Lisbon Calling

Friday 21 June 2024

Dad’s funeral was on Tuesday 18 June.  It was very sad but joyful in strangely equal measures.  Arrived home that evening and worked the Wednesday etc.  My personal inbox, neglected from a month worth of “normal” emails, needed attending to, and the two evenings before we left for Lisbon were very stressful as I tried to fit everything in.  Eventually I logged off from work at midday on the Friday and we headed for Bristol airport.  

The M5, however, had various snarl ups so we went cross country via Glastonbury.  We made it through bag drop, security and boarding but I only started to chill once on the plane.

Lisbon airport to downtown Lisbon is smooth and cheap (€1.80) and we checked in smoothly to our super quirky accommodation Lisbon Calling.  Not sure about the Trump-esque print above the bed but the bathroom and lounge were wonderfully weird!

We ate out locally and, at last, time to chill with food, wine and, post supper, a river view.

Saturday 22 June 2024

JC rose up and was out early today to photograph a local funicular before the insta crowd got to it.  Meanwhile I slept.  On returning to the room at 0930 and finding me asleep he got all worried.  “Are you ok?” he asked?  “Yes I’m fine,” I answered.  “I’m just catching up on this year’s sleep.”

Once up and out, we visited a funicular, strangely called Elevador da Bica.

We finally had some breakfast and enjoyed strolling through the city admiring the beautiful buildings and streets.

We walked to the Elevador de Santa Justa which, at 45 m high, is the only remaining vertical lift in Lisbon (of this size).  We found the top and eschewed descending in it, saving our €6 each for something more exciting.

We headed for the Castillo de São Jorge and explored the old fort of Lisbon.  Amazing views of the city. 

To my great excitement we found a trig pillar up a tower, and then I found how high above mean sea level we were.

Sunny smiley day.

We wandered down to the cathedral and popped inside.  We started on the upper floors and I loved the stained glass and reflections on the floor.

The cathedral itself was ok.  Call me picky but I’ve seen more amazing, but it was fine enough.

I amused myself photographing JC and a dog.

We swung by a famous view point, the Miradouro de Santa Luzia.  Of course, it was packed, so not a lot of fun, especially as a cruise ship had berthed in front of the main view.  Tsk.

We wandered back up towards the castle, enjoying the Lisbon tiled architecture. 

Then it was up to Miradouro da Graça for a drink on the terrace before heading down some steps only to stumble across some kind of street art competition.  The white washed walls were being painted by some talented artists.  So great to watch.

We ended our day in an area called Interdente where a friend of our neighbour had a restaurant. Lovely meal chez Josephine.