Day 2 - Lisbon

It was rain in Spain in October, snow in Dallas and NYC in January and now rain is forecast for early afternoon!! 

It was dark last night when we arrived so we could not admire the river view. This morning I opened the curtains to reveal the view of the River Tagus 

The sky looks threatening - a cruise ship moored on the river, I wager. The cruise  industry has been heavily hit by Covid. 

We adjourned to the restaurant for breakfast - not the usual Continental but serving eggs any style - Eggs Benedict - my favourite. The orange juice was excellent as the oranges, the waitress informed us, were from a particular region (whose name I can’t recall), selected for their high concentration of juice.  The bread and pastries were delicious. 

Well fortified for a long day of sightseeing, we walked up behind the hotel into the Alfama. In Moorish Times  it was the grandest part of the city but as Lisbon expanded the Christian nobility moved out and it was left to the fishermen. It’s a labyrinth of streets where one can lose all sense of direction!! 

We passed a portion of the old city wall. 

As we progressed through the Alfama, street art abounded everywhere .

- the latter advertising a small local restaurant. 

One local artist was busy painting a street box 

Churches abounded - as befitting a Catholic country. 

Note the Tuk Tuk above - the only European city I have seen them in 

We trudged on up steep lanes followed by brief stretches of level streets. 

Our destination was Martin Muniz, the square from where the famous 28 tram, built in England in the early twentieth century, resplendent in polished wood and chrome, commences it journey through the Alfama to Baixa and on to the city centre. It traverses some of Lisbon’s narrowest and steepest streets. 

Midway to the 28 Tram terminus, we were able to pick up the tram. In the height of the tourist season this would not be possible, such is the demand. If you should find yourself unable to board the 28, take the 25 whose route is almost identical. 

We took the train going towards the river, thinking it did a loop but alas no, we had to vacate this train and board another which took us up through Alfama  and Baixa to the terminus at Martin Muniz, where even on a dull March day a queue had formed for Tram 28. 

As we walked from here to the wealthy part of Lisbon, the Chiado, we passed Elevador De Santa Justa. I’m reliably informed that I used it on my last visit  to Lisbon 31 years ago!!! I have no recollection!! Raul Mesnier’s , a disciple of Eiffel constricted the eccentric building in 1902, which whisk you 32 m to a platform high above Baixa. 

On we walked to Rua Augusta 

             The street scape facing the sea

The arch displays figures such as Vasco the Gama, the Portuguese explorer who sailed around the Capf of Good Hope and on to India. 

                     And facing inland 

Arriving on Rua Garret, we visited the most famous of the old style Lisbon coffee houses, Café Brasileira, opened in 1905. The terrace is very popular but the interior is a joy to behold, polished wood and the most extensive display of pastries, including the famous and utterly delicious Pastel da Nata. 

Outside is a sculpture of the famous poet, Fernando Pessoa 

Nearby is another old Lisbon café, Benard, often overlooked because of its proximity to its neighbour. 

Beautiful squares abound 

Praça Do Comércio by the river looks up the oldest street in Lisbon - Rua Augusta.  

Our final call of the day was to Castelo Sao Jorge, originally a Moorish Castle, later a palace and prison, now boasts Lisbon’s best viewpoints. En route we passed Lisbon Cathedral Sé, built in 1170, on the site of a previous Mosque to commemorate the reconquest of the city from the Moors. As we wound our way up steep streets. 

a request for directions from a local, eased our journey by informing us that around the corner in a supermarket was a lift that would bring us further up the hill. It was some relief from the long, steep climb!! 

Arriving at the Castelo, we were rewarded with superb views of the city. 

The most visited tourist sight in Lisbon, once the site of a walled city that stretched to the river.

The Castelo is so vast none but an aerial photograph would do it justice 

I climbed and walked the ramparts 

 

 In 1147, it was besieged by the the Crusaders, who together with King Alfonso 1, captured the city after 400 years of Moorish rule. The Portuguese kings lived in the Castelo until the sixteenth century, when they moved to a new palace on on Praça do Comércio. It was refurbished for Expo 98. 

There is an interesting exhibition hall detailing the Moorish way of life 

We can blame the 16th century explores for introducing smoking to Europe!! 

As we left the Castelo, it was raining heavily so we took a bus down to the river and from there a taxi back to the hotel - again a superb transport system.