Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
On our penultimate day in Lisbon, we decided to get in some walking, rain forecast or not. We didn't get out right away, as there were too many things to do "at home". Between diaries, journals, bookkeeping, and general organizing, it was hard to get away much before noon, but we would continue walking for almost eight hours, with just one short break.
Our first walk was a kilometer stroll up to El Corte Ingles for a roof top lunch. We walked through local steep and narrow streets, reached the giant department store, found the elevators, and arrived to lines at the restaurant entrance. Marianne discovered that opting for the buffet meant we could jump to the head of the line, so we did. The food was mediocre and service less good than that. This was the first time in a Lisbon restaurant or shop that I had felt a bit unwelcome as a foreigner. Nothing specific, just a disappointing sense.
After lunch, we wound our way over to Edward VII Park, but on the way there I got unreasonably grumpy and snapped out at Marianne. She objected, and this became "a thing", enough that we descended the entire length of the park not saying more than a few words. We were distracted enough than none of our cameras capture anything of the great vistas. We silently returned to our LX51 home and regrouped.
Fortunately, Cousin Tim called and offered to rescue us with the prospect of a small adventure. He came by and we walked to the Metro at Marques de Pombal and got on the yellow line. One stop away, at Largo de Rato (MOUSE Lake), we started what would be a several-hour walkabout.
Here, there were plenty of pictures:
Old bench and ancient tile picture.
The Royal Chapel of Our Lady of Monserrate was nestled under the aqueduct.
Tim ordered a couple of coffees and
we joined the park crowd, until the rain came.
Out in the street, a tiny streetcar zipped through
the Triumphal Arch of Amoreiros.
Empty facades waiting to be restored and tiny streets.
Gelato NIVA Cafe had some of the
best gelato we have ever had!
Reputedly the oldest tee in Portugal.
The quirky bar "Chinese Pavilion" held
room after room wallpapered in antique toys.
Miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara.
Golden hour shots of Castelo de San Jorge and Alfama.
A wonderful vista to end our walkabout.
Properly exhausted by now, Tim hailed us an Uber and we rode the ten minutes back home. There, we thanked him for the adventure, hugged, and vowed to get together on Sunday, our last day in town.
Stay tuned.
John and Marianne