Lisbon Loose Ends

I’d like to tie up a few loose ends before I leave Lisbon.
Mustaches: Several guidebooks claim there are more mustaches [on males] per capita in Lisbon than in any other European country. This must be a very old statistic as I saw very few. No one under 50 wears one, that is for sure. Young men sport short-cropped hair, often a buzz cut, with no facial hair. They are into side burns but those are also closely cut. It’s that “I don’t want to look too groomed but it took me an hour this morning to get it right.” The attire is jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, and athletic shoes or very smart suits with very conservative ties.
Hippie Chicks: On first arrival I thought there were a lot of Euro-trash vagabond girls in Lisbon. Wrong! This is the look. All the finest stores have mannequins dressed in a 60s/70s hybrid. Bell bottoms, hip-huggers, tie-dye, ethnic accessories etc. The only difference from then and now is the ubiquitous mobile phone. The older women dress like my mother. There are “fabulous” clothes, shoes, bags etc. in all the trendy shops but I guess they are worn in town. This town is big on jewelry, costume and real.
Newspapers: You have to search high and low for an English language paper. You actually don’t see many newspapers at all. What you do see are Desktak and Global. These are free dailies and they have the most extensive distribution system. They are given out on every corner, in every store and café, and on all trains, buses, trams and the Metro. A guy gets on at one stop, walks through the cars dropping copies on the seats as if they were left there. He throws a few in the overhead shelves as well. Everyone reads them. It’s the first thing you grab when you board… even before finding a seat.
Chery: That’s another strange car. I think it’s made in China. It seems to be quite popular. It looks Japanese but doesn’t everything?
Shopping Centers: I mentioned Armazens do Chiado, Vasco da Gama and I visited a small one in Cascais this morning. I had lunch at El Corte Ingles today. This is not exactly a shopping center but it is big as the rest. This is one store; it’s a Spanish chain and it includes a supermarket as well. You enter it as you exit the Metro. It was mobbed. The restaurant was quite large with outside side seating which is spectacular as you are on top of the building 7 stories over the Parque.
I then mad my way down to the Rossio, the main square about 8 blocks north of the Praca do Comercio. Beautiful buildings surround it. Theatres and Municipal edifices share the space with hotels, apartments and shops. There is a metro station there. One hotel called Art Deco theatre complex. The façade has been preserved and it has a jungle growing out of the second story of the building. I will have to get a picture on this post.
I’ll close and get this posted and try to post from the Airport tomorrow. I can’t wait to get back to Rio, Dengue Fever and all.