Wine fixes everything.

Our main goal today was to meet the woman, Helena, that owns the apartment we have arranged to lease initially. In order to get our visa approved, we need to be able to show about a 6-month lease that is registered with the local authorities. One of Gail’s jobs was to assist us with securing that. Through a series of coincidences, we were able to find Helena and this apartment and Gail was able to meet and negotiate with her on our behalf prior to our visit. Getting a lease done long-distance can be very difficult as the Portuguese like to do everything face-to-face. We were very fortunate that Gail was able to work this all out. However, Helena was nervous that we would change our minds and needed our pre-payment of 2 months’ rent plus 1-month security deposit to feel comfortable about us.

We transferred money from the US to our new Portuguese bank account last Tuesday. This morning I was to transfer the money needed to Helena’s bank account to be there before we met to sign the lease at 5:30. But, I kept getting “not authorized” notices when I tried online on my ActivoBank account. The mobile app also would not work as it kept saying it was sending me a text code I needed to enter, but I would never get the code. I tried many times. So, Gail decided to come meet us early to help us try to do it on a multibanco machine (ATM.) She didn’t want me to try without her as they have no English option. She said we needed to do it by 3:00 in order for it to complete today (Friday) and not take until Monday to post to Helena’s account. Unfortunately, Gail was going to be cutting it close as she was dealing with her own internet issues at home.

So, we headed down to the riverfront for some pastries. Then we decided we could not leave Porto without sampling some port wines. That would just be wrong! Of all the many port houses located in the area, we opted to head straight uphill to Taylor because we had heard they have nice facilities. It’s hard to explain just how steep the climb is until you do it. With my tired old legs, I had to stop multiple times along the way up.

We finally arrived and were eventually provided a menu. We chose a 5-port tasting to share for 30 euros. Our sweet, young server did a great job of explaining it all and we enjoyed the samples more than we would have expected since we generally shy away from any sweet or dessert wines. It turns out that some port wines (actually wines fortified with alcohol) are pretty tasty.

After a leisurely time at Taylor, we hoofed it back downhill to the riverfront for a late lunch and to wait for Gail. She finally arrived at 2:50 and we raced to the nearby multibanco machine. Even with her help, the same thing would happen; I’d get all the way to the end of the transfer then get an error message. I tried doing a normal 40 euro cash withdrawl. No problems there. We were all stumped.

Now it was past 3:00, so we gave up and headed to a quieter cafe Gail knew to try calling customer service at the bank. It was a really cute place where we had excellent lattes and desserts while Gail got the customer service person on the phone then handed him to me. It turned out the bank had transposed 2 digits in my phone number when they entered it during set-up. He said I needed to go back to the multibanco machine & it would allow me to make the change to my phone number there instantly. Which we did. Then, we were able to easily transfer the money to Helena. At least I’d be able to show it to her on my phone.

By now it was time to race to the apartment to meet Helena, We only had a small window of time to see the apartment before her airbnb clients were going to arrive. 

We grabbed a taxi and off we went. Helena turned out to be very sweet and very proud of her place. She had bought it right out of college years ago and is hanging on to it as her security for old age. She never wants to sell. It is something she owns independently without her husband which is a big deal. 

The apartment is small but cute with magnificent balcony views east and also west overlooking the river. It is the top (10th) floor unit. We were excited to find it for the view and also because it gives us direct access right out front to the metro line so it will be easy to explore while living there our first 5.5 months. By Portuguese standards, we are paying a premium rental rate. But, it is still less than we are paying for our Cornelius apartment – with a much better view. It does have 2 bedrooms, so we can have guests. The kitchen and living areas are tiny, though.

We chatted and signed the contract and exchanged email addresses. I could tell that Helena felt much better after meeting us and we certainly felt much better knowing we have the rental agreement needed to get our visa.

After that hurdle, we rode with Gail a couple stops up the metro line to see the El Cortes de Ingles department store. She said people come from all over to shop there as there are only a couple in Portugal. It is a Spanish company; largest department store in Europe. It is like a combination of Nordstroms, Macy’s, and Harrods. There is a giant food court on the lower level that has some nicer high end options. Plus there is a full-sized grocery store with a lot of specialty products not found elsewhere. (like canned pumpkin for Thanksgiving.) There is a pharmacy, nail salon, and many other specialty services. And, of course, the upper floors have clothing and everything else you could imagine a department store having. Gail said she knows people who are quite addicted to this place and spend all day there. It will be handy (or dangerous) to have it close by.

We said our goodbyes to Gail then went back into the grocery store to pick up wine and snacks to call dinner. By the time we walked back to our airbnb, we knew we weren’t going to have the strength to go out again.

We felt like we had accomplished much.