Day 8 – friday afternoon 5/24
After we check-in the rental car at Hertz, we unload our luggage and wheel them to Lisbon Terminal 1 where we follow the taxi signs and find the taxi line. It seems rather long, so Margi decides to go into the terminal and get a Starbuck’s souvenir cup but she gets behind an an oblivious woman. You know the kind, they get all their groceries rung up and then it dawns on them that they must pay and so BEGIN to look for their credit card in their Mary Poppins purse!! Meanwhile, I get to the front of the line and have to tell people to go ahead of me as I am waiting for my wife!! She finally comes out passing a bride in full dress getting into the Starbuck’s line!! Anyway, we get a taxi and I have the hotel reservation paperwork to show the correct address to the driver. In about 30 minutes, we arrive at Hotel Avenida Palace which is adjacent to the main train station.
The hotel is one of Rick Steves up scale places located in a courtyard next to a Starbucks. It is very elegant with chandeliers, stuffed chairs, and floor to ceiling curtains. There is a 24/7 concierge desk right across from the front desk and before going to our room we ask them to suggest a restaurant and make a reservation for tonite. Our room is on the second floor with the windows looking out over the courtyard. Pleasant room with high ceilings, double bed, full bath with tub, and two doors that open to a small balcony overlooking the courtyard.
Click here for pics of the hotel interior.
We open a window and unpack. We then head out for our first look at Lisbon. On the taxi ride in, we noticed a long series of kiosks set up on the tree lined boulevard leading up to the hotel, so we decide to go there. We walk to the end and back, by vendors selling jewelry, clothing, antiques, etc, etc. We walk back to the hotel and the concierge tells us we have 7:30 reservations at Sacramento which is about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. He fails to mention the UPHILL thingee.
At about 7 pm, we leave for the restaurant. The directions are down the street by the hotel to the Burger King than a jog to the right and up the hill to a left, then up some more and another left then up again to Sacramento. The restaurant is nicely decorated with distinctive coverings over the lights. We get wine and Margi orders osso buco and I get grilled black pork. We barely touched our bread when the main meals came out. Despite the suspiciously fast production of our meals, the food is surprisingly good. But, of course, neither of us can finish our meals so we request take away containers. We pay at the front counter and get our take away boxes which we give to a homeless couple living along the street as we return to the hotel.
Steps – 12,291
Day 9 – Saturday 5/25
We get a call at 5:20 am that our taxi has arrived!! We asked the concierge yesterday if getting a taxi at 5:20 would be an issue as we need one that early when we leave on TUESDAY!! They ordered it today!!
Our 1/2 day tour of Lisbon is scheduled to start at 9:30 am so we are up at about 7:30. We dress and walk to the dining area which is on our floor. Breakfast is very good with the standard assortment of foods but all very high quality. Wait staff brings your coffee/espresso/cafe au lait to the table. Everything else is self-serve. The dining area overlooks Praca dos Restauradores which seems to be a loading point for group bus tours so we watch groups led by flag waving tour guides go to buses parked along the street. After breakfast we return to our room. At about 9:15, we go to the lobby to wait for our guide.
At about 9:30 am, Cristina arrives and we introduce ourselves. We get some restaurant recommendations from her and go immediately to the concierge to ask him to make 7:30 pm reservations for us for tonite. Cristina also suggests that we do not need to buy a metro card.
We start our tour by walking in the same direction we went yesterday afternoon. Cristina points out a pair of statues near our hotel that honor the people who created all the mosaic walkways in Lisbon. We then proceed down a short way to a funicular that we saw on our walk yesterday. We pay 4.10 each to ride the crowded funicular up to a viewing area in the Bairro Alto section. At the viewing area (Sao Pedro da Alcantara park), Cristina points out various sites in Lisbon. In the park, we see a statue dedicated to the person who created the first newpaper in Lisbon.
Cristina mentions that there is a nice park about a 10 minute walk up the street from the viewing area. However, we head down into Bairro Alto. This area has a grid like arrangement. As we wander through we see Sao Roque Church, Largo do Carmo (square), and Convento do Carmo (destroyed by 1755 earthquake). We also see the oldest bookstore in Portugal and a good shop for local crafts (A Vida Portuguesa).
Click here for pics of Bairro Alto area.
We take a taxi to go up to castle (Sao Jorge Castle) which takes about 10 minutes. There is a line for tickets but because we have a guide, she goes to the head of the line and buys our tickets. We walk in and head to the edge which has great views of the entire city and of the homes directly around the castle. The castle is really empty but we do see cork trees, a cannon, peacocks, and the inner castle.
While walking outside the castle, I get my wallet stolen. Cristina warned us and I heeded the warning (I thought) by moving my wallet from my back pocket to the low side pocket with velcro closure in my cargo shorts. But, they got it anyway and even completely opened one of the zippers on my backpack!!
Click here for pics from Castle
Margi and I before the wallet is stolen.
The theft put an end to our tour. Cristina took us down from the Castle area to a place where we find a taxi and head to our hotel. As I had most of our small cash in my wallet, we stop at an ATM across from the hotel and get 200 Euros in 20’s. I have the larger amounts in a pouch that I wear around my neck so I am able to pay Cristina (with a tip). I know that she feels badly as we part. We will see her again on Monday for our day trip to Sintra.
At the hotel, we inform the concierge and go into the bar to begin to contact credit card companies. Margi gets a cava and I get a small beer to fuel our efforts. Efforts are so large that multiple rounds are required. I have apps on my phone for each credit card so I am able to see that none have been used YET. Using the lock card feature, chat, and at least one phone call, we get all of my credit/debit cards turned off while keeping Margi’s operational. At this point, we are laughing about my stupidity. The big pains will be getting a new driver’s license and molding a new wallet to the curve of my ass (pretty scary image, right)!!
We had originally planned to go to Belem in the afternoon, but from an attitude perspective and timing (takes a while to have multiple drinks at the bar), we decide to take a stroll down through the Rossio and Baixa neighborhoods to the Arch of Triumph, Praca do Comercio, and the river (Rio Tejo). We window shop, people watch, and just sit and enjoy the river. On the way back, we stop for some liquid refreshments.
Back at the hotel, we find out that the concierge was unable to get us a reservation at the restaurant that Cristina recommended (it is Saturday nite). We decide to just walk around and find a place that looks good. So, around 7 pm, we leave the hotel and walk across through some under construction area to several blocks that are full of restaurants. We turn a corner and see Il Mulino, an Italian place. We sit inside, but by an open floor to ceiling window. Turns out to be pretty good, with Margi having pasta with a red sauce and I have linguini pescatore. We meet an American couple about our age who are from Boston. IN the small world category, the man was born and raised in Madison, NJ where we raised our kids. But, he lived on the “HILL” while we were in the cheap seat neighborhood. They are also staying in a hotel nearby but will be leaving tomorrow. We chat a little. They leave first and when we leave, we ask for take away boxes in hope of finding someone who might appreciate it. But alas, we find no one so we toss them.
Ending on a high note, we get a call during the evening that someone has found my wallet and will be returning it tomorrow. My ass is happy
Steps – 16,217
Day 10 – Sunday 5/26
We are on our own today. We plan on Belem in the afternoon and decide we will spend our morning in Bairro Alto. We get up around 8 am and go to breakfast. We are going to try to follow the Rick Steves walking tour. We take a taxi up to the overlook we were at with Cristina. Then we go to the park that she mentioned. We find the park and it has an impressive cedar tree that spreads out as a large canopy that you can walk under. There is a family there having a Minnie Mouse birthday for a 3 year old girl.
We get a little off Rick Steves course but finally get to Converto do Carmo. There we have a coffee and then get a taxi to Belem. It takes about 20 minutes and 10 Euros to get there and it is PACKED. Apparently Sunday is a popular day. We exit at the far end, which is Belem Tower and make our way through the vendors to get to the tower along the water.
As I mentioned, Belem has a LOT of visitors and the line to get into to climb 120 steps of the Belem Tower dissuades us doing anything more than enjoying it from the outside. It is a beautiful day so we decide to walk down along the water to the next site. Along the way, we stop at one of the outside cafes and have some lunch. We pick a place along the water and pedestrian walkway so we can watch both the people and the boats. Margi has a diet coke and fries; I get a beer and tapas plate. Food is ok and people watching is good.
We then walk down the pedestrian walkway. Along the way we see the Hippo bus which is a bus that becomes a boat, driving down a boat ramp, and making a spashing entry into the river for a water tour. We find a line at the Monument to the Discoveries and even though I think there is an elevator, we just view from the outside. We walk across the marble map in the pavement that traces Portugal’s explorers and find the pedestrian tunnel which takes us under the railway line and highway to the Monastery of Jeronimos side. We find a bench and sit for a bit near the fountains in front of the Monastery. Even from a distance we can see the long line to get in. That is the advantage of having a guide as they get to bypass the line with their clients. Us with no guide, are stuck with the masses.
Again, the long line makes our decision on the Monastery. So, we walk up to the drive which is in front of it and after just a few minutes are able to hail a taxi and head back to the hotel. The Maritime Museum, Royal Riding School, and National Coach Museum are a pass for us.
Back at the hotel in the late afternoon, as I think we are getting touristed-out!! Tomorrow is a full day guided tour of Sintra and the following day we leave EARLY. Anyway, we get a message from Amy that she would like a cork clutch (I think that is like a handbag) and Maddie now likes filligree ear rings. As it is after 3 pm on a Sunday, we immediately head out for the kiosks along the tree lined avenue a few blocks from our hotel, the place we visited on our first afternoon. My feet are thankful that Margi finds both items pretty quickly so we don’t have to walk the entire length!!
Our reservations tonite are for a 2 star Michelin restaurant run by Jose Avillez, called Bairro do Avillez. Our reservations are for 6:45 pm on the pateo. We go down about 6:30 pm and they get us a taxi. Ten minutes and we are there. They can’t seem to find our reservation but we are seated anyway. We order glasses of wine. For an appetizer we share shrimp cocktail, which is shrimp on lettuce wraps with avocado and mayo. Margi has sea bass with shrimp rice which she LOVES, using her standard praise of wanting to lick the plate clean. I have grilled squid with black rice which I enjoy.
After dinner (no dessert), as we exit the restaurant is full with a line coming in but it is not “jammed”. We walk a block or so and catch a taxi back to the hotel.
Steps – 16,393
Press back button and then select Sintra and departure