Wednesday
We stayed near the Baixa-Chiado subway stop (pink hotel markings above) so that made most of the city walkable. Our first day in town was a beautiful sunny day, so after grabbing a quick bite to eat, we walked to the waterfront and over to Praça do Comércio,
the commercial square.
The waterfront wasn’t very scenic per se but there were a lot of people out enjoying the sunshine. We continued through the gate, then wandered past several bars and cafes of interest. Oh, and climbed a bunch of stairs!
Per usual after an overnight flight in coach we took a brief nap in the afternoon to recharge our batteries, then went back out to enjoy some of the early evening light. These trolleys were everywhere, typically crowded, and the historic 28 went right past the entrance to our first hotel.
Thursday
Another gorgeous sunny day ahead of us, we started out by exploring the old part of Lisbon, Alfalma. This is an area of small, hilly streets, which leads to quite a few miradouros (viewpoints).
As you can see, the streets and sidewalks are small cobblestones, and they can be slippery on the inclines! Grippy shoes are definitely recommended.
As we continued up the hill toward the Castelo de S. Jorge we came across some fun street art murals, then had an up close encounter with peacocks.
interesting street art; this guy was the first of three that flew at our heads…
The line for the castle was quite long and we didn’t really care to pay to go in, so we headed north to another viewpoint – Miradouro da Graça.
viewpoint overlooking the tiled buildings; Igreja de São Vicente de Fora
Near sunset we took the subway north to Parque Eduardo VII. The park has an interesting design that seems to slope forever with a nice view to the water. From here we walked back to our neighborhood, about 25 minutes (downhill thankfully).
Monday
After we got back into town we checked into the hotel then headed out for some clothes shopping. I had better luck than Leandra in that department. Before dropping off our bags, we visited Square Dom Pedro IV to see the wavy tile work.
Tuesday
On our return from Belem we walked along Av. 24 de Julho to view some street art then stopped at Cerâmicas na Linha, a ceramics store with a great selection and many pieces priced by weight.
After a brief stop to re-charge our phones, we braved the famous tram 28 line to ride from one end to the other. In the early evening it was rather crowded, and the ride is definitely not smooth, but Leandra was at least able to get a seat.
We took the trolley nearly to the end, which let us explore the Campo de Ourique neighborhood, including the Basilica da Estrela and the lovely Jardim da Estrela.
