to use one. There are usually none in shops and government buildings.
I haven’t seen any drywall here. The walls are solid, like they are made with concrete. Some are covered with tile.
There is a large statue of Christ the Redeemer on a hill overlooking the city of Lisbon. Brazil was a colony of Portugal and there is a larger version of this statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There is also a similar version of this statue in Paris. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_the_Redeemer_(statue)
Not quite what Jon expected: Lisbon Travel
Jun 3rd
Jon Graham’s Travel Journal : Lisbon, Portugal
“Channel 1 Networks Jon Graham has moved from Boulder to Florida and now Portugal. Jon will be sending dispatches from Portugal, Europe about his travels and impressions of European life compared to American Life.”
Lisbon June 4, 2017 Jon Graham’s Travel Journal Places are very remote here in Portugal and you need a vehicle to get around, so that’s been rough on us. There may be English-speaking people in southern Portugal, but now is the high-priced season for rentals. At the end of the summer, the prices are supposed to go down. We’ve just got an apartment in town for 850 euros per month for six months. We needed an apartment that was unfurnished because we have a 20-foot container full of possessions that we need to store somewhere. We don’t want to have to pay extra for storage space somewhere. It is supposed to be a good neighborhood in Esoril, a small town north of Lisbon. A seaside resort.
I am already tired of being surrounded by the Portuguese language. The markets are small and nothing like King Soopers, Walmart, Publix, Winn-Dixie, and so on. Not much selection at all. I am not a history buff or a language buff, so it is not that interesting to me. Plus I cannot read directions, find addresses, and so on and on.
The dogs were very expensive to bring. They were in their cages without water for ten hours — Miami to Lisbon. They drank rainwater from the streets with all their strength as soon as they could get out. They recovered after a couple of days of rest.
It is much harder to keep the animals in this apartment. We are on the fifth floor. At first I took them down on the elevator for a walk three times a day with plastic bags to pick up the poop. Now I take them down one or two times per day and let them pee and poop on the balcony when we have to go out. It’s easy to clean up there.
The younger dog is 4 and she’s full of life. The older one is 14 and he has lost a lot of weight. His back legs don’t work very well anymore. He deserves an easy life with lots of naps. Susie doesn’t want to put him to sleep yet. But it seemed crazy to fly him here at his age.
Apartment Monte Estoril
I was very skeptical about taking them and I was right.
I was also skeptical about shipping the 25′ container to Lisbon and I was right.
Susie has family in England, near Wales. Maybe we can ship the container there and drive there in a van with our luggage and the dogs. Susie has a good retirement income, but I don’t.
It makes sense to me for her to live near her family there. She doesn’t like the weather in the winter, though.
I don’t know what to do yet. I’m considering getting my Colorado driver’s license and a voter’s registration card, then get on the waiting list for Section 8 housing and other housing programs and get myself back to the US. Even though Susie and I have had a pretty good life together overall for the past eight years. She has been very good about taking care of me. We used too much credit and I didn’t earn enough money. There was no substitute teaching work in the summer, either. That caused us to sell out and move from our townhome in Jacksonville.
I had a condo in Remington Post which would have been a good place to retire, also $30,000 would have paid it off, leaving only the condo fee. At the time it was about $120 per month and that included water and heat. Plus underground parking and an almost olympic-sized indoor pool. There were two tennis courts, too.
I think it was a big expensive mistake to come here, but we didn’t know then all that we know now.
Jon’s Early perceptions of Lisbon
Jun 2nd
Lisbon: June 3, 2017 We have a lead on an apartment to rent in a nearby town. We may take the buses to see it today The buses are inexpensive but the public transportation system is somewhat confusing. We are beginning to figure it out. We have also ridden a ferry and a train.
There are fifty-seven varieties of people here. Different skin colors, languages, body types, clothing. The people are generally poor except for the tourists.
We saw an old replica of a giant Portuguese galleon and the carcass of an old submarine in a river near the train station in downtown Lisbon.
Africa is not that far away. Black people from Africa are much darker than American negroes. Someone told me that Portugal started the slave trade.
Many people here smoke cigarettes and drink Coca-Cola. Many women have tattoes and some piercings. There aren’t many pretty ones. People are poor and not so healthy-looking except for the tourists. There aren’t many public toilets and some of the streets smell like urine.
There is a US Embassy that might have information about places to live and where the English-speaking people are. I might be able to teach English somewhere, but I’ve read employment doesn’t pay much and finding employment is difficult, coming from the USA.
People from the European Union (EU) have advantages here over US citizens, like getting extended visas. The Portuguese government runs most business. Not much free enterprise. In government buildings and banks, you take a number from a machine and then wait for your number to see an agent.
Millenium banks have the most ATM machines throughout Europe. If you use a credit card from the US, there is a considerable surcharge at the ATMs. There is a conversion fee from US dollars to euros.
There is a lot of tile here. There are many apartments and few houses. Streets are narrow with cars parking on the street and sidewalks on both sides. Most have one-way traffic, often with roundabouts at major intersections. Many of the cars are quite small and there are tuk tuks and tour buses downtown.
Tuk tuks are small carriages with a lawnmower-type of engine. Petrol efficiency is important because the price per liter is similar to the price of a gallon in the USA.
The term America, referring to the United States, seems like a misnomer to me. Americans could also be from Canada and South America.
One lady commented that everything is better in the United States, but we don’t know how to choose a president. She said she was afraid of President Trump. Presumably because billionaires don’t have much in common with ordinary people.
Jon Graham
Jon Graham’s Travel Journal : Lisbon, Portugal
“Channel 1 Networks Jon Graham has moved from Boulder to Florida and now Portugal. Jon will be sending dispatches from Portugal, Europe about his travels and impressions of European life compared to American Life.”
