The Big Night!

One of the traditions in our Rotary District 5190 is that the District Governor hosts a gathering at the International Convention for all of the District Rotarians that have traveled there. This year Kim was in charge of planning this event, and WOW what a great job she did! All over the internet and via email, she set up a reception with tapas at a Lisbon bar called "Irish and Company" that was right on the waterfront very near the convention center. The plan then was to grab a taxi and head to the Castle Sao Jorge (Saint George the Dragon Slayer) where we would all dine together at a fine restaurant called "Casa do Leao" (The Lion's House) that was located inside the castle! The big event was planned on the 25th, Tuesday night and as it drew nearer, we both started getting a little nervous. "Where will the taxis pick us up? What if there is no room at the bar? etc. etc.

Well, it all went perfectly and here's how! Irish and Company had a nice outdoor seating area and we got there just in time for happy hour. We had cerveza, vino, mojitos, you name it. Kim ordered enough tapas to spread around, and believe me: Rotarians know what to do when food and drink is available!

We started our evening at the Irish and Company pub near
the convention center and our hotel. On the left are Vic and
Kathie Slaughter, with Steve Spiller and Martha Eisenhower
on the right.

Kim enjoys some conversation with several District 5190
Rotarians who started the evening out upstairs. We all quickly
 retreated to the patio however.

We just kept adding tables as folks arrived. Pretty soon
we darn near owned the joint!

At 19:00 we had the folks from the pub call a taxi company and order cabs for the group. It turned out that the pick up point was only about 75 feet from our tables! As folks climbed in and headed out, it quickly became apparent that we were going to run out of cabs! No problem! With the help of a couple of the drivers, we hailed a couple of more and Kim and I climbed into the last cab to leave for the Castle.

Our cabs line up right behind the bar. We ended up two short and
had to hail another pair with the help of a couple of the drivers.

DGE (now DG) Vicki Puliz, Martha Eisenhower, and Carol Hatch
snuggle together in the back seat of a cab.

The first fortifications on the hill where the castle sits were constructed by the Romans about the time of Christ. The Moors built the main castle in the 10th century and occupied it until Afonso Henrique led an army of European knights to drive out the Moors and take the castle in 1147. Essentially the castle has been in use continuously for all this time! It was damaged substantially during the big quake, but rebuilt. In fact, it has been rebuilt and restored many times. The statue of Afonso Henrique in the court yard of the castle was donated by the city of Porto in 1947.

As we arrived at the castle, there was one small hitch. The castle is a National Park and requires a ticket to enter. We had to go to the ticket office and get a note that we had reservations at Casa Do Leao for 40 before the guard would let us enter. I guess it was easier for us to get in than Afonso's knights anyway!!

Here we took a group shot in front of a monument dedicated to
 Afonso Henriquez (he is the one with the sword) who led the
successful attack on the castle driving the Moors out in 1147.

We head up a sloping cobblestone court yard towads the restaurant.
The parapet of the castle is to the right and looks over the city  and
the Tagaus River

Ferries on the Tagaus River as viewed from the Castle's walls.
Imagine looking out and seeing Vasco De Gamma's Fleet of
Discovery heading out to circumnavigate the globe!

Rod and Susan Fivelstad pose in the late afternoon sun. Rod
was instrumental in promoting the Conventions and certainly
getting the word out about this event! 

By this time Kim and I were very relaxed and having a great time!

Once inside the restaurant, we knew we were in for a treat. The room was beautiful with an incredible brick arched ceiling that must have been hundreds of years old. We had our choice of two entrees: a codfish casserole, and a chicken pasta dish. Both were excellent. Wine was poured all around, and everyone had a marvelous time.

Casa Do Leao!

Richard Forster and his wife Laurie pose (at Kim's request of course)
to look like the ceramic tile artwork on the wall behind them.

A waiter replenishes the vino for Dick and Carol Hatch.

Jim O'Brien, one of my great Presidents, proposes a toast.
The arched brick ceiling is hundreds of years old!

It's my turn to toast. Look at the skyline of Lisboa through the
window behind me!

My toast is to the next District Governor.....Vicki Puliz!

After dinner, we exited the restaurant to the beautiful sight of Lisboa at night. The view, in the cool night breeze was truly magical. The restaurant once again arranged for a fleet of cabs to carry us back to our hotel. Once again we were short of taxis, but we had one of the drivers radio in an order for two additional before he took off. We had to shoulder out a group of Germans who had eyes on our cabs, but other than that, all went smoothly.

As we left the restaurant, the view was beautiful, magical actually!

Here we wait for our Taxis and the ride back to our hotel.
What a great evening! 

Back at the Hotel Tryp Oriente, Kim and I basked in the satisfaction of a night well planned and executed AND enjoyed! Actually, I basked, but Kim deserves ALL of the credit for putting this wonderful night together as the "capstone" to my year as District Governor. Abrigado Sweetheart!

That's All!