It’s nice traveling with Pa. He’s quiet. Wants for nothing. And keeps up, step for step. I wasn’t sure how it would be, having last seen him nearly sixty years ago. He’s not aged a bit. Seems younger, even. I’m sure as time goes on he’ll tell me how it’s been. For now, he seems content to follow my lead.
Pa slept all the way to Amsterdam, waking just as we landed. He was delighted to be on the soil of his forefathers. His one regret, he said, was that he never visited the Netherlands. Never even left the states. I’ve not processed yet how this trip might be for him. But I think he’s as excited as I am.
We arrived in Lisbon late yesterday, navigating the airport with little difficulty. Pa was amazed of course. Everything he saw was new. I believe I’ll learn much from him about the art of paying attention.
After figuring out the ticket system, we caught the metro and arrived at our place about dinner time. Following a short nap, we hit the streets in search of Portuguese fare, settling on Vietnamese instead, grateful for the simple meal and the conversation with the owner and his son.
It’s 9AM here. Time to get out the door and visit the city. Time to really get started. Time to take seriously Henry Miller’s prescription for travel that one’s destination is never a place, “but a new way of seeing things.”
Fred Van Liew
Lookin forward to hangin out with you n Pa…. thanks!