I love this As you guessed, these are places where people can get basic lab tests and diagnostic exams done (blood, urine, stool, ECG, biopsies, allergy tests… it varies from lab to lab). I think you can do them without a referral, but you’ll pay a lot more that way. So, usually people go there with a referral from their family doctor or another primary healthcare physician (in our Centros de Saúde) for routine check-ups or non-routine tests. I don’t know if these labs usually offer the option of reporting directly to the health insurance company, especially since many people won’t have insurance (due to our public healthcare system). What generally happens, in my experience, is that you come back after a couple days and they just hand you the results in a closed envelope. Then, it’s up to you. Most times, you’ll open and check them and then also share the results with your family doctor in your next appointment. Some people actually don’t open it at all and hand it sealed to the doctor - no need! This information is addressed and belongs to the patient.
If you go to a hospital, whatever exams you need will be taken care of right then and there - these Análises Clínicas labs are mainly to support basic primary healthcare.
This is very true and very annoying. Also, the drivers who bang on the horn as soon as it turns green, without giving people time to react (or even if they already have). Our Code also stresses that the horn is to warn of any immediate danger, nothing more, but that’s one of many rules that people routinely ignore. There are even drivers merging left and right in an eternal zigzag with no advance warning, because their time is so much more important than everyone else’s. I’ve seen things…
Thank you, Joseph! I really appreciate your helpful, funny, eloquent replies. Even if the learning aspects of this site weren’t so brilliant (which they are), it would be worth the subscription just to have this friendly source of information.
“Some people actually don’t open it at all and hand it sealed to the doctor - no need!” – I can’t help thinking this must be another Portuguese trait (fatalism?) that is not shared by the Brits. If it were me, I’d be Googling the results avidly until my morbid curiosity was satisfied by the self-diagnosis of some rare but ghastly/irreversible condition.
…which brings me to another difference I’ve noticed, which is that as far as I can tell the Portuguese generally seem to spend a lot of time on their mobile phones but don’t seem particularly interested in the internet. Internet shopping has yet to take over everyone’s world (I rather hope it doesn’t, but it seems inevitable) and a lot of websites – even of big store chains like Worten and Leroy Merlin – are rather basic. I’m also amused by the fact that my bank’s website (BPI) includes a “Produtos Prestígio” page which is an online store, trying to sell me all sorts of things from expensive china dinner sets to bicycles and jewellery, which strikes me as rather incompatible with banking ethics (I guess all banks make their money from overdrafts…)!
Regarding the lab test results, for many people, it’s about fatalism, but there are also lots of patients who assume that the letter is for the doctor first and foremost, not themselves. There’s a certain reverence to the doctor figure, especially from older generations.
Also, I didn’t know that BPI sold random stuff on their website. Odd
@j1711, @nicolebgarcia: Having eaten the pasteis de nata both from Lowell Portuguese Bakery (it’s only 20 minutes from my house!) and the Silver Star Bakery (among others in Providence, Fall River, and other places in that general vicinity – all of which are a couple hours away), I can attest that the Silver Star ones are superior, though both are delicious. I am more than willing to “settle” for the 20 minute drive on late a Sunday morning to enjoy a sandes mixta, a pastel de nata, and a bica at the bakery in Lowell!
Thanks for the information. Unfortunately. Lowell, while closer than Providence, is several hours from here in Brunswick, ME. But it is good to know that the Lowell Portuguese Bakery is good. It would make a good stop for a morning coffee when I am driving south. Muito Obrigado
Wow, this could take some time to reply but I will limit myself to a few things.
1.The People. I notice when I went to Lisbon is how friendly the people are, polite, kind, and approachable. I know everyone says this, but it’s true and as an American who traveled solo, it made me much more comfortable and able to enjoy the city. I loved that locals would help me with Portuguese (when they started using English, I asked them not to because I was in Lisbon to learn Portuguese).
*** on a side note-My daughter was studying in Rome while I was in Lisbon and came to visit me. She immediately mentioned how polite the people were and how the men weren’t rude and disrespectful to women.
2. Dinner time. We (my family) are used to eating around 6pm (at home and at restaurants). When I went out in Lisbon, I kind of giggled to myself when I had to ask for the bill because here, the servers will bring your check before you finish your main dish!
3. Laundry I absolutely love seeing the laundry hanging from the windows.
4. Architecture Each and every building, whether maintained or in need of loving care is a visual feast. I love the combination of different styles in the construction.
5. Driving in Portugal is not for the faint of heart. Roundabouts are somewhat intimidating the first few times you encounter them. The driving outside the city limits was like any other place I’ve been, but the city driving is an experience not to be taken lightly.
6. Sardines they look fantastic, taste “meh” (to me) but smell divine! I didn’t think I would like the smell as much as I did and certainly didn’t think I would miss it as much as I do.
I’m sure I could write more but these are the first things that came to mind.
This is neither a quirk nor an oddity, it is what I love about Pt, wherever I go in the country. The people, from the supermercado check out person, to strangers in the street, to airport staff. The people are good, soft, friendly, welcoming and helpful. I often come and go across the border to Spain and it really is so markedly different. Portuguese people take time and if you ask for any assistance or just look in need, somebody helps. I have had airport security guys fire up a set of scales because I was so worried about my semi brokem bulging mala, an old man carefully walk me to a better tram stop to use the Numero 28 in Lisboa, a local restaurant owner giving me free port wine and encouraging me to hang out with the family while his daughter sang fado. And I am old and certainly not an attraction to the eye, lol. People make the country and the Pt people are why it has my heart, ( plus my Pt partner) lol.
I’m kind of in love with the andorinhas. I see them everywhere (and not just the ceramic ones). They are so quick and graceful in their flight. Also, they are far more fun to look at than sardines
@Paige - I love the andorinhas, too! Here’s a quicktime video I took from my iPhone on the last morning we were in Lisboa in July before returning home. It’s mostly andorinhas in flight just after first light outside our AirBnB in Chiado, with a few seagulls and a brief shot of the very interesting chimney on the preschool building across our little road tossed in for good measure!
I don’t think so. It’s basically just a shared note from Evernote - shared with everyone who has the URL that I inserted. I’ll go double-check to make sure there’s nothing blocking anyone.
–Phil
Not sure if this has been mentioned, but the sidewalks of Lisbon, paved everywhere with small tiles, can be incredibly dangerous when wet with rain! O meu Deus! I am wondering if the large number of people I saw walking about with canes and crutches is due to people slipping on these things! Some of the sidewalks, also, are quite uneven and tilted, so the possibility of slipping and falling seems incredibly high to me!
Hi, Mac! I agree–we would lose the charm of Lisbon! The only other time I was in Lisbon it didn’t rain, so this was a new experience for me. I just kept imagining myself sliding downhill all the way into the Rio Tejo!
In recent years, the powers that be have acknowledged the inherent danger of walking over those tiles when they’re wet or very uneven and they have implemented alternative solutions in parts of town.
Some are very drastic, like here, where all the calçada portuguesa was removed a few years back (Praça do Areeiro):
Joseph.
The hybrid in the second photo still says “Portugal” and is certainly my favorite but I’m a traditionalist and prefer "a calcada portuguesa "…often unfinished and uneven but that is Portugal. I love it (and I’m fairly fond of Brasil too).
As you guessed, these are places where people can get basic lab tests and diagnostic exams done (blood, urine, stool, ECG, biopsies, allergy tests… it varies from lab to lab). I think you can do them without a referral, but you’ll pay a lot more that way. So, usually people go there with a referral from their family doctor or another primary healthcare physician (in our Centros de Saúde) for routine check-ups or non-routine tests. I don’t know if these labs usually offer the option of reporting directly to the health insurance company, especially since many people won’t have insurance (due to our public healthcare system). What generally happens, in my experience, is that you come back after a couple days and they just hand you the results in a closed envelope. Then, it’s up to you. Most times, you’ll open and check them and then also share the results with your family doctor in your next appointment. Some people actually don’t open it at all and hand it sealed to the doctor - no need! This information is addressed and belongs to the patient.
