Mary Lou's Portugal Journal #32

Greeting everyone,

I hope this finds you well, or as well as can be expected right now. More on that later.

I went on a field trip with the language school in March. First we visited Serra do Buçaco, a mountain and forest area where there is a 17th century convent, Convento de Santa Cruz do Buçaco that was exclusively for men only. No one could answer the question as to why it was called a convent (typically for women) instead of a monastery (for men), nevertheless it was a very interesting place to visit. The forest was the scene of the Battle of Buçaco (one of the bloody episodes of the Napoleonic invasions in Portugal) and the Convent served as a base of operations for the Duke of Wellington (whose army prevailed in the defeat of the French forces). The room at the Convent where Wellington stayed has been preserved and was part of the tour. In the 19th century a Palace (now hotel) was built onto the side of the convent and was a popular place for Kings to bring their mistresses. There are vast gardens as well, however, it was raining while we were there, so we didn't get to enjoy as much of it as we would have liked.

After a very nice lunch break at a nearby hotel, the bus took us to our next destination, Sangalhos, where we toured the Caves of Aliança and the underground museum. What a fascinating place! Not only do they have many wonderful and varied collections of paintings, they also have:

- an archeological collection

- an African ethnographic collection

- contemporary sculpture from Zimbabwe

- a huge mineral collection

- a fossil collection, including the biggest collection of fish fossils in the world (according to our tour guide) as well as fossilized shells that are 24 million years old and a fossilized seahorse that is 400 million years old

- tile work of Portugal (both antique and modern)

- contemporary ceramics of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal

They also bottle sparkling wines, brandy (they have 3350 barrels aging there), and a few other red and white wines. These collections are all owned by a gentleman by the name of José Berardo, who is a collector and philanthropist. Here are a few photo highlights:

These are tombstones from Africa. The men were symbolized with phallic symbols while the women were symbolized by the round tombstones. Children had the same shapes but were much smaller.

Masks made by women using real hair on the heads.

This was my favorite, designed by José Berardo himself, depicting the last supper using some of the tombstones. Our tour guide told us that Mr. Berardo has quite a sense of humor.

Unfortunately, the rest of the photos I took at the underground museum and at the convent/hotel, cannot be attached here due to file size. The mineral collection was huge and interesting, the fossils were amazing, and the tunnels we were wandering through were so interesting. Following our tour we enjoyed a wine tasting and were treated to appetizer-size buns filled with roast suckling pig, which is a specialty of the area. They were delicious!

Over the past two days our new windows in the LR/DR were installed along with new French doors in the MB. What a difference, both insulation wise and from a sound standpoint. These will make a huge difference during the very cold days of winter and the heat of August/September.

(I started writing the following last night April 3rd). As I watch my investments drop today, dramatically, I just hope every tRump voter is feeling this same pain. WTF was anyone thinking when voting for the absolute worst businessman/President in history? Three months ago, the economy was booming and the envy of the world ... stocks were soaring daily, hitting record highs, and the country actually funded cancer research. The change in my account from mid-January to now is stunning. Heather Cox Richardson wrote a great piece about this today, which you can read here https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/april-2-2025-wednesday?r=5tzag&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Here's a recap of some of my current major issues with the stupidest man on earth and his treasure trove of idiots:

- Tariffs, including those he's imposed on allies, actually on every country (EXCEPT RUSSIA), even on islands only inhabited by penguins or polar bears. Do tRump voters even understand how tariffs work? They raise the price of things you purchase i.e. cars, appliances, clothing, coffee (which is imported folks!). He wants to get rid of the IRS and instead pay for everything with all the money coming in from tariffs... because he and his billionaire friends don't want to pay any taxes (and most barely pay any already). His end game is to bring back all manufacturing to the U.S. Well, that's not going to happen overnight, if ever. And, the 1% know how to play the stock market ... they will buy lots of stock when it's down and then tRump will roll back the tariffs ... my guess, and they will get even richer. Tariffs destroyed the economy in the late 1800's and again in the 1930's, but hey, third time's the charm.

- His administration is scrubbing Arlington cemetery’s public website of dozens of pages covering gravesites, educational materials that include histories of prominent Black, Hispanic and female service members buried in the cemetery, along with educational material on dozens of Medal of Honor recipients and maps of prominent gravesites of Marine Corps veterans and other services because ... that's woke? tRump and Hegseth are targeting race and gender-related language and policies in the military. They don't want the word "woman" used anywhere.

- Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” has cost $500 billion—10% of all IRS revenue from last year. Brilliant!

- tRump's golfing trips, almost every single weekend, cost taxpayers approximately $3 million every time. He charges exorbitant rates at his hotel where the Secret Service members have to stay and he charges them for renting the golf carts that they need in order to follow him about the course. He makes money on this folks ... every freakin' weekend.

- Words like “climate crisis,” “diversity,” “segregation,” and even “peanut allergies” are being purged from federal communications.

- 20,000 IRS employees fired, especially in the area of enforcement. Billionaire audits? Gone.

- I've lost count of how many people in government positions have been fired/eliminated. It's a staggering number.

- jdv (not a sexually transmitted disease, but the VP) is now in charge of purging the Smithsonian of what the administration calls “anti-American ideology.” What exactly does that mean? Have you visited the Smithsonian? It's full of American history, including contributions by blacks, hispanics, etc. I guess he wants it changed to only reflect contributions by white people?

- In 2022, undocumented immigrants contributed $96.7 billion in taxes, including $51.8 billion in federal revenue. Their combined effective state and local tax rate is 10.1%—higher than what the top 1% pays in most states (thanks to Americans for Tax Fairness for this information). But yeah, let's get rid of those immigrants. https://americansfortaxfairness.org/undocumented-immigrants-contribute-economy/?link_id=9&can_id=4d04c030fa4596e4500b8057a17ef455&source=email-undocumented-immigrants-paid-967-billion-in-taxes-2&email_referrer=email_2675515&email_subject=re-undocumented-immigrants-paid-967-billion-in-taxes&&

And, over here, the Portuguese government has now issued a warning that everyone must prepare a Survival kit: photocopies of ID docs, cash, a radio with/ batteries, chargers for phones, a flashlight and batteries, matches and a lighter, first aid kit, and water/food to last at least 72 hours. Thanks donny. Russia is now a bigger threat than ever to Europe.

I feel like I'm watch the season finale of the U.S.A.

Is anyone happy with this??? As I said last time, I refuse to be quiet. Adeus, abraços e beijos, MaryLou

Mary Lou's Portugal Journal #31

On February 12th I had cataract surgery on my left eye and it went very well. I was surprised at how much brighter everything appeared. It's not at all a painful operation, however I will say it's a weird experience, for those of you who haven't had it. I was awake throughout, though I had an I.V. with something to keep me slightly sedated but still fully aware and functional. What I saw was an amazing psychadelic light show throughout the 15-20 minute surgery. My doctor talked me through the entire process and excitedly told me at one point that the lens was an American one made by a company in Texas ... Alcon. Then he corrected himself and said that it was actually made in Alcon's facility in Ireland, where EU countries obtain them. A week later, on February 19th, I had my right eye done. Because I have myopia in that eye (elongated eyeball), and astigmatism, there were a few more steps involved. Again, my doctor was pleased to tell me that this lens was made in California, by J&J. "Wait, I don't have matching lenses, I asked?" "No, no you have the best lenses for your needs in each eye." After each surgery, as a nurse wheeled me back to the post op room, he walked along with me singing "California dreaming" because he knows I'm a Californian. He's such a dear little man (no bigger than me and he probably weighs less 😕) ... I'm just so happy to have him as my ophthalmologist and I'm so pleased to know that I won't have to wear glasses or contacts again! After 64 years of wearing glasses/contacts, it's ingrained in me to reach for my glasses before getting out of bed every morning, and every evening I have to remind myself not to reach into my eye to remove my contacts. Eventually I will get used to this change, but old habits die hard.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, we had a lot of rain and wind during the couple of weeks of my surgery and beyond, which meant I couldn't get out easily to walk, due to the windy conditions. Finally, toward the end of February, we started to get some lovely weather and we were able to venture out to the Camellia festival at Parque de São Roque, a place we were not familiar with previously. This is a large public park (approximately 15 acres) on the grounds of a gorgeous manor originally built in 1759. There are over 200 camellia trees on the grounds, as well as a very cool hedge maze, a small lake, and a playground area for kids. We had a great time exploring the grounds and look forward to returning for a guided tour of the interior of the manor.

We were greeted at the main Metro station by these two, handing out camellias to all the ladies.

Hopefully you can see all the heads of people walking through the maze.

One of many, many Camellia trees.

Thanks to trump criticizing just about every European leader and Musk taking wildly unpopular actions, I'm quite pleased that many Europeans are now checking labels when shopping for pretty much everything to see if it's made in America and, if it is, they are putting it back on the shelf and looking to find something made outside of the U.S. I still had my Amazon account (why?) but cancelled it a few weeks ago. As I'm sure you've heard, European leaders are irate with the Cheeto dusted scrotum. Portugal stands with Ukraine; all of the EU stands with Ukraine, as does the UK. But the U.S. ... they now stand with Russia and North Korea. WTH? We spent our childhoods going through drills at school, to evade the Russians and now the U.S. has aligned with Putin, North Korea and whatever other numb-nut dictators and against America's strongest allies for the past 80 years? Is that really what people voted for? I feel like I'm in an alternate reality. It's hard to believe that people in the U.S. aren't breaking down the doors of Congress, but then again, Democrats don't destroy things like MAGA. And of course, he wants to build a resort in Gaza so he just has to figure out how to get 2 million people on buses so he can clear the area. Who said he could have Gaza? He continues to insult Canada/Canadian leaders, Mexico and the heads of European countries daily. He's made enemies with the country's closest allies and for what? His cabinet is filled with a bigly assortment of quacks from Fox News. But sure, let's make a former weekend show host on Fox News the Secretary of Defense. The whole government is nothing more than a reality show now.

Speaking of governments, the Prime Minister of Portugal lost a confidence vote two days ago, which means we'll have new elections in May. The last election was held in March, 2024. This will be the third election in three years. We hope that the right-wing party, Chega, does not win more seats, nor the leader of Chega, a trump wannabe, win the election. He doesn't appear to be as stupid as trump but, that still remains to be seen. He's almost as cocky. The one thing I appreciate about this form of government is that when the Parliament has reservations about the PM, and in this case it has to do with investments he failed to disclose ... i.e. companies making monthly payments to "his wife" (with whom he lives, I might add) and which is against the law ... i.e. paying for "favors" from the PM, ... well it caught up with him and yesterday he lost a confidence vote so now new elections have to be called. Yet trump sells meme coins while he is the POTUS, enabling big buyers to gain favors. At least we're not stuck with a moron for four years here.

Lastly, I will say that my investment portfolio has taken a huge hit thanks to the brilliant businessman running the country into a recession (or depression, who knows). The back and forth on tariffs is astonishing. I hope trump voters are feeling the pain financially as well. Who thought voting for a moron who went bankrupt 6 times was a great idea? He's coming for your SS, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. He's coming for Veteran's disability payments. Make America Great Again my ass.

I apologize to most of you for sharing my strong thoughts on what is going on over there but, it's my monthly email and I will not stay silent. You certainly don't have to read it and you are welcome to ask me to remove you from my distribution list. My feelings won't be hurt.

Stay safe. Until next time.

Adeus, abraços e beijos,

MaryLou

Mary Lou's Portugal Journal #30

Ola amigos,

I hope you are all in good health. We're both doing well and getting in lots of steps these days, thanks to some beautiful weather. Much of January was pretty wet but the past two weeks have brought some lovely sun and blue skies.

On January 9th, our two year visas expired, so we are currently unable to travel to any other countries until we can get them renewed. Thankfully, I can travel back to the U.S. in late May to attend my granddaughter's high school graduation on June 3rd; however, I have to fly directly from Porto to Newark, NJ, which is the only direct flight to the states from here. Believe it or not, this is not unusual right now. A few of Nick's classmates whose visas expired last August, finally were contacted by immigration and given appointments in January. As of now, no one is allowed to schedule renewal appointments, instead we have to wait until they notify us by email. We have a blanket extension from the government through the end of June. Fingers crossed that they get to us before then. In the meantime, Portugal is once again one of the most popular places for people from around the world who want to immigrate, so I'm hoping that they figure out how to streamline the bureaucracy to accommodate all the new folks wanting to make Portugal their home.

A big group of my classmates, along with some of their spouses, met for lunch on January 15th, which happened to coincide with Nick's 80th birthday. Though he didn't want to celebrate it, he reluctantly listened to the 14 of us sing happy birthday to him. No one could believe he's actually 80, given how good he looks.

Nick and I are all the way at the other end of the table.

The following evening we attended a "certificate" ceremony at the Inatel school. Nick received his A-2 certificate along with his classmates. Those of us who completed our A-1 course last year also received certificates, after which we enjoyed a buffet and some wine. That same day, two of my classmates from the intensive course we recently completed, were in Lisbon picking up our A-2 certificates.

Nick's A-2 class

My A-1 class

Here we are, certified in the Portuguese language!

After learning just how well our Portuguese neighbors kept an eye on Nick in December during my trip to the states, I wanted to have them over for dinner and prepare one of my favorite dishes, Pozole. This is a dish made with chunks of pork and hominy in a spicy broth. I brought a few cans of mild Hatch chiles back from the states and sourced canned hominy on Amazon Spain, because neither of these items are sold here. It was a fun evening, especially watching them discover hominy. Overall, I think everyone enjoyed the meal. Now Daniel wants me to make it with him, but with a Portuguese slant ... using canned garbanzos, which are commonly used in dishes here, in place of hominy. He's convinced we could sell it and make money! I'm really not looking to start a side business, but I'm glad he liked it. I also made a jalapeno and cream cheese dip that was a big hit. Now that group of neighbors wants to start a monthly dinner group, taking turns hosting. I'm part of two monthly lunch groups, one with my classmates and another one with Nick's classmates, and we have a monthly dinner group with the first two couples we made friends with here.

Next week I'm scheduled to have cataract surgery on my left eye. One week later I'm scheduled to have the right eye done. I'm very pleased with my opthamologist. Since I've worn monovision contacts for over 20 years (my right contact corrects for distance and my left contact corrects for reading) he's going to do the same with the surgery. He talked me through various options but he felt strongly that this would be the best option for me and would prevent me from ever having to wear reading glasses. Hopefully it all goes well.

You can stop here if you don't want to hear my take on politics over there. I will end by saying that I've had whiplash from reading headlines from the states. My head is spinning, and I am not alone. Even strangers bring it up when they find out we're from the U.S., and it's truly embarrassing. No one can believe the stupidity and crassness of the man. He's literally the laughstock of the world, even in Russia. I can't wait to see who is going to pick the crops, a job that pays very little and is typically done in the blazing sun. The world is watching as the U.S. swirls right down the toilet. I could write much more but I respect the fact that this is supposed to be about our life in Portugal.

Sending love, wishes for peace, and for harmony.

Adeus, abraços e beijos,

MaryLou

Mary Lou Portugal Journal #29

Ola amigos,

I hope this email finds you well. Nick and I have the dreaded upper respiratory virus that is plaguing the world. While Nick came down with it a few days before I departed, I was fine until my flight to the states which was filled with people sneezing and coughing. By the time I landed in Miami, I was doing the same. Nicholas, Gracie, and the girls did their best to entertain me, while I went through a big box of kleenex and coughed excessively during my four days there. On my last night in Miami they took me to the light display at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, and it was magical. I wish that I could attach some of the videos of this place as well, but they are too large.

Arriving at Fairchild Gardens

Granddaughters Isa and Ava enjoying the lights

Isa gets angel wings

The bubble machine

Upon arriving in the Bay Area, I went to see my doctor and was tested for the flu and Covid (both were negative) and left with a prescription for my cough. Days later I went to an Urgent Care due to a searing pain that developed on my left side due to coughing so hard and for so long. I thought perhaps I had cracked a rib, however, x-rays revealed nothing and, as it turned out, I pulled a muscle. The lesson here is to wear masks on any planes and/or public transit and avoid anyone with a cough, which is almost impossible right now. Sorry that this prevented me from visiting with any friends while in California, but I didn't want to infect anyone (other than my poor relatives, unfortunately for them).

While I was in the states, Nick was well taken care of here. Everytime I spoke with him he was dining with various neighbors. It was like a constant party in my absence. Truthfully, I was so happy that everyone was keeping watch on him and making sure he was fed and his thirst quenched.

I arrived home in the evening on New Year's Eve and, though I wanted to go downtown to see the big light show, I opted to put on my pjs and watch fireworks from our balcony. A friend recently asked me if I felt like this was my home now, or if I was sad to leave California. Yes, Portugal is definitely my home--our home now. We are so grateful to be living here.

Before I sign off, my heart goes out to friends in SoCal who are faced with the apocalyptic fires ravaging the LA area. Hopefully, you are not in harm's way. Please stay safe. And to my friends in Canada who receive my writings, I actually don't even know what to say other than most of us are horrified and embarrassed. Please know that not all Americans are assholes. 😕

Adeus, abraços e beijos,

MaryLou