Portugal - Lisbon

Tuesday 5 February 2008

Over the rolling hills of Portugal we drove, around the southern coastline, past the popular seaside town of Faro, and up the western coastline towards Lisbon. We stopped at a service station along the way for the driver’s rest break. We weren’t excited by buying dinner from a diner with such a name (photo).

It was quite late when we arrived in Lisbon so we caught a train from the bus station to the city and went straight to our hostel. Gladly, our hostel was very well located in the city so we only had to walk a couple of blocks through the lovely marble cobblestoned streets (photo) to get there.

Easy Lisbon Hostel was fantastic. It is a small hostel with only four dorm rooms but it means that the staff are able to manage the place well. It has a cosy atmosphere and every facility we could dream of - there was even a PlayStation for the young at heart, until it was stolen on our last day there. Unfortunately the ‘free laundry’ facility meant that everyone’s laundry goes in together and comes out together so you have to sort through everyone else’s undies to find your own.

Exhausted, we settled in for the evening in preparation for a big day in Lisbon.

Wednesday 6 February 2008

Wandering around the old streets of the Alfama district, we admired the gorgeous Cathedral (photo) and the painted tiles that decorate the buildings (photos). We found our way to the Museu du Fado where we learned all about the history of how this wonderful local music, known as Fado, developed. The exhibition also included many samples of historic and modern tunes.

We tried to find our way up to the Castelo (aka the castle) but got miserably lost on the tram and ended up in the far northern-most district of the city. Barbara was exhausted and feeling a little under the weather so she headed back to the hostel for a snooze while Michael went in search of better maps and a money-changer. He also detoured for a couple of nice tram rides, strolling through the tiny streets and a walk along the waterfront (photos). Returning with some success, we decided to defer our second attempt at the Castelo until the next day and instead we went for a sunset stroll along the waterfront at the Praca do Comercio (aka Plaza of Commerce). Stunning (photos)!!

Michael cooked a lovely dinner at the hostel that evening and over this dinner we met two lovely Canadians, Rob and Alena. The hostel also filled to the brim with American teenage girls on holidays and got quite noisy. The hostel staff dealt with them appropriately!

Thursday 7 February 2008

A bus! A bus was what we needed to get to Castelo! Some of the streets up the hills were so narrow that a tram could not turn the corners so a bus was needed. Unfortunately the transport system does not distinguish between a bus and a tram so you know the route number but aren’t sure if you’re looking out for a bus or a tram. We caught a bus from just outside the Cathedral and it wove its way up through the winding streets (photo) and up to the Castelo.

The Castelo de Sao Jorge, being the Castle of St George, (photos) is an old castle perched high on the hills above Lisbon making the views from it quite spectacular (photos). It has been partially restored to house a museum, however the restoration process was still underway when we were there and it was very noisy so that we could hardly hear the movies being played. Its current inhabitants are a family of beautiful peacocks (photo) and one cheeky Michael (photo).

When we had finished playing in the castle, we caught the bus back down to the city and then one of the antique yellow trams (photo) out to Belem, just west of the city.

As we disembarked the tram, right before us stood the Monastery of the Hieronymites (photos). We took a peek inside and gazed up into its fanned ceilings.

A short stroll along the waterfront, and sneaking past a rather savage dog protecting a carpark, brought us to the Torre de Belem (photo) which previously was used as arms storage and a prison. We were very impressed that outside the tower is a miniature replica of the tower for blind people to be able to ‘see’ the tower too! (photo). We ventured inside and explored the narrow passage ways (photo) and the dungeons (photo) - they obviously had very short prisoners!

Back along the waterfront and into town we went, in search of Lisbon’s famous Portuguese custard tarts. We found them at the 170 year old Pasteis de Belem (photo).

With full bellies, we headed back to the city for dinner! We met up with Rob and Alena and their friends from Vancouver and headed out to the Alfama distrct in search of a restaurant that had been recommended to Rob. We found the Tasca Da Se quite easily and enjoyed generous portions of local specialties including cod cooked in various different ways.

We wandered through the Alfama after dinner in search of a Fado performance but most of the venues were already full. We had been advised to steer clear of those that call you inside from the street but as no others were available we took up the offer of the restaurant that had been hollering to us all night. With a little haggling, we managed to get a reasonable deal that we would not have to pay for entry so long as we bought drinks. We enjoyed a jug of Sangria, red wine with fruit (photo), and a few beers during the show. The performance was phenomenal! The music and singing were so moving, so soulful! A lovely time was had by all (photos) - until the bill came. They tried to con us and said we hadn’t bought enough drinks so we had to pay cover charge in addition to the drinks charge - rip off! They hadn’t told us that there was a minimum spend and we had only been there for the last 15 minutes of the show - how much did they expect us to drink in that time?! After some frank discussions with the waiter and the manager, it was agreed that we would not be charged for cover! A very satisfactory outcome, however the manner in which it came about was quite unpleasant. We learned our lesson to beware of those who beckon you inside!

We bid a temporary fond farewell to our Canadian companions, as we were sure to see them again!

Friday 8 February 2008

We checked out of Easy Lisbon Hostel quite early in the morning and bid it, too, a fond farewell. It had been one of the best hostels we had stayed in and enjoyed our time there very much.

We caught a train to the bus station, which actually entailed a train then a long walk to the bus station with all of our luggage, and hopped a bus (photo) north to Porto.

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