Greetings from Porto,
March has been a difficult month for us, as we were supposed to move into our new home on March 1st which didn't happen. Nothing was ready, mainly because the contractor didn't send workers who were focused on just our job until 3 days prior to our move and then they did a rush job (i.e. sloppy). After spending three nights in the lovely little hotel I mentioned last month, we finally moved into a semi-finished place. They were still working on the bathrooms and getting our master bedroom finished so we slept in the guestroom for the first few nights. I had to reschedule the furniture deliveries that were supposed to happen the first week of March, since we didn't want deliveries in the middle of the mess we were living in.
Vodafone was supposed to install our internet/tv service on Feb. 28 but that didn't happen until March 14th ... two weeks without internet ... think about that. Their excuse had to do with some construction issue in the area that was preventing them from getting our fiber line to work. Our contractor has been operating as our go-between because of the language barrier when trying to call Vodafone on our own. Once it finally was installed and working we still couldn't get our new television delivered for another 10 days. Fortunately we could watch some things on my Mac. When the TV was finally delivered ... I couldn't believe my eyes. The two delivery men were dressed in European cut suits. I thought maybe they were going somewhere afterwards but no, that is how they dress to deliver and set up televisions ... I should say that is how El Corte Ingles (a very nice department store) delivers them. I told these gentlemen that this doesn't happen in the U.S. which surprised them.
The custom dining room table we ordered in November was supposed to be delivered on March 10, however that morning I received a call from the company telling me that our table was destroyed in a warehouse fire the night before. Seriously. The following day I received another call from them offering to deliver a substitute table from their showroom, a gesture we greatly appreciated. That same day our new sofa arrived and the following day we received our dining room chairs. Our bed and new area rugs, my desk and a few other items were delivered shortly after we moved in, so we were starting to feel like we could get settled. But then the backsplash that we had the contractor install started popping off ... yep, just another kink in this story. The problem with our kitchen is that we have exposed pipes running up the wall above the sink and there is very little room to put a backsplash behind them. (See photo below). We thought the solution was a PVC material that we found at Ikea. Unfortunately the lead guy on our construction crew had never installed this before (which we learned as he was doing it) so he managed to chip two pieces in the process and cut one piece a bit too long which then popped off a few days later. Nick and I finally tore off the backsplash and had to mud the areas that came off in that process. Then we repainted the wall in a darker color and are now considering what other options we might have, if for nothing else, behind the stove top. The kitchen actually looks much better now. And the shower in the master bathroom was still leaking after two tries by the construction crew to caulk it. As we started to assess our situation and look carefully at all the issues, with the painting in particular, we decided that enough was enough. All the overpaint on the woodwork ... we'll fix it ourselves. Our former landlord Nuno again came to our rescue and arranged for a plumber to come over and fix the leak in the shower, which just needed a better job of caulking than our crew had done. At some point we would like to remodel the bathrooms but definitely with a different contractor.
The month wasn't a total disaster however. We attended a lovely event called "Candlelight Vivaldi" one evening. A string quartet played surrounded by candles. It was beautiful. They hold various candlelight events throughout town and we look forward to attending a few more. And we returned to Luca, the restaurant that features Fado dinners/music that we attended in February with our friends John and Mary Lou. This time however it was French night. This is a small venue and there were probably 40 people packed in there, many who we recognized from our last visit. It's a neighborhood joint that tourists don't know about but is frequented by locals. The music was beautiful and the singer spoke Portuguese and engaged with the audience and often the audience was singing along with him. At one point he started speaking English and said that he wanted to sing a piece for the Americans in the audience ... a piece written by Paul Anka and recorded by Frank Sinatra ... My Way, but in French. As he was talking all eyes turned to us and everyone was smiling. Afterwards, a woman at the next table started talking to us and told us that as teens growing up in Portugal they always listened to French music which explains why they know all the lyrics and sing along. We look forward to going to Luca often. The food is delicious and the wine never stops, although this time I put my hand over my glass each time the waiter came by.
Last week we attended another expat event at a local gin distillery called Scoundrels. A Brit owns the distillery and makes both gin and rum. We bought a bottle of their award winning gin and will return for more. While there we started chatting with a woman and her two teens who just recently moved to Porto. Her husband is still in Boca Raton but will be joining them soon. Chala is the daughter of a diplomat and has lived all over the world. Her daughter was born in Turkey and I'm not sure where the son was born but they are very international. As we were talking with them we learned that they are attending the same school that our friends from Little Rock just settled on for their two teens. We're planning to meet up for dinner in the next week or two. On Saturday our friends from Little Rock are coming over to see our place and then we're planning to walk over to the big park nearby to have lunch at one of the cafes there, weather permitting.
Tuesday night we attended our first meeting of the condominium association ... held in the garage late in the evening. Being the first to arrive at 9 p.m., which was what time it was supposed to start, we learned from Carlos, the gentleman in charge of the meeting that in Portugal a 9 pm start time really means 9:30. Once the meeting did get started we realized that we couldn't make out anything that he was saying so we departed early. This is a very difficult language to learn ... have I mentioned that before? Thankfully these meetings only occur once a year so maybe next year we'll be able to understand some of it. Fingers crossed.
I'm still going to physical therapy three days a week but it will be over soon and it has been helping so I'm pleased. Nick had his first dental appointment a few weeks ago with the same dentist that I found and he was thoroughly impressed with the staff and with the very modern equipment. We both got our National Health Care numbers finally as well, so we can now use both the national health care and any private healthcare via our supplemental plan. Life is good.
Here are the latest things I've learned about living here. Under European Union rule, a retailer must repair, replace, reduce the price, or provide a refund if the goods purchased turn out to be faulty or do not look or work as advertised. Consumers have the right to a minimum two-year guarantee at no cost, regardless of whether the goods were purchased online or in-person. In Portugal, a seller may offer the consumer a commercial warranty that is longer than the two year guarantee period; however the two year warranty is free and guaranteed. The manufacturer has 30 days to repair the product, if it can be repaired, otherwise the store will replace the item with a new one or provide a refund in full. Also, as of 2035 new cars running on gasoline or diesel will no longer be sold in the EU. They are committed to moving to zero emission vehicles. In the meantime, they will be implementing rules for car manufacturers to reduce emissions by 55% beginning in 2030. Yes, Portugal observes Daylight Savings (why?) so we sprang forward on March 26. And yes, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in Portugal and I'm sure that it was particularly boisterous in the Algarve where you will find an Irish bar/pub on every corner.
Attached below are a few shots of the Candlelight Vivaldi, the view from our balcony, and a peek at our kitchen.
Adeus, abraços e beijos,
MaryLou