We arrived in hot Lisbon at about 4pm. Having settled into our lovely hotel we set off on foot towards the old town - about 15 minutes walk. Our hotel is on Av. Liberdade (Liberty) which is modelled on the Champs Elysees and is home to all of the big brand shops. The footpaths in Lisbon are works of art - all throughout the town, the black and white limestone mosaic stones are arranged in many amazing patterns. I can't imagine what it would be like in the rain as they can be quite slippery!
We had a quick dinner in one of the touristy restaurants in the main square then continued on to the old part of town with its narrow streets leading to the river front. We passed the famous Santa Justa elevator (designed by a disciple of Eiffel) and rested a while to cool off by the river.
Day 2 was spent on the hop-on-hop-off bus. Actually much of the time was spent waiting to hop on, but we had lovely vistas and time to relax between the sometimes difficult walks. Lisbon is a very hilly city. Elevators, trams and tuk-tuks move people from the lower part of the city to the two main hills downtown. Our first stop was at the castle of St George. The area reminded me of the jewish quarter in Istanbul with its narrow, winding streets. It was fascinating.
I expected to see Portuguese chicken souveneirs but found some very interesting craft including the Last Supper. One store advertised "popular saints" which made me feel a bit sorry for the unpopular ones.
We arrived back at the hotel in time for a quick freshen up before meeting our tour group for the first time. We had an orientation tour of the city on the coach which was followd by dinner in a local restaurant.
A big day with more to come.
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