After wandering out of our hotel for a tasty breakfast at a
local spot, our main activity for our first full day in Lisbon was to ride the
infamous yellow Tram 28. It is popular
mode of transport taken by tourists to check out some of the key areas of
Lisbon.
Outside our accommodation, the Portugal Boutique Hotel.
Our first sighting of the infamous "Yellow Tram 28", on our way to breakfast.
A typical street in Lisbon.
Luckily the first stop on the line was very close to our
hotel. It was 11:30 on a Friday morning
and there was already a decent line for the tram, even though it’s not the height
of tourist season (we couldn’t imagine what is like in the summer). The old school trams are supposed to arrive every
10-15 minutes and typically 2-3 of them show up at the same time.
Well 15 minutes passed, 20, 25, 30, 35…and no tram in sight. A few groups of people abandoned the line-up,
and we were close to pulling the plug too, but then we saw a tram on the other
side of the oval roundabout. Luckily, we
were able to board the second of two trams but had to stand in the back with a
few Americans in their 60s who were on a shore leave from a cruise ship that
was destined for New York City.
A yellow tram finally showed up! But we didn't get on this one...too many people ahead of us in the lineup.
I think we're making it on this one.
Standing in the back was great as we had a better view of both
sides of the street. Like the trams in
San Francisco, this one climbed some steep hills and careened downhill and
around corners…it was a fun ride.
Finally on the tram!
Looking out the back window on the yellow tram.
Passing by another tram going the other way...they pass within a few feet of each other.
Typical life on the street of Lisbon...as seen from a tram.
The Lisbon Cathedral.
You may wonder why I have a picture of this white van...but Naomi noticed on the top it says "Thermal Master". I assume it's a refrigeration unit but she joked that it related to me since I teach paragliding.
There are a lot of these "vintage" cars taking tourists on rides around town.
Another yellow tram passing by.
The tram’s end of the line was sooner than the maps and websites
stated, but that was fine with us as it left us closer to the center of town. Wandering around that area was the plan for
the rest of the afternoon.
Enjoying the streets, evenin the rain...
After walking down a few shopping streets (thankfully Naomi
only dragged me into one shop!), we headed down towards the Commerce Square, a
large open area by the Tagus River with a large arch at its entrance.
Approaching the Arco Triunfal da Rua Augusta (Triumphal Arch).
The Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square) by the Tagus River.
Looking out at the river.
Some weird "rock art". That's some kind of lizard in the bottom left.
This is known as "Pink Street".
Getting down on Pink Street.
Lovely brollies.
Naomi enjoying a moment in an empty dance club.
Choose your poison...
Look at the different sizes of the windows due to the incline of the street.
This is the outside of the Carmo Archaeological Museum which is situated in the ruins of the old Church of Santa Maria which mostly survived the massive Lisbon earthquake of 1755 that killed about 1/3 of all inhabitants.
Who doesn't like a flying buttress?!?
Looking out over the city.
It turned into a lovely day.
It's amazing that those arches survived the earthquake.
Men in Black.
Some strange pelicans on the wall.
The Santa Justa Lift, a strange tourist attraction that wasn't open. Sure you get a view of the city, but we had one almost as good by the church in the previous photo.
We eventually made our way back to our hotel and I have to
say that even though I’m generally not crazy about big cities, I did enjoy this
first day in Lisbon. It’s quite a pretty
city.
That being said, tomorrow Naomi arranged that we will go on a day trip outside of the city with a tour guide take us to a palace in a nearby town called Sintra and to a few other spots, like the Cabo da Roca, which is the most western part of continental Europe.
The Christmas Markets were already in action.
We went for tapas at a restaurant called "Leve Leve" (lightly, lightly), which was a restaurant owned/run by guys from Sao Tome and Principe, which used to be a Portuguese colony. Unfortunately, the food wasn't great...with the veggie quesadillas only containing small, whole mushrooms and cheese, which sounds okay, but it wasn't. At least we found a yellow tram to bring the day to full circle.
Well...not our best choice for a dinner spot...but you can't win them all.
After leaving Nazare and while on our way to Sintra where I
planned to park Octi for the next two weeks, we decided to exit the highway to
check out the small town of Óbidos.
Naomi had read about it in her research of places to visit in Portugal,
but it was raining as we pulled into the tourist parking lot on the outskirts
of the town.
Driving towards the town.
We donned our raingear but then it just dumped down, and we
weren’t the only tourists remaining in the refuge of their vehicles. I looked at Naomi, she looked at me, and we
both concluded that it would be ridiculous to go out in this weather. However, just after removing our jackets and
getting back into our seats, the intensity of the rain backed off a bit, and we
decided to go for it.
The entrance to the citadel.
Yes, the Christmas decorations are up.
The main gatehouse had some lovely tilework.
Óbidos (pronounced
“oh-bee-douche”) was originally a Roman settlement in the 5th
century but it was the Moors who built a fortification around the hilltop town some
time after 713. Over the years, the walls
were strengthened, and a keep was built.
There are some people who still live in the town today.
Starting down the first street.
Thankfully the rain continued to taper off as we walked
around, admired the Christmas decorations and checked out a few stores (well
Naomi did…).
Naomi does like Christmas...
What a lovely tree with gorgeous purple flowers.
A bit of a Mary Poppins look.
Yes, it was wet...although it did taper off.
We stepped into this pastry shop.
And the lady was busy working, however...
...right above her was a violinist plying his trade too.
Another sardine shop, like one of many we saw in Porto.
I do like castles...
After some lunch in a quaint little restaurant complete with
a suit of armour standing by the wall, we climbed up the stairs to walk along
part of the rampart and got some good views not only of the town, but the surrounding
countryside.
Our lunch spot.
This is the upstairs of the restaurant and that's a little curved bridge on the left.
Well, hello.
Starting to walk along the ramparts.
That's the aqueduct that used to provide the town with water in the old days.
I have to admit that I like castles and citadels. For those who aren’t aware of the difference,
a castle is a large building, typically of the medieval period, fortified
against attack with thick walls, battlements, towers, and in many cases a moat.
A citadel is a fortress, typically one
on high ground above a city. Óbidos is
considered a citadel.
Up on one of the towers.
Looking out on the countryside.
Looking along the wall.
There were a couple of soccer nets down in this lovely green area...can't blame them, but it must suck when the ball is kicked over the wall!
I stole this from the Internet, but here's a great photo of what the castle looks like from a distance.
We were both glad that we didn’t let the rain kibosh our visit
to Óbidos.
