After our 3 hour walking tour was up, we glanced at each other with knowing looks. None of us wanted to eat alone and so we didn’t.
Stuttgart. Frankfurt. Santender. New York. New friends across four cities sitting at one table in Lisbon.
We walked into the tasca where we were greeted by what seemed to be the owner, the waiter, the chef, and the bus boy all in one. We pointed to a few items on the menu we couldn’t pronounce. We discovered you can pay 4 euros for a reasonably good bottle of house wine. We shared our stories. We shared the bacalao.
It was the first time in weeks I laughed deep belly laughs.
I think of dining tables as the first social networks. They bring people together, fuel conversation, and create community. It’s a technology that transcends culture and time.