Blogs from Lisbon, Lisbon & Tagus Valley, Portugal, Europe - page 6

Lisbon has trams like Melbourne had a half century ago and so we have trammed up and down the hills of this beautiful city seeing all the sights. They provide a great way to get around the city and are very popular with the tourists. The screeching of the wheels and rattling around brought back memories of the old w class trams I used to catch each day to school. Though these ones are a lot smaller and less comfortable​. But a lot of fun. Mentioning tourists though, Lisbon is a seething mass of tourists from all over Portugal, the rest of Europe and the world generally. They fill the cafes and restaurants, the trams, streets and bars. If the tourists were all to suddenly go away this place would grind to a halt and unemployment ... read more

Up early as today we are off to the town of Sintra. Sintra is a picturesque Portuguese town that is set amidst the pine-covered hills of the Serra de Sintra. This hilly and slightly cooler climate enticed the nobility and elite of Portugal, who constructed exquisite palaces, extravagant residences and decorative gardens. We boarded a train for the 45 minute journey. Once in Sintra town we caught a bus to our first destination, Quinta da Regaleira palace, which is a decorative stately home but for us the main attraction was the elaborate grounds. The gardens are filled with mystic symbolism and hidden features which include secret tunnels, Gothic towers and stone fortified walls. Our first objective was to get to the Initiation Well before it got to busy with other tourists. The well is 27 metres ... read more

Up early to drop off our home exchange vehicle, which had a scheduled appointment, before arriving at the train station by a car service. We enjoyed a coffee before boarding the train for our 3 1/2 hour trip to Lisbon. Upon our arrival at the Lisbon train station we then wandered up fairly steep cobbled stone streets to our VRBO apartment. Our apartment was on the second floor and had a great view of the famous tram 28 that passes directly below it. The building actually rattles as the tram rumbles by! It is a nice apartment with patio area and we are right in the heart of the historical area of Alfama. After unloading our stuff we headed out to have some lunch. Once lunch was over we were off to the metro station as ... read more

Arrived in Lisbon 9.00a.m. even though we were here in 2013 we were looking forward to our time here again, but took a while to dock as there was another cruise ship in port, eventually got out of the ship around 9.30 and then a few minutes walk to get out of the terminal, and there was beautiful Emanuel waiting for us, with his “I Hate Tourism Tours” sign, a gorgeous 34 year old Portuguese guy who was so passionate about his country, we love this, listening to people who just love their country so much. His Dad was an ambassador and diplomat and he has lived in France, Brussels and Portugal, so he has experienced living abroad. He whisked us away in the 9 seater van with 6 of us on board through the streets ... read more

The sun is out and the temperature is about 18. It doesn't get much nicer than that. Today, we met Paulo, the only Jewish guide in Lisbon. This was planned. Our friends Howard and Becky recommended him. We met him at the Arch, down by the water and he gave us his family's story. He told us about his grandfather trying to get from Poland to Argentina during the war but getting caught up in Italy. He ended up spending the war hiding in a convent. After the war he met his wife and they remained in Italy. where his father was born His father was an engineer and was working in Lisbon which is where he met Paulo's mother. His mother came from a family in Portugal that traced back over 300 years but until ... read more