Magical Moments continue . . .

It's a rainy day in Lisbon - a good day to catch up.
My great idea of posting daily - isn't happening . . 

Everyday is a new adventure and constantly discovering Portugal is AMAZING! it's an interesting mix of very old - going back to 1100s to the time of Moors - to extremely modern. They are way ahead of the US in both design and function. And best of all are the people, who are so kind, happy and helpful. 

I'm very impressed with their ingenuity, how clean it is and how well things work.
It's been wonderful connecting with my dear friend, Iso, from our days of teaching at AINYC. Last Wed, we met at the biggest and most modern shopping mall, Centro Colombo, located in the parish of Carnide. It's the second largest mall in Lisbon and was the largest in Europe. Its huge green and auburn glass towers hold over 400 different shops, a large cinema, bowling and an amazement park - very AWESOME.

Here's a few photos -

 

Colombo Mall, Lisbon, Portugal

OK so where's the miracle you may ask???

Well here's a super-duper MIRACLE!
About a week ago, I noticed that Joan Baez will be performing in Lisbon.  I've never seen her in concert, although a huge fan for over 50 years - WOW! So of course I want to see her at her last World tour, Fare Thee Well Tour - at the age of 75. I had heard the show was sold out but decided to go to the venue and check it out. As I walked in and the ticket guy said it's all sold out and they had 2 tickets returned. Before buying them, I wanted to check with my friend Iso, since we wanted 4 tickets and the price for them were quite expensive. I only had enough $$ for one ticket and wanted to hear back from my friend before making the purchase. The woman at the ticket counter said, "no worries I'll put your name on them and hold them til tomorrow." I am blown away by her kindness - a wonderful trait of the Portuguese people. I cashed more Euros, and after hearing back a big YES from Iso, I quickly and happily bought the last two tickets to see Joan Baez on Feb 1st. YAY!!! :-) Here's the ticket:

Joan Baez ticket

Lastly, yesterday while walking along the main street in Alfama, I heard a singer sing the Monty Python's song, "Always Look On the Bright Side of Life". He sounded just like Louis Armstrong - so I stop by to listen, dance and photograph. There was a lovely couple from Poland dancing. Here's a taste of Portugal.... enJOY!

https://youtu.be/AjR0kOHQ71c

Alfama, Portugal, Lisbon, singer