May 10 - Porto and a Misadventure!

 Our last stay in Portugal is in Porto.  It was only about 40 minutes away from our last stay in  Vagos.  We drove directly to our apartment to drop off all our luggage and meet our host and then took the car to the airport to drop it off.  

Our apartment has a fantastic view of the river.  The gondolas fly overhead all day, the boats go up and down the river.  It is beautiful.  We really debated whether the price of the apartment was worth the view - it definitely is!  

Once back from the airport we went out to find lunch and then some groceries.  Our host steered us right we had a fabulous lunch.  I had bass fish with fries and Michael choose the national tripe dish. The tripe is pretty tasteless - just protein - but the beans and rich flavors won him over.  My fish was done to perfection.  

Porto is all hills - We thought we might walk to the metro and use the metro to get around, but we quickly learned that our aged bodies can not handle all the stairs and steep inclines for the distances required.  So Uber will be our friend.  

Our lunch was so filling - no dinner required tonight.  We thought the sun would be out of our line of site - but no - it is directly in the view from our bedroom windows.   So all evening we were going out to the balcony off my bedroom to take photos of the sun setting over the city of Porto.

And then the lights of the city come on!

I must have gone in and out 8 - 10 times with no problem.  Michael decided to put on headphones and listen to music while he worked in the living room.  I went out one more time to see what the city lights looked like.  Somehow I locked myself out on the balcony.  It is no longer warm.  In fact it is getting really cold.  I pound on the door, I channel my deepest thoughts to Michael - I am out on the balcony - come and rescue me.  Finally I channel - Michael you have to pee!!! Because the bathrooms are in the hallway to my bedroom and he will see me.  He does not have to pee.  

As I keep pounding on the door I realize I have gotten the attention of a young man on the street.  He calls to me in Portuguese - I don't understand him.  By now I have been locked out for a long time.  I try to explain to him by mimicking that my husband has on earphones and cannot hear me - and I can't get in.  This goes on for 10 - 15 minutes.  He is on his phone.  Another man comes out and talks to the first one.  They both keep gesturing to me.  Then suddenly the first guy is standing in my bedroom and unlocking the balcony door.  Michael is oblivious to the whole thing.  I go into the main area and Michael is shocked that all this has happened.  

This is not as bad as when I was locked in the saferoom in our Jerusalem Airbnb for most of a night.  I had a horrible cold and could not breath and I desperately had to go to the bathroom.    But Michael finally saw my calls and texts and rescued me - but I was not cold and I did not wet the bed.

So that is why this blog is called Adventures and Misadventures Abroad!