Team Practice, Sim Cards and Pasteis de Nata

Lisbon, Portugal

Today we had our first complete team practice, as Robin arrived too late yesterday to practice. We played some singles and doubles and stayed from about 10-1. The clay here is very hard, the ground is hard and feels more like a hard court than a clay court. It’s also been very windy and the courts at the park where we’re playing are in long swaths and wide open.

I had to take the selfie because I’m the tall one in this group. 🙂

The park is huge, with soccer fields, indoor hard courts, dozens of outdoor clay courts, a stream, soccer fields, golf courses and more, acres and acres of greenery too.

We are pretty sure we have the Uber thing down and were dropped off and picked up without drama today. (The official transport, not so much, they were dropped off far away this morning).

After we practiced, Robin, Susan and I headed back to our apartment and while Robin rested and napped, Susan and I headed out in search of an unlocked cell phone and a European SIM card. We headed toward Vodafone, but they only sold locked cell phones. But we were told to go to another store in a shopping center up the hill. On the way up we were treated to not one but two classical music concerts by street artists, one a four person orchestra, the next a solo on a large stringed instrument. On Friday afternoon, the streets were packed, since we were approaching the old town.

I got the phone and the SIM card,a and mostly have figured out an android phone.

On the way up we had tried our first Pasteis de Nata, or Portuguese Custard Tarts. They are buttery sweet tarts with an aromatic custard that gets backed till it’s just scorched on top. We both found them delicious so stopped in again on the way back and bought a few more. Robin enjoyed them too.

We went by the Praca Dom Pedro IV, a large plaza and a busy one.

On the walk we saw this pretty bouquet of ceramic flowers.

Susan and I decided not to ride a scooter on the crowed, cobblestones streets…but there sure are a lot of scooters around. Also a lot of Jump (by Uber) electric bikes in bright red.