Day 7 Lisbon to Porto by Bus

Saturday 31 January.

Today presented our first serious challenge since arriving in Portugal. 

Originally we were to take the high-speed train from Lisbon to Porto, a trip of a little less than three hours. We would then train back to Lisbon the day before our return to the US. In fact, I had purchased the tickets a month or so earlier since we needed seat reservations so we were all set. Or so we we thought. 

But one can never know when the whims of the gods turn against us. There was a terrible storm that ravaged much of the central Portuguese coast the other night -- it  had in fact kept us awake, the noise in the city was so powerful. Anyway, it cut a swath of destruction inland between Coimbra and Fatima. As a result all the trains running north through that area had been cancelled -- indefinitely it seems.

But we were totally unaware that the train lines were closed until we got to the Oriente train station in Lisbon. Our Uber sailed along through very little traffic and dropped us off with probably an hour or so before our train, which would prove to be a good thing.

While we were sitting waiting for our train to show up on the departure board we kept hearing announcements about Alfa trains being cancelled (the Alfa Pendular are the high-speed trains). I queued up at the ticket office -- there was no information booth -- and learned that yes indeed our train was cancelled. What can we do? I asked. The ticket agent said take the bus and proceeded to refund our tickets then and there. 

We took our bags walked out of the terminal and over to the nearby bus ticket office where we were able to get tickets to Porto on a bus leaving at 10 am, just a few minutes before our train would've left. And the trip took about 3 hours 20 minutes, which was only about 20 or 30 minutes longer than the train! 

The bus dropped us off at the Porto Campanha train station and we took a taxi to the hotel where we soon met up with Richard and Pauline. Their flight had been a bit delayed so they arrived just a short while after we checked in.

Porto Campanha train station (upper level)

After settling in we met later for an aperitif before heading out in the drizzle in search of a place to eat. We strolled downhill along Santa Catarina street -- a well-known pedestrianized part of the city -- and after ruling out a few places popped into the Restaurante Salmao. Richard and I had the Francesina and Susan and Pauline had grilled codfish with potatoes. 

The Francesina or "little french girl" is a Portuguese take on the croque madame but instead of the traditional sandwich with a thin layer of ham, cheese and an egg on top, this includes ham, pork slice, sausage, topped by egg and Swiss cheese - all smothered in a tomato-like sauce. 

Francesina - quite a plateful!

After dinner we took an Uber back to the hotel and closed the book on our first night in Porto!

Day 6 in Lisbon out and about with a local

Friday 30 January

Another leisurely morning in Lisbon and our last full day in Portugal's capital will be spent seeing the city with a local. Richard and Pauline connected us up with their friend Graça who, after many years in England, returned to her home in Lisbon a few years ago. We arranged to meet her at the nearby Hotel de Chiado (Shee-ah-do) for coffee and a pastel de nata - and the city views from the rooftop cafe.

We left the apartment at little before 11 am and walked the two or three minutes to the hotel where Graça was waiting for us in the lobby. We had a few minutes to chat there before the rooftop restaurant opened which gave us an opportunity to reintroduce ourselves. (We had met Graça at Richard and Pauline's home in West Hampstead many years ago.)

After getting caught up a bit the three of us took the elevator to the top floor where we savored incredible views of the city before sitting and enjoyed a coffee and pastry.

After enjoying the cafe and sweets we took a taxi to another hotel, the Macam located a bit west of the city center.

But this hotel had a unique twist: originally a school for children, today besides being a five-star hotel it is also a museum with several galleries of modern and contemporary art. 

Graça and Susan in front of two Untitled pieces by José de Almada de Negreiros

detail

detail of Seascape by João Vaz

gallery 1

We especially enjoyed the works in Gallery 1, such as:

Muted Music by Amadeo de Souza-Cardosa

The Crockery Man by Eduardo Viana

After spending a little time in one of the galleries it was of course time for lunch. The museum/hotel had a lovely little cafe overlooking an interior garden. Susan and I each had a delicious chicken salad and Graça had a hamburger.

Untitled (White Deer) by Miguel Branco

the poinsettas -- live! -- were still in place from last Christmas

After a leisurely lunch we took a taxi -- they are so inexpensive in Lisbon as are the Ubers -- toward the Belem district. Home to some of the city's important monuments and museums, it is located along the waterfront and includes the Jeronimos monastery which we had visited early in our stay.  

We had hoped to spend more time in this part of the city -- I especially wanted to see the Monument to the Discoveries --  when we visited the monastery, but it was pouring rain that day and we opted to head back to our apartment instead. Today was very sunny but windy and Graça wanted us to see the Cultural Center which was just across the street from the Monument, our first stop. 

Monument to the Discoveries

There is an observation deck at the top of the monument which can be accessed by an elevator. It was so terribly windy we opted to skip that however.

Prince Henry the Navigator in the lead

In the open space in front of the monument is a large map showing the places and years of discoveries by the Portuguese.

From the monument it was a very short walk across the street to the massive Cultural Center of Belem. Home to numerous cultural events it also houses a museum of modern art as well as a bookshop and cafe, which we made use of. We also enjoyed the garden overlooking the Monument and riverfront.

my favorite navigatrix

The Thumb by César Baldichini - a huge copy is in La Defense in Paris

cafe

a machine to rent a power bank to charge your phone

After coffee in the bookshop we headed off across a lovely park to the taxi stand across from the monastery.

The taxi dropped us in the Campo Ourique, Graça's neighborhood where she showed us around a lovely little park and past several shops selling sweet treats. 

Az de Comer shop

just one of many examples of local architecture from Art Deco to modern

At the Mantegaria shop we could watch one of the staff filling the tins for pastel de nata, so many tins! 

It was just a few steps to the entrance to Graça's building and we were soon comfortably ensconced in her living room. After an aperitif we removed to the dining room for a delicious light supper of egg salad,  meat croquettes, chicken pie, and greens.

We chatted a while after dinner but there was no mistaking the reality - we had to get back to the apartment and pack up for our train to Porto the next morning. 

Graça kindly walked us to the taxi stand just around the corner from her apartment and along the park where we said goodnight and promised to give her regards to Richard and Pauline on Saturday.

The taxi ride was short but circuitous, like the city of course, and before long we were back home.  It didn't take Susie long to pack us up and ready ourselves for our departure to Porto Saturday morning.