That's What You Thought!

I should be wandering the streets of the Bairro Alto neighborhood. Admiring Igreja do Carmo. If all went correctly I would be planning my visit to Sinatra. By now, I would have taken pictures in the Jardim Botânico da Ajuda. Of the Centro de Arte Moderna. And in front of the Ivory Salt Cellar. Above all, I should be eating saloio, feijoada, and lula.

But. I’m not.

Iceland’s Eyjafjallajoekull volcano irrupted. Sending an enormous ash cloud into the sky. Initially the cloud blocked the flight path from the United States to northern Europe. Cancelling flights. As the cloud moved south – over the U.K. and Ireland – planes were grounded in all regional airports. Including Heathrow and Dublin. Continuing south the ash suspended travel in France, Belgium, Scandinavia, and Switzerland.

Over 120,000 people were disrupted in Paris alone. I was one of them. My flight to Lisbon, Portugal? Indefinitely suspended.

Being a bit depressed over cancelled plans I joined the pity party my friends created. Bruna was going with me to Portugal. Carolyn was supposed to be in Spain with her mother. Gill is stranded in Ireland. Lara’s boyfriend was coming from Dubai. And Lauren – avec mother – had plans for Italy.

Like anything in life. There’s a silver-lining

Our good friend, E’Lane, is having her birthday on Sunday. Now we will be in town to celebrate, on-time and properly. I met up with some ex-business acquaintances – now friends – from the egg industry for dinner last night. And by the end of the weekend, I will be caught up on laundry.

Moreover. Something grand – perhaps more than last night’s business dinner or E’Lane’s birthday – will occur this weekend. Something that will make me step back and say, I’m glad I didn’t make it to Lisbon!