More milestones on the journey

We managed to get some things checked off the list this week towards the move to Lisboa.

We drove down Monday morning with a carload of breakables. We’ve got movers who will be lifting and loading on 12 August, but since we had to be at the apartment for a series of appointments, Kristie wanted to get some of the more delicate items moved ahead of time.

As usual, the drive from Porto to Lisboa was quick and easy. I think I’ve remarked before how nice the main highways are here. The A1 is a straight shot, and although it’s a toll road it’s definitely cheaper than the train.

We rolled into town and into our parking structure. As before, it was a bit of a thrill ride – I’m really thankful that our car has 360º cameras so we can see exactly how much clearance there is. The proximity alarms are going crazy the whole way down, which is a little nerve-wracking. I really need to get Kristie to film the process next time so that I can share it.

We dropped off the load and had a quick lunch at the bakery/café at ground level in our building – O Pão Nosso de Cada Dia (“The bread ours of each day,” or “Our Daily Bread”). This place is actually pretty nice – fresh baked breads and pastries, a nice small selection of good cheeses and imported gourmet items, plus they do breakfast and lunch. I think we’re going to be very regular customers.

The electricity had already been turned on the week previous, so we were able to check the refrigerator and stove, plus the ceiling lights in the entry hall and bathrooms. We were also able to verify that all the air conditioner units and remotes were functioning as expected.

Our first appointment was Monday afternoon with the handyman, who came by to give us a quote for hanging the ceiling fixtures and painting the rooms that needed it. Since we’ve got a total of 10 fixtures, it’s a medium-big job, but I think the price was pretty fair. The bit of “bad” news is that since I need a receipt so that I can charge the expense to the business, I had to pay an extra 23% for the tax … the handyman would have been perfectly happy to let this go, but I want to stay on the right side of official as much as possible.

We agreed that he would do the work next week when we weren’t around, which meant I needed to give him a set of keys. Unfortunately, we only have one key to the front door of the building, so he agreed to come back Thursday morning after we had seen the landlord.

After he left, we walked over to our hotel. Interesting fact – in Portugal, you would never say, “It was four blocks.” They don’t use blocks as a distance measurement. I think this is partially because all the blocks are different shapes and sizes, and streets tend to go in all kinds of different directions. What you say instead is, “It was four streets,” or maybe 700 meters.

So, we relaxed for a while, then went out for a walk. The hotel is right in the heart of things, surrounded by shops and restaurants. The sidewalks are very broad, with lots of benches and trees so that you can easily sit and people-watch, too.

Tuesday was appointment number two – the Lisboa water company. They were scheduled to arrive between 10am – noon, and I was a little worried. EPAL has a reputation for being a little flaky, which I had experienced some of already. When I signed up for service, I was told a contract would be emailed to me and it was very important that I signed it and sent it back right away. When I didn’t receive it for a few days, I called them back, only to be told that it might be a couple of weeks before they sent it, that was normal – and, that it didn’t have to be signed before the technician showed up to turn on the water, since the call had been recorded.

So, 12 noon arrives, but no technician … I called to confirm he was coming and was told that he was just a little late, he’d be there momentarily.

At 12:30, I got a call from the technician verifying I was at the apartment. I thought that he was on site, but it wasn’t until 1pm that he actually buzzed the front door. I let him in, and then waited by the door for him to arrive at the apartment … and waited … and then five minutes later he called me to ask where I was. Evidently, I was supposed to meet him in the lobby and show him where the water mains were!

Anyways, I zipped down and showed him the door in the lobby where the water meters were. He turned two knobs, waved goodbye, and left! I ran back upstairs to make sure we did in fact have water, but evidently that’s all there was for him to do.

We needed to pick up a couple of things for the apartment, so we headed over to El Corte Inglês, the biggest department store in Portugal which is only about 300 meters (or three streets) from the apartment.

First stop was for lunch. On the first lower level is the supermarket and food court, with a dozen different kinds of fast and casual dining places. However, on the top floor of the building is the gourmet market plus some better food choices, including a pretty darned good Mexican restaurant.

After lunch, we dropped our purchases back at the apartment and then chilled at the hotel for a few hours. We were hoping to use the pool – there was a monitor in the lobby showing it, and it looked empty, so we headed up. Unfortunately, we came to find out the monitor was only showing a screenshot, not a live feed … there were about 10 people in a space posted for a maximum of seven, and the pool was only about the size of a ping-pong table.

Tuesday evening, we met up with our friend Amin for another Italian dinner – yeah, two in a row, but Italian is something I can eat a lot of! And this second place was amazingly delicious – it’s not in our neighborhood, but I think it will be a place we’ll return to whenever we need a special dinner.

An interesting note – the chef is Nepalese, who trained in Italy and then opened up a restaurant in Portugal. The restaurant is a bit of a landmark, having been opened since 1999, and they have over 60 different kinds of Grappa available for after dinner!

Wednesday morning started with an appointment at the apartment with the realtor, Mindy, and the attorney for the management company. We did a complete inspection and made note of any repair issues and received two giant keyrings of keys (there are keys to every door and closet in the house, plus some windows, another key to the building door, a key to the mailbox, and a key to the storage unit).

While they were there, the gas company arrived. The gas is provided by EDP, the same company as the electricity, and they have been without a doubt the easiest and most efficient to work with. They did an inspection and turned on the water heater and were on their merry way.

Amin came by to see the apartment after the appointments were done. We’re only about a 15-minute walk from his place, which is great. We’re probably five minutes from our friend Haseen’s apartment, too, which Kristie is really excited about – the two of them have become good friends and speak regularly, so it’s wonderful to be so close.

The last appointment for Wednesday was the one that was giving me the most apprehension. Did you read my story about the IMT and the process of getting my driver’s license? Well, two days after I published that I got an email from the IMT telling me I DID need an appointment for a photo and signature.

The good news was that they provided a link to a website where I could make the appointment instead of having to use the Android app. The bad news was that the earliest appointment in Porto was at the end of August – two weeks after the move to Lisboa would take place.

However, I noticed that it was possible to make appointments in Lisboa, too – and I was able to get one for the late afternoon on Wednesday at the Loja de Cidadão (Portuguese Citizen Shop, where they have all kinds of government services under one roof) that was only two streets from the hotel.

Armed with all my documentation and my appointment acknowledgement, I arrived a few minutes early, and only waited 10 minutes past the scheduled time. The clerk looked up my case – and then looked at my citizen card, and said, “This picture is current – we’ll just use it, you don’t need a picture taken.”

At this point, I’m supposed to get my license within the next two to three weeks. There’s a very good chance that it will arrive AFTER we’ve moved, but I’ve put in a change of address with the post office, and it’s supposed to be forwarded. We’ll see what happens next – worst-case scenario is that it gets lost in the mail, but since the provisional license is good through the end of the year, we’ll have time to straighten it all out as needs be.

Thursday the handyman came by to get the keys, and then Haseen met us at the apartment in the late morning to get the tour and then sit with us at the downstairs bakery for a coffee and snack. After that, it was time to lever the car out of the parking structure and head back to Porto.

At this point, it’s time to get the place packed up and cleaned. We’ve got some things to donate to the local equivalent of Goodwill, and we have some things to give away to friends. We’ve let everyone important know that we’re headed out, but also made promises to stay in touch that I really hope we keep!