Lisbon

The bus to Lisbon took us through southern Spain's country side and sure enough, there was Ferdinand sitting in the cool shade of an olive tree in one of the hundreds of olive groves extending both sides of the road. The trip itself was largely uneventful until we arrived in Lisbon and at what we thought was our bus station terminal. No! There's another. Lisbon Big place intoned the driver, Portuguese and able to speak as much English as we spoke his language. Eventually we figured out there was another terminus for us and having negotiated the metro we arrived at our hotel (with some discussion under the street lights.)Again,as is our custom when we arrive somewhere new we wandered in search of an information centre, a dinner source and fresh bottled water. Lisbon town centre was alive: lights and people from all over. Found an information booth and bought a three day Lisboa Pass which gave us access to as many train, bus and tram trips as we could fit in for 62 Euros. The following day was Good Friday: there must be a local church? The Friday morning, until about 2.15 we spent in the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, one of the few places open on the Good Friday and went to the Good Friday vigil in the local parish church which like most churches around central Lisbon is steeped in its own history. No one had told us that the Veneration of the Cross required a donation in the basket at the foot of the cross - we were perhaps the only ones not to venerate in local tradition. Next morning, Holy Saturday, we were up to get maximum value from our card heading towards, we thought, the Monastery of Jeronimos. However, we had mixed up the instructions from the tourism info centre - and caught the 28 Tram in the opposite direction. Becoming a little suspicious that we were headed in the wrong direction around Alfama and some of Lisbon's narrowest streets we got off at Basilica da Estrela (decided we'd come back here another day) and caught a bus back to the city centre and onto a different tram. We found the Monastery, along with several hundred other tourists (we had been hoping to be there before the Spanish). Amongst the hundreds of tourists and tourist coaches we walked around the waterfront area: to the Torre de Belem standing watch over the Rio Tejo, to the Discoveries Monument carved like a ship with statues representing Portugal's history of sea-going navigators. And then it cooled really quickly and rained and we headed a pied to the Coach Museum which turned out to be a really interesting exhibition of royal (and not so royal) coaches that have been a part of Portugal's monarchy. Coming out from the Coach Museum we headed to the Centro Cultural de Belem - Shelley had inquired about a free Fado concert so we headed back to wait in another queue. This time we ended up with front row seats to listen to Fado and poetry: didn't understand one word but it was really something we both enjoyed as we were treated to a musical genre (the Fado) by two of Portugal's most renowned Fado singers.
We trammed back to central Lisbon snuck some sleep and got up the next day to another brilliantly fine day although a bit cold. Again we boarded the No 28 tram ( we knew where it was going this time) and headed back to the Basilica da Estrala and were rewarded with some stunning art and architecture in a mush more simply decorated church. Back on no 28 and back to the city centre (and wandered into a church just in time for Mass; and somewhere in this four day Lisbon experience we fitted in a trip to the Castle of Saint George with its old walls and paved roads on one of the many hills overlooking Lisbon; a walk through Alfama to the Se Cathedral, to the Pantheon Church of Santa Engracia; a ride on Ascensor da Gloria from Praca dos Restauradores to the ruins of the Camelte Convent again with views over central Lisbon.
Our last day in Lisbon was spent on a train trip to Sintra. On the way we stopped at the old Royal Palace with all its fine gardens and fine floors and chandeliers (the way the royal half lived); but Sintra was just something else. High up in the hills, an hour from Lisbon castles dominating the landscape: the 13thC Sintra National Palace, the ruins of the Moors Castle (in bitterly cold winds!) and the Pena National Palace. This was a must see and well worth the effort to get there - would recommend Sintra to anyone visiting Lisbon.
Now, four days later, having learned to say Ola and Obrigado (and not much more) and being able to navigate easily around a very travel friendly metro and bus service (despite the early hiccups) it was time to leave. A flight this time to Madrid - back to Spain (and Cafe con Leches).