From Lisbon to Belgium

I am in Belgium, tired and very cranky. The meeting in Lisbon this morning went well though. I never screwed up the courage to walk around alone, but I was able to see more of Lisbon when I went to lunch with Antonio along the Tagus River, at a modern, upscale restaurant called Belem Bar Cafe or "BBC." Aside from the tents that they were erecting right outside the windows for the restaurant's fifth anniversary party, the view was fabulous. The April 25th Bridge was in the background - apparently it's the pre-cursor to our Golden Gate Bridge. Antonio said it was the test bridge. The sun glittered off the water while we ate, which sounds and was beautiful, but did make me yearn to put my sunglasses on. I thought it wouldn't be very professional though, so I abstained. I had pasta, and yes, Antonio had the octopus. Blech. One long tentacle draped ceremoniously on his plate. M. Now I am in Brussels, at the Rocco Forte Hotel Amigo. I learned several things about Virgin Express today - it's extremely crowded, and not with business travelers, there is literally no leg room, if you want food, you must pay for it, and it's totally not advisable to fly this airline when you are jet lagged and cranky. Also, I think they went cheaper on their pilots too, because I wasn't so sure that ours wasn't going to smack the right wing right onto the runway as we were landing. But I survived the flight and from what I saw of Brussels driving in, it reminded me of Vienna. So I heaved a giant sigh of relief and said "Ah, a true European city." It's just how I like them. So we'll see what tomorrow brings! But no morning sightseeing - I am too darn tired!!