A Week in the Life: Sabado (Saturday)

Saturdays are our "free days," meaning there isn't really a typical Saturday. Some days, we go out and do some sightseeing... other days, we stay home and relax, clean the house, watch movies, or get together with friends. Today, we have planned to go to Belém with the Meyers.

7:45 a.m. - We wake up, have breakfast, and get ready to go.

9:45 a.m. - We leave the house and walk to the bus stop. We have to wait awhile for a bus -- since today is Saturday, the busses don't run as frequently.

10:00 a.m. - We get on a bus and head into town. We get off at the metro station. My bus pass doesn't work when I scan it to enter the metro. I realize that my pass hasn't been validated for this month yet, since when Rusty bought my sticker, he didn't have my pass with him. We decide to take care of it when we get off the Metro.

10:30 a.m. - We exit the Metro and go to the ticket counter. The man tells us there are only 4 stations where we can have the pass validated, and of course, this isn't one of them. We get back on the Metro and ride to another stop. We have my pass validated, then get back on the Metro and ride to the stop where we can catch the tram to Belém.

10:50 a.m. - We are waiting for the tram that will take us out to Belém. There are a lot of people waiting, most of them tourists.

11:10 a.m. - The tram comes and we pile on with everyone else. In the confusion, Rusty's wallet is stolen out of his pocket. Luckily, he realizes what had happened almost immediately and gets off the tram (with Stephen in the Kelty on his back) to confront the guy who took it. Everything happens so fast that I don't have time to get off the tram. The doors close and the tram leaves with Alex and me on board. I'm not sure what to do. I don't have a cell phone, so at first, I think I should ride to Belém and meet the Meyers so at least I will be with someone who has a phone.

11:15 a.m. - I change my mind and decide to get off the tram. We have ridden four stops, and now we have a long walk back the other direction to find Rusty. Alex is crying because he wants to go see Efesson and Biruk. He whines the whole walk back that he's too tired and too thirsty to walk anymore.

11:45 a.m. - Alex and I finally make it back and find Rusty. Meanwhile, Rusty has recovered his wallet, with only 40 euros missing. Everything else is still there, including tickets to a soccer game for Sunday night! We are thankful. We walk back across the street to wait for another tram.

11:55 a.m. - The tram comes again, and we get on. We ride to Belém.

12:15 p.m. - We arrive in Belém. We have decided to eat lunch at a restaurant near the train staition. We find the restaurant, which happens to be a churrasqueira, or grill. At this restaurant, you choose your meat, and they cook it for you. Rusty has lamb and the boys and I have sausages. Our plates also comes with rice, french fries, salad, a drink, a dessert, and coffee. The food is really yummy.

1:30 p.m. - We leave the restaurant. We walk through a park and over to the Monument to the Discoverers. We pay to go up to the top for a great view. We meet the Meyers here.

2:15 p.m. - We walk to the Torre (Tower) of Belém and take a few pictures.

3:15 p.m. - We walk to the Mosteiros (Monastery) dos Jerónimos. We go into the church, but decide not to pay to tour the monastery.

The Monument to the Discoverers

View of the monastery from the top of the monument

View of the Cristo Rei statue from the monument

View of the mosaic in front of the monument. The map in the middle charts the routes of the Portuguese explorers.

In front of the Torre de Belém

The monastery

4:00 p.m. - We walk over to have pasteis de Belém (Belém's famous custard tarts) and coffee. They are still fresh and warm from the ovens when we eat them, and they are delicious. I realize that Stephen's blankie is missing and the last time I remember seeing it was at the restaurant where we ate lunch. Rusty walks back to the restaurant to look for it. It isn't there, but he retraces our steps from earlier in the day and finds it laying on a park bench. At this point, I think to myself that we'd better get home before our luck runs out!

5:00 p.m. - We head home via bus, then metro, then another bus.

5:45 p.m. - We arrive home. We have leftovers for dinner, then bathe the kids and get them ready for bed. It has been a long day, everyone is exhausted, and tomorrow will be another long day with church.

8:15 p.m. - The boys are in bed. I do the dishes and the laundry. Rusty reads our newsletter and we make a few final changes to it before emailing it out.

10:30 p.m. - We head to bed early tonight.