Claire and Phil

A bit of Aptis in the morning and then met up with friends Claire and Phil in the cafe in Turo Park in the late afternoon.  Since we last saw them, they've been to the States and we've been to Madrid and Lisbon and we'll all soon be on holiday and so this was a last minute chance to catch up. 

Bb and I had spaghetti bolognese for dinner at the Italian round the corner. We also discovered today that Mario 2 Italian restaurant (aka 'our Italian') on Avenida Sarria has changed hands and now has a new name.  We loved Mario 2.  It was just round the corner from our first flat when we arrived in 1991 and all the waiters were very welcoming.  We've had some good nights there over the years with different groups of family and friends.  I remember going in for a takeaway pizza one night when Bb was studying at a friend's flat during his MBA days and once the waiters knew that I was taking the pizza back to the flat to have it on my own, they insisted that I stay there and eat it at the bar!!  Happy memories of all the waiters, the red check table cloths and their great pizzas and even better spaghetti bolognese-pesto!   The new place doesn't look like our cup of tea at all, so I think it's adios rather than hasta el proximo. 

It was fun to exchange a few whatsapps during the day with friend and blipper arclight, who's currently in Río de Janeiro, and even a photo when she was standing outside our flat there! 

Somehow managed 10,000 steps, but the total count is lower this week what with my work in Lisbon and the days travelling.