Wednesday 28 January
Well, today began rather ominously. I received a text the night before from a local agency regarding high winds alert particularly along the coast, with gusts up to 140 km per hour. Thinking little about it we went to bed having successfully deceived ourselves about the potential situation. But then about 0330 we were awakened by a fluctuating noise that reminded us of heavy trucks passing directly beneath our window -- but soon learned that due to the incredibly high winds metal was grating against metal on the roof (we surmised) and the sound was coming down our stovetop vent!
Unable to sleep and wondering what the hell was going on we lay awake for the better part of an hour or so. It did help to close the doors to our bedroom but at long last the wind was overtaken by rain and both eventually dropped off completely.
And thus we slept in. No matter, since we had nothing pressing in the morning -- an approach we have carefully developed over our years of traveling.
Anyway, after an extremely leisurely morning of coffee and light breakfast we left the apartment about 1 pm. We walked the 10 minutes or so to Susie's baking class at Nat'elier de Pastel del Nata.
After leaving Susie I strolled a bit around the Baixa neighborhood before making my way to the nearest wineshop where I found the staff to be completely devoid of any interest in helping their customers. Anyway, I picked up a small bottle of Madeira for digestif later and headed home.
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| this one is dedicated to Patricia's Chocolates |
This stranger simply walked up and stood there, ready to be photographed! No idea who he is.
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| a shop selling Spanish ham and meat products |
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| the wineshop |
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| wandering the streets |
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| the Santa Justa elevator |
Since the terrible funicular accident a couple of months back all the elevators and funiculars in the city -- and there are several important people-movers in Lisbon -- have been shut down until the authorities have figured out what happened.
Since we had scheduled a Tuk Tuk tour for 4 pm I headed back to meet Susie at her class which wrapped up about 3:30. There were only three people in the class, a young woman from Japan, a fellow from Germany and Susan. I'm going to let her talk in greater detail about the class but, suffice it to say here, she had loads of fun, met some nice folk and learned a thing or two in the bargain.
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| normally Susan doesn't wear a hair net |
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| the end results! |
From the Nat'elier we walked down to near the Praça Comercio where we met up with Felipe our tour guide for the next 90 minutes or so.
While the Tuk Tuks are indeed touristy they are a wonderful way to see a part of the city that is pretty much all vertical and comprised of tiny streets that twist and turn every which way. Our guide took us to a couple of wonderful vantage points where we could get a superb glimpse of different parts of the city. And Felipe was quite the character - lively, engaging and funny. Plus his knowledge of Lisbon and especially of the Alfama district, the oldest part of the city, was exhaustive. His driving skills were simply remarkable.
There are lots of photos following most without captions but presented here as a reminder when we talk about this trip in later years of what this old part of the city has to offer.
Our first notable stop was the church of Saint Anthony (Sao Antonio) the patron saint of Lisbon. Felipe informed us that this is known as the marriage church. Each year on the anniversary of this saint's birth on June 12 there is a large celebration in the city and 12 marriages take place simultaneously right here. Must be something to see. . .
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| Saint George castle |
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| The 25 April bridge in the distance (once named for dictator Antonio Salazar); fashioned after San Francisco's Golden Gate. |
Our guide pointed out that while most lovers throw away the key to declare their love forever, some Portuguese men hedge their bets and use combination locks.
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| First observation point in the Graça district |
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| Lisbon's Pantheon |
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| mural done in hand-painted tiles by a French artist |
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| Just an example of the state of many of the streets |
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| stopping at our second observation point in the Alfama district |
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| overlooking the river Tejos/Tagus |
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| Surely a great place to hang out on a sunny day (sadly, not this time) |
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| A number of old (and newer) trolleys still provide transportation around the city |
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| a view of part of the Alfama neighborhood |
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| monument to Saint Vincent |
After leaving Felipe we walked the short few blocks back to our apartment and changed clothes before heading out to dinner. From the apartment we walked up to the Metro, bought a pair of 24-hour passes and then hopped on the green line to the next (and last) stop at Cais de Sodre. We walked across the street in the rain to the Time Out Market, formerly known as the Mercado da Ribiera, a lively place full of food stalls and food vendors.
But we were headed upstairs to Pap'Acorda, a restaurant that came highly recommended by our hosts and by several trip guides as well.
Our host had warned us that many restaurants in Lisbon will automatically bring bread and olives to the table right after you sit down. These are not free and if you eat any of it you will be charged -- it's a nominal sum and in the case of our restaurant they made it very clear on the menu what the charge is. We were hungry and the bread looked good (it was) so we dived in. Plus I had the olives all to myself.
We started out with shrimp in garlic and oil, and Susie had the codfish rice (a featured special) and I had grilled codfish with potatoes and Savoy cabbage. The service was wonderful, the food very good and the Portuguese wine delicious (a petit verdot grape chosen by the restaurant wine guy). I hesitate to call him a sommelier which sounds a bit fancy than it should, but he was very knowledgeable and helped choose the right wine for the cod.
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| shrimp, olives and bread |
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| grilled cod |
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| codfish and rice |
After dinner we had a small glass of a late harvest riesling grown and produced in the mountains of Portugal. Also very good.
Fully sated we left the market -- which was still hopping -- and walked back to the Metro and the short ride home.
Oh, one last thing: my dad would've turned 116 today. Thanks for everything Pop!
Tomorrow its laundry day in the morning and hopefully a trip out to the Oceanarium.
