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Published: March 28th 2008
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Hi Friends and Family,
Our breakfast this morning was scrambled eggs and 2 slices of toast served by the hostel staff and help-yourself tea, coffee, cocoa and juice. We were still hungry so we asked for another batch and the ladies were happy to oblige us.
The plan today was to go to the "Bairro Alto", the "Baixa / Chiado" and the "Al Fama" areas.
The "Baixa" is the 18th Century part of the lower town which is surrounded by hills and a network of cobbled streets. "Chiado" is Lisbon's most elegant shopping area and the "Alfama" is the oldest and most traditional part of Lisbon and seems to be a village within the city. We didn't want a "guided look" of the "Alfama" so we just immersed ourselves into the area and followed the streets which seemed the steepest and the narrowest! All around were washing lines stretched across the windows or streets and tiny windows and doors filled with flaps and half door shutters. The "Alfama" is located on a craggy hill overlooked by the "Castelo de Sao Jorge, luckily we were both wearing sturdy trainers!!
Earlier this morning, I took a photo of the
view outside our window which is pretty scenic, and the High Street, right outside our front door. In the local shops near the sea front, you can find stock fish and all sorts of other fish, fresh fruit and veg and lots of bottles of wine and port.
The "Bairro Alto" is the upper town which we got to after checking out the local market stalls and by using the very famous and most unique "elevadores" (Funicular Rrailway ). We practically stumbled onto it and took it to an area and square which was surrounded by the churches of St. Peter and Paul ( I think ) and very fancy shops. We were now in the "Chiado" and I was plesantly surprised by the quality. They had good stuff!
We found ourselves in the "Armazens do Chiado" which is the top shopping centre and had top floor cafes offering very fine city views. Loads of Portuguese people were pouring onto that floor. Monday is not a holy day in Portugal and so we joined the crowds. "The Berliner-in" went to a salad bar while I went to an eatery that was charging €5 for a plate of either
fish or chicken. I choose grilled fish and fried potatoes with a side salad, bread ( instead of coffee ) and a cup of red wine.
We went to the Eglise de S. church and walked around once again. We saw so many churches but unfortunately, I can't remember all their names but they were very impressive nevertheless!
We checked out lots of restaurants ( through the window ) as we were very keen on going to local places serving fresh fish and Portuguese cuisine. We popped into a local fish restaurant called " Adega de S. Rigue". It looked homely and welcoming and most importantly was filled with Portuguese people. We took a restaurant card so that we could find the place again and decided to come back another day, as we were quite tired.
For dinner, we had tuna, tomato, crunchy bread and a bottle of red local wine which we bought from a local shop in the down to earth riverside district of "Casi do Sodre".
In the evenings, the hostel always organises an event and that evening it was "Wine Tasting Night". For €5 you could "taste" as much wine as you
wanted coupled with a history of the various bottles of plonk made available. I booked a place and at 10 p.m. nine people included myself, participated inn the fine event. 1 American, 1 Portuguese, 1 Swiss / Portuguese, 3 Germans, 1 Brit, 1 Hungarian and myself.
We tasted green wine which was nice and reminded me of Proseco and various red and white wines. As the evening progressed, less discussion about the wines took place and more talk about the interests and backgrounds of all present took over. We got quite merry as the night staff had to constantly implore us to keep it down! At a little after 1 a.m., I called it a night.
Good Night!
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peter42y
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visit sintra
its great you are enjoying lisbon. i think you should visit lisbon aquarium ( Called oceanario ) http://www.oceanario.pt/site/ol_home_00.asp?popup=1 You should also go to Sintra , a small vilage 30 KM , around 20 miles from Lisbon. You can take a train to Sintra. In sintra there is a palace you can visit but try to arrive there before 4 PM since it might close around that time. Beware downtown lisbon after dark It has a bad reputation among nationals. Actually I am portuguese, I have lived in Lisbon since I was born and I do notfeel confortable venturing in downtown lisbon after 10 PM.