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Published: September 29th 2022
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Still feeling like little piggies.
Visited our neighbours at the castle this morning. Immediately after brekkie I went to get some cash from the hole in the wall machine but when I discovered it would cost an extra €4.80 I cancelled the transaction and took out my card. Apparently I took the card out too quickly because the machine starting blaring and flashing! Despite, or maybe because I started pressing every button in an attempt to shut it off, it continued for an embarrassingly long time as I tried to slink away unnoticed. I found another machine that didn’t charge extra and didn’t swear at me. So cashed up we went across the street to the castle. The Castilo S Jorge is a dominant feature here. It’s obviously a tourist hot spot but it also dominates the landscape and the skyline which is really handy as it enables us to get our bearings with ease and confidence. A 12th century defensive castle and quite impressive. A threatening storm cloud and ominous horizon saw us leave a little prematurely and we sort the sanctuary of the San Antonio cafe which happens to have excellent tarts. It’s very close to our BnB and
was on our morning itinerary but we may have been a little early. Home for a hour or so then off to our favourite tapas/restaurant for a lunch soup (pumpkin for Lee, gazpacho for me). It’s called the Conqvistido (yes with a v not a u!). They have a slightly upmarket restaurant, a tapas bar, a cafe and a gelateria that all within a few metres of each other. Timed it perfectly as it rained quite heavily during our time at home.
Cleared up well and the sun is out again so off we set for the iconic 28 tram. Too busy on board for me to get a seat and as such I missed most of the sights. As well it has a reputation for attracting pick pockets so it’s difficult to look out the windows and look after your wallet and backpack at the same time! It was fine because everyone else seemed to be a tourist as well but … Then at the end of the line they kicked everyone off. I had assumed that we could ride the route back to where we managed to get on, but no. The queue to get back on
was too long so we walked back thanks to the guiding outline of the castle and to a couple of my exploratory walks. Lisbon is hilly so is not easy but Lee still looked appreciably better than several of the tourists at the castle this morning.
Little stop at the supermarket for some grapes and tea and then home. But not before another call to the San Antonio cafe for a couple of emergency tarts. Just as good as this morning but in the comfort of our place. I have a coffee machine here that is similar to the pod machines but you put ground coffee into a holder and make it as strong or weak as you like. It is very good and the coffee here is infinitely better than in England. Do they have different beans? Do they roast differently?
Most likely back to the same bar later as we have enjoyed the food and service. I’m looking for grilled sardines and starting to get serious about locating them. I think they are on the upmarket restaurant menu but I’m confident we can get them in the tapas bar. We’ll see.
That’s it for now. Caio.
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