On to Lisbon

We were up and at’em fairly early today. Our checkout time was noon and our train wasn’t scheduled to depart until 12:30, so we decided to head out for a couple of hours. We started with a leisurely espresso and breakfast sandwich at a bakery close by. 

After our coffee we just strolled around the area and through a park before stopping at a souvenir store and heading to the train station. 

On our walk to the train station we popped in to take a picture of the “most beautiful” McDonald’s in the world. No, we didn’t eat there. 

The train station is quite beautiful too!  It is beautifully tiled.  We know the mosaics tell a story, but we aren’t sure what it is…the station was far too crowded to stand around and stare all day … pick pockets’ paradise.  

We lucked out a bit as there is a train workers’ strike this month. Some trains have been cancelled, but not ours. We opted for first class on this trip, which is just a slightly larger, slightly more plush seat for not that much more money. Our train to Porto was a little faster as it made no stops in between. Today’s train travelled just as fast but made a few stops along the way; it makes the trip about 25 minutes longer. These trains go about 120 mph at full speed; we still don’t understand why the “high speed rail” in CA is so costly and complicated.  Anyway, it was a comfortable ride back to Lisbon. 

From the looks of things out the window, the climate across the country must be very Central Valley, CA-like. We saw grapes, stone fruit, corn, rice, olives, citrus, walnuts, and closer to Lisbon, large fields of field crops of various kinds. We caught glimpses of a few cows, horses, chickens, and geese. Much of the view was of agriculture of some sort. 

Our train arrived in Lisbon at about 4pm. We hopped in the metro for a twelve stop ride, and then walked about 8 min to our hotel which is in a great location — again, we got a little lucky, but we had done our Rick Steve’s research. Kristi made an observation about the metro here in Lisbon: people are much more talkative than we have experienced in other cities.  Riders on the Underground in London in nearly silent, the French and the Dutch talk a little, but the residents of Lisbon are social and talkative.  It was a surprising difference that she noticed immediately. Jim just thinks it was just full of a bunch of young guys having fun. 

After checking in to the hotel, settling in, and resting for a while we headed out to look around. Before that, the hotel staff was kind enough to help us make reservations for a dinner and show called fado.  The food was amazing and the fado was fun. Fado is traditional folk music of Portugal, especially Lisbon. 

After the dinner show we strolled back to the banks of the inlet from the ocean to the port … enjoyed the cool breeze, crashing waves, the smell of the sea, and music in the background.