Lost in Lisbon

Sofía was sure the museum was three streets away. According to her map, all she had to do was turn left. But Lisbon's streets did not behave like streets in other cities. They climbed. They twisted. They ended without warning.

After twenty minutes, she stopped on a small square she had never seen on any map. A cat was asleep on a chair. An old woman was hanging clothes from a balcony.

"Excuse me," Sofía called up. "Do you know the way to the museum?" The old woman frowned and disappeared inside. Sofía thought she had been rude. But a minute later, the woman came out of the front door of the building, slowly, holding a piece of paper.

She had drawn a small map by hand. Three streets, two corners, a fountain. "Don't trust the phone here," she said in careful English. "The phone gets confused in this neighborhood."

Sofía thanked her. She did not find the museum that afternoon. She kept the paper map for the rest of the trip.