Braga and a night at a pousada

I can't lie -- I didn't want to leave the wine barrels and the quiet life at Quinta da Pacheca. While we were there, guys had been working on both rebuilding a section of wall and others were working on digging and setting up fence posts in a field. As we were leaving, we got to see them planting new vines in that same area and can attest to what the wine tour guide had noted about the soil being rocky. Looking at the soil (I realize this isn't a great picture), it's hard to see how a small vine can survive there, but clearly they do.

Our next step was Braga, which involved a train that connected in a suburb of Porto called Ermesinde.  While it was a decent sized train station (5-6 tracks, I believe, with escalators versus only stairs), the area has clearly seen more prosperous days. Our inbound train from Regua was delayed by enough minutes that we missed our connection, but another was coming through in about 30 minutes, so we set out to find some coffee.

One thing we have both commented on is the quality of espresso-based coffee drinks. They are consistently good. The drip coffee, though? Not so good. What is interesting to me, though, is that there is almost always an insulated pitcher or other container of hot milk to add to your coffee, which is nice.

Anyway, we found a coffee shop (which also sold lottery tickets, which was clearly convenient if the steady stream of people there for that purpose was any indication -- the jackpot was at something like EUR 57 million, so I get why that would be enticing). I went up to use my Portuguese and order a cappuccino and -- one of my favorite Portuguese phrases that makes me feel like I belong -- a meia de leite (cafe au lait). I didn't really see a price list, but considered that since we were at a train station there would be the public area premium for people passing through that didn't know where to go locally.  Yet at the same time, some of the special combos they were advertising like a croissant and coffee for EUR 1,50 made me think perhaps it wouldn't be that expensive.  But I figured it would be at least EUR 2 for both, so I handed her EUR 3.  She looked at me funny and handed me back EUR 1,20 in change.  What?!  Yeah. EUR 0,90 each. Amazing.  PLUS it was really good.

The local train to Braga was uneventful. Braga is the third largest city in Portugal and wasn't really covered in the tourist-type books I had looked at, though I had found some information online and we set out to check them out. There is apparently some sort of Roman history here with various cathedrals and castles and there was a Roman festival going on -- though I confess that I found a woman in Roman attire speaking on her cell phone a bit odd.

We were able to see most of the sites within less than an hour.  There is a beautiful stone entrance to a pedestrian-only walkway, Arca da Porta Nova. The medieval Jardim de Santa Barbara outside the Medieval wing of the Episcopol Palace that is bright and well-maintained with a central fountain and which was once part of the Convent of Remedios.  There was a plaza with a large BRAGA sign (think IAMSTERDAM) and, of course, Raio Palace. I had wanted to see the Bom Jesu do Monte which looks pretty amazing -- lots of steps (because, you know, Portugal and hills) criss-crossing and supposed to have a gorgeous view at the time -- but didn't see an easy way of getting out there (three miles outside of town) in an expeditious way.

I was more nervous this day than most because the hotel for the night was somewhere in Amares, but I couldn't exactly figure out how to get there.  It was clear that Braga was the closest train station and Google Maps said that Amares was about 25 kilometers beyond Braga. It appeared that there may be some bus service to the area, but it wasn't clear where the bus would stop in relation to the hotel and whether there might also be taxis when we arrived that could help get us there.  So I really wanted to make sure that we started to get there long before it was dark, hence my willingness to skip Bom Jesu.

What to do? In a moment of Americanism, I wondered to my phone whether Uber might be available (it certainly had not been in Regua).  Why yes, Uber is indeed available. Really? So we hailed an Uber that was there in five minutes. The driver was from Brazil but with my limited European Portuguese, we got along okay. He said that he's only lived in Braga a few years and wasn't familiar with Amares, but had GPS, so....

He seemed a bit concerned about where we were going.  We were climbing and going through some narrow village streets and he kept asking if we wanted to go into the city center or some larger roads, but we said to keep on and follow the GPS (though he seemed to have some difficulty doing so, missing a couple turns). Did we want to stop and take some pictures? No, we're good.

We finally arrived at the destination and noted that we were there but he seemed confused and asked a taxi driver next to where we had parked where the pousada was. The taxi driver said that this was it.  Oh.  He seemed both surprised and impressed by it.

Pousadas are large mansions, palaces, or other interesting locations of historic interest that have been transformed into lodging. As soon as I read about them, I had decided that we should stay at least one night at such a place. The one I selected is Pousada Mostiero Amares, which is the former convent of Santa Mario do Bouro. Beautiful grounds, lots of massive stonework and a moss-covered courtyard giving the appearance of ruins made for a stunning setting. While the food wasn't the best I have had in Portugal, the dining room itself was just cool with all the stone work, including a gigantic table that won't be moving anyplace anytime soon.

A brief wander around Regua

We had a sort of rest day our second day at Quinta da Pacheca. We walked the 15-20 minutes or so down to Regua, the town where we had arrive on the train. There's a nice pedestrian bridge that crosses the river and we happened to be there at almost the perfect time when the shadows made the reflections of the arcs in the bridge look almost like complete circles.

There were several river cruise ships docked there as well as a few smaller, local boats. We looked into the latter, but one was just a kitschy one-hour cruise for EUR 10 and the other was an afternoon/evening cruise for several hours, but then you had to take a train or bus back, so we just continued wandering around the town.

Like Porto, most of the tiles on buildings were set up quite high rather than at street level, though there were several places where various scenes had been painted on tiles, most related to the making of wine which makes sense, given all of the vineyards in the area. I've included a few here.

I think it's safe to say that one of the highlights was stumbling across a farmers market just as it was getting over. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as dry beans and meats. Outside, there was a truck laden with huge bags of potatoes and at the side of the building an enterprise selling live chickens and chicks. Cherries are in season and Kimberley loves them, so we decided to buy some from a woman at one of the stands. The price seemed to be EUR 1 for an entire kilogram (over two pounds) of cherries. Suffice it to say that we didn't need an entire kilo of cherries, and just asked her to stop filling the bag at a certain point in time, but she kept pressing to add more when we offered the EUR 1 anyway. I used my best Portuguese to tell her it was fine but she still seemed confused why we wouldn't want to get our full kilo. Lovely lady.

I'm still not quite used to seeing meat hanging in the windows. The big ham things, yes, but I still find the goats or sheep (not sure which) a little unsettling.

We stopped at a somewhat local place for lunch that seems to be the regular lunch place of several employees of a local company (based on their matching uniforms). It was also the type of place where I think the server appreciated my attempts at Portuguese given her limited English. We had a table overlooking the river and that gorgeous view and some large salads only set us back about EUR 10.

After the long climb back up (always the hills....) to Quinta da Pechaca, we enjoyed a few more hours relaxing and reading on the deck of our wine barrel suite. Just so beautiful.

To the wine country

While Portugal is known for its port wine, of course, it also produces many other types of wine. The Douro River Valley is the heart of their wine production and was (particularly with an oenophile like Kimberley along on the trip) an obvious must-see.  While I created the overall agenda and booked hotels for the trip, she mentioned an interesting place in the valley that had some interesting accommodations. I checked it out and we were able to book one of them for two nights, so off we set.

We took the train from Porto to Regua. Since it was only a two hour ride and it was an intercity train, we didn't bother to pay extra for first class. Second class was generally fine, but was packed with other tourists also going to the wine valley, including one group of guys who were (at 9 AM already clearly imbibing something that wasn't coffee and with a steady stream of food being pulled out of a picnic basket blocking much of the aisle). 

We were lucky to (eventually) get seats together, not to mention on the side that overlooked, toward the end, the gorgeous river and valley. At one point the train kind of turned a bit and boom -- there was this absolutely stunning view.  I was trying to take photos, but you know how it is with a fast-moving train, poles and power lines getting in the way and viewed through a dirty window.

We grabbed a quick taxi on arrival to our destination -- Quinta da Pacheca.  It is a functioning vineyard and produces -- as we learned on the wine tour later -- about 700,000 bottles per year of white, red, and port wines. But what had lured us in were their wine barrels. Not those filled with wine, but cabins that you sleep in that are shaped to look like a gigantic wine barrel.  Super cool. While compact inside, it feels spacious with the round shape (and a round sunlight overhead) and with a large round door at the back that opens onto your own deck where you can relax and look over the vineyards.  Really unique and peaceful. We spent much of the afternoon there yesterday just reading and watching the swallows and other birds maneuver around the vineyards.

The wine tour and tasting was interesting. Nutshell, the winery has been in existence over 100 years. While the region has well over 100 varieties of grapes, Pacheca uses a relatively small subset of something like 20 in their various products. They still stomp grapes with their feet as they believe it better releases tannins and colors without the risk of the incorporating sourness of seeds that might occur with a machine pressing the grapes. Each of the concrete areas pictured here holds over 200 kg of grapes and the stompers, working arm in arm, take over 30 minutes to stomp from one side to the next.

We also got to see their old cave, though most of their production is off-site. One interesting thing I learned is that while wine can be placed into new barrels, port must be placed only in used barrels/containers. The large containers shown here can be used for over 100 years. Also, the difference between a tawny port and a ruby port is whether or not they are oxidized. A tawny port receives oxygen throughout the process, so it doesn't oxidize as quickly upon opening and can last a year. A ruby port, on the other hand, is more like "regular" wine in that it is not exposed to as much oxygen and thus, like a bottle of red wine, must be consumed within three days or it will become oxidized. (At least I think that's what I heard.) 

Another interesting point I learned about making wine in Portugal relates to usage of water.  The soil here is in the river valley is not good and one quickly hits rocks, so the grape vines are no more than 15-18 inches deep. They are allowed to water vines in their first five years, but not after that. So how, when summer months are often well into the 90s, do the vines not die?  As you might imagine, it's a microclimate. So while it is toasty during the day, it drops down quite a bit at night. This rapid change creates some humidity that then provides moisture for the vines. Because of the climate, their cave also gets a bit too warm. They control this by watering the pebble flooring of the cave which helps cool things. 

During the wine tasting, we had another random chat with interesting people -- a mother and daughter. The mother is originally from India, but settled long ago in the US -- first Rochester, NY and then Minneapolis, MN. I can only imagine the shock of winter coming from India. Their family has done a lot of travel throughout the years and the daughter who was with her on this trip studied in Brazil and Peru and picked up Portuguese. While she studied neuroscience in university, she felt a little burned out and not sure she wanted to proceed directly to medical school. So she took a few years off to volunteer for the Peace Corps in Mozambique, which is a former Portuguese colony (if that's the right word) so her Portuguese from her time in Brazil was directly applicable. She is training local teachers on how to teach science, and has spent a lot of time traveling in the area. She said that Mozambique is very safe and her primary mode of transportation is hitchhiking -- yes, as someone who doesn't look like she's from Mozambique and as a single female. Amazing. Just had a lovely time chatting with both of them and now Mozambique may be on my list for future travel.

We had an amazing dinner at the restaurant here with some of their own wine, and headed off to bed, looking at the stars through the porthole (no pun intended) in our wine barrel roof. Just magical.

A quick day in Porto

A quick day in Porto

The Portugese rail system, Comboios de Portugal, has an app with English as an option so you can order online and reserve a seat as with Lufthansa. Of course, the only works if your credit card works. Despite having notified Citibank of my travel plans, they chose to deny the charge. And once denied -- even though I had confirmed via response text to Citibank that it was indeed me -- the app refused to let me re-submit because (lucky, lucky me) Citibank and Mastercard were protecting me. [Sigh.]

The app also had an option where you could add an additional passenger, though you needed to enter for all passengers their ID details -- identity card, passport, driver's license or a couple of other options. So I kept having to ask Kimberley for her passport number, and then the app would reject me (thanks again, Citibank) and I'd have to start from the beginning. I finally figured out how to add Kimberley's details into the app so I didn't have to keep re-entering them. And when I finally realized nothing was going to happen with my Citibank card (and they only offered a US toll free number - grrrr) I used my American Express card which I didn't have with me but, fortunately, have memorized the number and other details. Finally went through.

Problem was that it only listed my details and not Kimberley's. Hmmm...  Since it seemed keyed on your ID number, I downloaded the app on her phone and set up an account for her, entering the ID details so it should pop up, right? Nope. And of all days, the activity wasn't showing up on my AMEX app so I couldn't tell if it had indeed charged me for both tickets or only one. And it still hadn't updated in the morning, either.  Odd.  So I figured we would just need to check in with a -- gasp -- real human at the train station. Which we did. And apparently in all my anger and frustration with Citi, I had indeed neglected to add Kimberley as a passenger the last and final time. 

I asked the very helpful agent if he could put us together on the train. He said something about my seat being a single seat so I assumed that he had managed to put us together or across the aisle or something.  Well, kind of.  It was 1 + 2 seating so I was in the one seat and Kimberley was in the one seat the row ahead of me.  Close enough, I guess? The more odd thing, though, was the seat numbering system (or lack thereof, as I couldn't quite understand its logic). For example, my seat number was adjacent to Kimberley's (she was 81 and I was 82), even though we were on the same side of the train and in different rows.  And on the two side, it was 75/73, then 76/74 and then jumped to 85/83 (the latter was in Kimberley's row).

So here's your brain puzzle for the day. Solve for the seat numbers represented by question marks, where seating is left to right 1+2:

?  -- 73  75
? -- 74  76
81 -- 83  85
82 -- ?   ?

I will admit that I do not have the answer to this quiz, but would be curious if someone else does.

We traveled in first class, which probably wasn't worth the little bit extra, but it was only EUR 45 for a three hour ride. WiFi was free on the train (and much more dependable than the free WiFi on Amtrak, though not as good as the free WiFi I experienced on LitRail in Lithuania) so I was able to draft yesterday's blog easily. (By comparison, I am attempting this one while en route to Regua but there are no tray tables and no WiFi so not as convenient.) The car was very new and clean, though apparently first class does not include free coffee (contrast with both free coffee, a bottle of water AND a free sandwich on LitRail).  I paid EUR 1,10 for a coffee that was basically an espresso in size but with an intensity that was akin to drinking grappa as it felt like it would grow hair on my chest, which wasn't my objective. It was an uneventful trip, though, and arrived right on schedule.

We grabbed the Metro from Campanha station and took it to for about 10 minutes and it dropped us off just 200 meters or so from our hotel, the Art Senses Rooms and Suites. It was just a door next to a supermarket with a keypad and we would have missed it were I not looking for the house number. We rang and the door clicked open. We quickly found ourselves heading up a light colored wood staircase next to an exposed rock wall -- very modern looking. Our hostess met us, got us checked in such as it was, and helped us with a map and some suggestions on routes to take and which things on my list might not be worth the visit. I was very impressed by how automated everything was, including that our suite, "Musica," was accessible via a combination lock built into the handle. Same with entry via the keypad from the ground floor as there wasn't any sort of attendant on duty at all hours. The room was also large with two comfortable chairs with a few pastries, apples and a carafe of water awaiting our arrival. Kimberley's favorite feature, though, was the Nespresso machine. Very surprising, too, that even though our room faced the street and there was a bus stop right outside, it was really quiet.

We set out on to see the city. The hotel is located right at Casa da Musica, which is apparently an amazing music hall that is said to be worth the effort to tour even when you're not attending a concert, but given our limited time I satisfied myself with the view from outside.  

We then continued on to a place the hostess had recommended called Mercado Bom Sucesso. To call it a "food court" would be to grossly understate what it is. The sign called it an "urban concept. But basically this 1940s-era market hall has been completely updated and includes a bunch of permanent mini-restaurants and a few other stores on two levels. While they had central racks where you were to place your tray and dishes when you were done, each restaurant seemed to have its own trays and dishes and you could see the attendants taking the dirty dishes back to each restaurant.  Fascinating. This collage shows an overview of the venue, a literal over-view of the mini-restaurant we chose, and a gratuitous food shot. The food was tasty and I enjoyed that they had a basil plant and kept picking off leaves to add as garnishes to plates when served or to actually place in the sauce itself. Wonder how many of those plants they go through each day....

Fueled, we headed to Jardim do Palacio de Cristal or Crystal Palace Gardens , which had not been on my list but was a waypoint on the map the hostess had outlined for us. Shortly upon entering, we heard quite a loud shriek, which it turned out emanated from a wandering peacock. We watched him for a while and then continued on, only to find another, and another, and another. There were only a few female pea fowl and they all appeared to be entirely unimpressed with the displays by the guys. Certainly was fascinating for the humans to watch, though!

Pea fowl weren't the only fowl there. There were more roosters and chickens, some baby chicks, various ducks, sea gulls, and, in some places, all of them together. Strange, strange combination -- especially with the chickens in the mix as I am not used to encountering them in public places.

Porto, like Lisbon, is hilly, so there was a lot of up-and-down hiking throughout the day. We started out mostly just walking down, though, as we wanted to make it to the waterfront. We lucked out finding a staircase that wound back and forth and made the descent a bit easier on the knees. The waterfront features the typical array of cafes where you could sit outside and have a coffee or glass of wine or beer and watch the world go by. Good people watching, to be sure, but fewer performance artists than you might expect in that sort of touristy area (you know, like people who are in costume and pretend they're a statue and then move and startle people, yet looking creepy all the time).

The primary objective at the waterfront, though, was the Dom Luis I bridge, which was designed by Gustave Eiffel who, if not clear by the name, designed the Eiffel Tower. And right next to it was supposed to be a portion of Muralha Fernandina, an old medieval wall.  What I didn't realize until we got there (given that everything looks flat on the map) was that the bridge is a multi-level bridge, with cars at the bottom level by the waterfront, and a pedestrian walkway wayyyyyy up at the top level along with one of the metro lines. Oh, come on!  Helpfully, there was a funicular to take you up there, but.... The wall wasn't in most of the tourist books and I couldn't tell whether one could actually get TO or ON the wall or only closer, so decided my heart would go on if I just noted it and continued on my way climbing up a more moderate hill on towards other destinations.

On that climb I finally had my first pastel de nata, a traditional Portuguese pastry that I can best describe as a cream tart. I had seen them before, but wanted to buy one at a place that looked like they may have actually been made there, versus at a small cafe (like the one the first dwe walked day in Lisbon where we had an espresso with the Dutch woman who happened to be eating). Kimberley is also not really into sweets, which made stopping for one less appealing. But during one uphill climb, we came across a store front display case from a cafe that showed all passersby what variety of pastries were available inside. Including the pastel de nata, of course, as well as an almond thing that Kimberley had had before. She said that if I got a pastel de nata, she'd buy one of those other things. Well, twist my arm. It was delightful. I am now, unfortunately, hooked on them. Light, flaky curst with a not-too-sweet creamy center.  Yum!

Tiles continued to be a theme in Porto. They were a bit different than in Lisbon, though. Yes, some were the same colorful, flat design, but they also have some three-dimensional tiles in Porto that were quite beautiful. The tiles tended to be placed higher on the buildings rather than on the entire facade, or sometimes just narrow strips of tiles on the front rather than a full display. We also learned that in Porto, tiles are definitely not just for houses. In fact, there were a surprising number of places where murals were created on tiles.

One example of this is at the Sao Bento train station.  The main entry hall has gorgeous tile displays on every wall -- some in the more traditional blue and white, others in color around the top. Really stunning.  The other example is Igreja do Carmo, a cathedral from the late 17th century that is covered in azulejo tiles and a good example of rococo style in Porto.

The last planned stop for the day was one that I still hadn't made up my mind on. Livraria Lello is advertised as the most beautiful bookstore in the world and I am a sucker for a good bookstore. Apparently it was also a favorite of J. K. Rowling when she was teaching in the area, so it has a shrine of sorts for Harry Potter (and some say that the architecture of the bookstore may have influenced some scenes in the books, but I wouldn't know). The reason I hadn't decided whether I wanted to go in is that multiple online reviews called it a terrible tourist trap and worth neither the money nor the wait. Many said that the line to enter wraps around the block and it can sometimes take up to 45 minutes just to buy your ticket (yes, a ticket to a bookstore) before you wait in the other line. They apparently try to meter how many people are allowed inside at one time, but it is still packed and people complain that they can't get good photos, let alone think of actually shopping for a book.  Hmmm....

It was just a block away from Igreja do Carmo so I thought it was at least worth a look. There were some people outside, but not a long line. Oh, why not. So you have to buy your EUR 5 ticket (which fee can be applied to the purchase of one book -- you can't pool your money with others to buy a book you might really want that's more than EUR 5) a couple storefronts down, which also has merchandise available for sale. In order to try to make it easier to get around in the book store itself, you have to leave backpacks, bags and strollers in free lockers in that other area. Selfie sticks are (thank goodness) prohibited in the bookstore. It took about 10 minutes to by our ticket and the size of the process/area attests to how much money they're raking in for tourism. But there was no wait once we got back to the bookstore entrance itself. The staff member working there said that it had been a crazy weekend but that this particular Monday was oddly quiet. It was still rather crowded, especially wth people wanting to pause on the narrow staircase to have their photos taken while others were trying to get to the second floor.

It really is gorgeous. The main feature is a staircase (with steps painted red) in the center that then splits to the right and left and curls around to deposit you on the second level. It has beautiful carved wooden details and is mesmerizing from pretty much any angle. There is also a gorgeous colored glass (not sure if it would properly be called stained glass or leaded glass or something else) ceiling on the second story. There are interesting miniature plaster busts/faces that are either attached to dividers in the shelves or hanging down or something that I've not seen in other old bookstores. And also a track in the lower floor where a sled of heavy books can be moved along the way with ease.  As we left, they gave each of us one of the two volumes of small booklets about the bookstore since we hadn't used our tickets towards the purchase of another book. 

So overall, worth the visit, at least on a slower day.

We ended the day on the amazing rooftop terrace at the Art Sense. Relaxing way to end the day.

Wandering around Lisbon

While it didn't involve loud celebrations, there were nonetheless unanticipated events today that brightened our day.

I had identified about five things that I was interested in seeing in the Graca, Castelo and Alfama neighborhoods, but the real objective of the day was to just wander around and explore, stopping when and where the urge hit us.

We set out from the hotel and walked down Avenida Liberdade. I was pleasantly surprised by two things. First, all the revelry that had taken place the night before had been cleaned up without a trace. Impressive, particularly given how late/early the celebration had gone. The second thing was the beautifully patterned boulevard walkway (calling it a "sidewalk" seems way too, well, pedestrian). As we continued throughout the day, I saw variations of patterns wherever we walked and it was interesting to note the differences. I've included a few of the patterns in an attached photo.

As we wandered down towards the water's edge, we stopped by the Convento do Carmo. While it was not open while we were there, it is fascinating as it was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1755. The arches and pillars and some side walls remain, creating a sort of skeleton of what once was. I can only imagine how amazing it must look from within.

We proceeded on to our first scheduled stop -- Praca de Comercio. This plaza is Europe's largest square and was indeed impressive. As we approached, I thought I heard a band playing. Not a rock band or local music, but an actual symphonic band. Hmmm. As we drew closer, we saw that indeed there was a band and we had stumbled across a small parade in progress that also featured those marching in traditional Portuguese attire and accessorized, if you will, with old pitchforks and other tools, baskets, bundles on the heads of women and often wearing shoes that seemed lke a cross between a Dutch wooden clog and a cowboy boot -- wooden soles with leather uppers and a very pointing toe. What I didn't quite understand were the two guys who were dressed in some sort of straw ensemble. I will have to look into this.

This was all happening right by the shore, where in the distance we could see sailboats and ships as well as some guys apparently digging for clams or mussels in the rocks on the shore after the tide had gone out. Nice to have a band play while you harvest dinner, right?

Our next destination was Castelo de Sao Jorge, a famous castle set high up on a hill, so we started climbing. We stopped along the way for some beautiful spots overlooking the sea and also at the Se de Lisboa (Lisbon Cathedral). The cathedral and its location have an interesting history as it was built on the site of a mosque after Christians recaptured the area from the Moors. The cathedral area also includes gothic cloisters that are supposed to be interesting but which are, alas, closed on Sundays.

We continued up the hill, passing the ruins of an old Roman theater that is under excavation and appears to have basically been paved over through the years. We finally arrived at the castle entrance to find a really, really long line just to buy tickets. Um, pass. We have both seen castles before and while I have no doubt I would have found this interesting, we were both more interested in wandering.

We decided to stop for an espresso. While it was still somewhat early in the day, we were surprised that in such a touristy area there were no outdoor cafes. A block or two away, we saw a small little cafe and ducked inside. There was a woman seated at one of the tables enjoying an espresso of her own, but no staff seemed to be there and the woman noted that they had stepped out. We sat down and waited for their return and ended up striking up a conversation with the woman. She was visiting from Amsterdam for about a week and had already learned to navigate the tram system and other things, not to mention we had many other travels in common. Lovely lady, traveling solo, likely interested in talking to someone, and who had successfully lost 140 pounds on the keto diet. Impressive. While I tend to keep to myself, I always enjoy random encounters like this. The staff did finally return and we had our espresso. Cost? EUR 1, 50/each. Well, don't mind if I do have another....

Our next step is perhaps not a popular tourist destination, but made sense after the aborted castle trip. Jardim da Cerca da Graca is said to be Lisbon's second largest park, though it is tucked away in between the Graca and Mouraria neighborhoods and you have to hike uphill quite a ways to get to it. But that's what gives you some great views of the castle as well as the sea in the distance. Nice place to take a seat, watch the dogs and kids running around, and perhaps have a nice picnic, though we didn't have the latter with us.

We stopped for lunch later at the restaurant located at the Fado Museum so somewhat upscale and were surprised when two large salads, a large bottle of water, the bread and spreads (they offer them but you are charged for them) and two espressos came to a whopping EUR 25,50. The starter things alone cost EUR 7, which shows how inexpensive the rest was. All that, plus excellent service and a fresh strawberry for each of us from -- one assumes -- the large planters near the tables that were full of strawberry plants in various states of production. Yum!

The last stop of the day was the Panteao Nacional or National Pantheon. It required going back up another hill and this large domed building was at the top. It was apparently originally designed as a church but then became the pantheon. It wasn't a large building and from the outside not much to look at and not very well maintained -- lots of weeds etc. Given that, we didn't feel like paying EUR 4/ea to peek inside and decided to head back to the hotel on foot, which included -- you guessed it -- more hills. I was really quite surprised at how hilly the city is. I guess it explains why people were positively packed on the trams that went up to certain areas (though perhaps it was also the charm of riding on one of the older trams) and there are also a bunch of little tuk-tuk vehicles that'll take you around for a fee.

At the end of the day, we only walked about 20,000 steps (compared with the death march in Paris where Kimberley thought it would be fun to exceed 35,000 steps and we nearly cleared 40,000), but with all the hill climbing and descents it felt like a lot more.

One of the highlights through the day were the variety of animals we say. Kimberley has a gift for finding any friendly black cat and she found one near the castle. I am perpetually fascinated by birds and, while I couldn't get close enough with my phone camera, I was absolutely charmed and enchanted by birds that had nested in openings in the castle walls and saw a little baby bird with beak wide open demanding food from its cooperative parent. So sweet. There was a mutt dog that apparently belonged to someone but was just hanging outside a house unleashed that reminded us of our dog, Beau -- not least because he was fine for a while and then barked at us like we were axe murderers, just as Beau does to me. There was also a tiny "working dog" whose owner -- a guy playing accordion for tips -- had perched him on his shoulder and outfitted him with a tiny pail for tips that the dog held in his mouth. Perhaps the most surprising, though, were the gorgeous roosters that were hanging around one of the parks.

Another highlight, of course, are the variety of patterns on the tile-clad buildings. The collages here are just a sampling of the over 30 that I took, ranging in size, brilliance, complexity and condition. No doubt there will be many more to see in the remainder of this trip.

Arriving in Lisbon

Our trip started out on a fun note. We were flying with British Airways via LHR. As we were boarding the flight to London, I noted the flight attendant scribbling something on the tags that are attached to the hangers for coats and jackets et cetera in business class. She was scribbling so much (turns out the pen just wasn't working) that I asked what all they wrote on those tags. For example, did they write (for their own knowledge or for crew members) helpful or warning information on passengers, such as "Ornery," "Bad attitude," "Ignorant American," or "Already overserved?" She  just laughed.

Before take-off, I had put my own jacket on the footrest and she asked if I'd like her to hang it up. "Yes, please. And I hope my note is good."  She laughed again.

Just before landing at Heathrow, she returned my jacket and  noted there might be a note in the pocket if I could read her handwriting. And here it is.  

Love the sense of playfulness. And the entire flight crew was extremely efficient as well. Very good in flight experience.

Unfortunately, we had a rather long six hour layover in London. I actually wish it had been even an hour or two longer as it would have allowed us time to get into the city and do something. Alas, no. But we were fortunate to have access to the BA lounge and hung out there, watching as breakfast fare turned into lunch and then snacks and beverages other than coffee were consumed in large amounts (though after only a few hours of sleep on the flight, we were certainly of the coffee quaffing group).

The flight to Lisbon was uneventful, other than the couple sitting ahead of us. British Airways his business class in Europe that is like Lufthansa -- same seats as economy and same legroom, just a guaranteed empty middle seat and, in this case, a meal served.  After our boarding passes were scanned, we were in a sort of holding area waiting room before boarding. The first row near the jetway was reserved for those requiring special assistance. We were amused when a woman I will refer to simply as Princess and her sugar daddy walked up to those seats. He was wrangling all of the luggage while she, wearing dark black Louis Vuitton sunglasses, was hobbling along in high heeled knee high black leather boots and wrapped up in a Louis Vuitton logo-covered trench coat.  She took a look at the seats and the writing and symbols on them, paused, and sat down. 

Kim:  Perhaps she thinks "special assistance" means VIP?

Apparently.

The two of them ended up being directly ahead of us on the flight. There was some confusion as Princess wanted to order something from the on-board purchased food menu while the flight attendant kept trying to explain that there was a full meal served in business class, but if they really wanted to pay for something from the Marks & Spencer On Board menu....  There was also some drama when she was flinging her long hair around and managed to lose a grip on her hair clip that went underneath the seat in front of her.  She turned to sugar daddy and apparently asked him to help her get it back, so he's talking over the seat directly in front of her to the gentleman ahead who managed to retrieve the item. I don't think she even gave him an "obrigada." Anyway, she made the flight a bit more eventful. As we were getting off the plane and onto our bus on the tarmac (something of Europe I have definitely NOT missed), I noted that she had Louis Vuitton luggage while sugar daddy had the good sense to have the matte black Rimowa case. I was going to comment to Kim that I was surprised that the camel-colored wool coat she was carrying wasn't carrying the LV logos. But then I realized that the pattern was on the inside....  And there's my cattiness for the day.

I had researched in advance transport options from the airport to our hotel and it looked like one of the easiest and cheapest (I AM a tight-fisted accountant, after all) was the Metro which would, with one connection, get us to within a few hundred meters of our hotel for about EUR 1,50 and which would take about 20 minutes.  Sweet.

I was confused, though, when the train slowed but didn't stop at our station (Praca Marques de Pombal -- apologies for this and other names, but don't have a Portuguese keyboard installed on my app to provide the correct characters) but went on to the last and final stop of the line. Okay, maybe it was just an express train? So we crossed over to get the next train back. Same thing -- skipped our stop. I sighed loudly in exasperation and a young woman explained that the stop was closed off because the local football had won a big match and there would be a celebration in the area of the skipped stop. Which meant right around our hotel. Hmmm.... So we got off and started walking. There were quite a few places where the streets were blocked off and we even had to ask the police to let us through the gates set up outside our hotel so we could check in.

After we got settled, we decided to head out to grab some water and snacks and see what all the hubbub was all about.  I really enjoy grocery stores in other countries -- to see the types of food that are popular, whether there are unique offerings, what is available as prepared/take-out foods, etc. And, of course, what the level of pricing is.  

So here's a quiz for you.

How much would you expect to pay at a convenience store for all of the following items in Lisbon at a convenience store:

• Three gala apples
• One banana
• One package of chocolate covered cookie sticks (like Pocky from Japan, but a local brand)
• 1.5 liter of water
• One package of rice cakes
• About a liter of beer (in a giant glass bottle - classy)

A. EUR 5
B. EUR 10
C. EUR 15
D. More than EUR 15

For extra credit, which was the most expensive of the six items?

Think about that and I'll share the answers below.

We dropped off our bag of goodies at the hotel -- going through the police barrier again -- and headed out to follow the crowds. We weren't able to go directly into the main area where the celebration -- St. Benfica had won the Liga Nos championship -- would be held. But we followed the crowd and found a really , really long queue on Avenida Liberdade to go through security and bag checks and then get into the area. We decided it wasn't necessary for us to do that since we could clearly HEAR everything from our hotel room and could probably watch the whole thing on TV. Instead, we hung out in the queuing area, grabbed some beers from a little outside cafe/bar and watched some of the proceedings and awards ceremony that were still going on at the stadium on television. Quite fun.

There is a large fire department adjacent to our hotel and one can see the various vehicles outside of our room window. Last night there were a lot of their crew outside, likely in preparation for anything that might happen related to the celebration. But what I enjoyed most was that they were outside and grilling a bunch of chicken on a grill made out of a 50 gallon metal drum. There was a LOT of chicken so I guess they were planning on a long night or there were more firefighters inside than I had thought.

I think we were back in our hotel room by about 10:30. The celebration was clearly just getting underway and there was a lot of noise. We were both glad to have saved our earplugs from the flight, though after a long day and a short night on the flight, I don't think anything could have come between me and sleep.

Quiz Answers:

It would be an understatement to say that I am amazed at how low some prices are here. The answer to the grocery store total question is EUR 5,37. WHAT?! Yeah.  

And the most expensive item? The off-brand Pocky at EUR 1,67.