Ken and Elise's trip

Day 31: Lisbon

Our rail pass was still good for one more day and we tried to decide which would be the most cost effective way to use it. We decided to go to Lisbon thinking the cost for going there would be more on the train than going the other direction to Estoril to catch the bus to Sintra the other big “destination” we had planned for Portugal.

We didn’t get a really early start, so arrived in Lisbon around noon, We had half learned the Metro the day before when we had had to use it to get to Cais Sodre train station so we were able without much trouble to get to the main square where the HOHO busses were. Right away things went awry. There was a crowd trying to get on, and the hawkers were sort of lackadaisical about selling--guess they were hot too. We stopped one sweaty, red-faced girl and asked if she was selling tickets. She seemed unsure of what she was doing and asked us to wait. A few minutes later a black girl came along and we asked her. She was delightful and said of course she would help us and asked if we could just “go into the shadow” first--clearly she was as hot as we were and wanted some shade. She said they did four tours--what did we want. We finally decided on two--the small bus (they have to run a small bus because the old part of the city has such narrow streets) to Old City and a regular bus to Belem. While she was selling us the tickets, the first girl came over and there erupted a major argument all in Portuguese of which we understood nary a word. It was clear that Girl 1 was very unhappy. Finally she went away our our girl said, “She’s upset because she says I stole you from her.” Well we liked our girl much better and assured her there had been no stealing. She told us the small bus was ready to go, Belem would be a while. So off we went to Small Bus. I was really looking forward to this. Thought it would be fun to tour the city in a small bus--more intimate and I figured it had to be great if the streets were that narrow. Let’s just say it was a total dud. The bus was almost full and Ken and I couldn’t even sit together. Then when we finally got going, the narration button wouldn’t work on my speaker and all I could get was Spanish. It was a total bore. We just wound our way through the city without a clue what we were seeing. I caught a quick glimpse of St George’s Castle but it was only a very quick look. Otherwise I saw nothing of the famed sights that were listed.

We got off that one figuring we’d take it later and try to find one where the narration worked .We saw another bus about ready to take off and ran to catch it.. It, too, was completely full. However the driver said, “Just get on. There are many stops with many people getting on and off. You will find a seat.” We showed him our tickets, he nodded unenthusiastically,and we got on board. It was only a while later that I realized we had mistakenly got on the Oriente Tour--the absolutely most boring of all. We had NOT paid for this tour and he should not have allowed us on, but he clearly didn’t care, At least the narration worked here with a man with a Spanish accent doing his very best to try to make the boring things we were seeing seem exciting. And another good thing--the stops were well marked out. In Rome you didn’t even know what stop number you were out. Barcelona had been great too--every stop clearly marked with numbers. That is so helpful. But I did get a bit of a chuckle at the narration. The guy would say dramatically--”Stop Number 7! Our next stop will be Stop Number 8!” Guess he figured us English speakers aren’t great at counting.

Anyway we finished that very, very boring tour. We managed to find the Belem bus and got on and found decent seats. But shortly into it, Ken had had enough. He cannot hear the narration enough to understand it so all he gets to do is sit on the bus and watch the city go by without really knowing what he is seeing. I know that is deadly boring. It had happened to me with the first small bus. So he just said he was getting off.

I was ticked to be honest. We were finally on the right bus and I really wanted to go to Belem and see the famed Belem Tower, etc. But Ken was tired of the bus and he was hungry. He just wanted to walk around the city some.

To be quite frank at this point I really was not impressed with Lisbon. I had wanted to be. Portugal and Lisbon have long been on my “I want to go there” list and I had wrapped up our trip in Portugal expecting that I would love the place. But I really wasn’t liking it at all at this point. That was to change.

We wandered dispiritedly for a bit looking for a place we could both agree on to eat at. Ken found one he really liked. I was grumpy and ornery and not in the mood to agree to anything he wanted to do (yes, I’m not always the sweetheart you all think I am). I was mad because he had pulled me off the bus to Belem and dagnabit, I wanted to GO to Belem!

Eventually, as always, our better natures took over and we did a bit of kissy-poo and things were OK. I agreed to eat at Ken’s place. Oh, how I was to be rewarded!

It was in a pedestrian street where no cars were allowed. Outdoor cafes filled the middle of the street with stores on either side. We sat under one of the awnings at our chosen cafe and ordered. Ken LOVED his meal. I got the only vegetarian option, a sandwich. It sounded better than it tasted but it was OK. But it came with a huge platter of french fries which were as good as anything McDonalds has ever put out. AND they had ketchup (I got charged for it at one place and they only allowed a tiny packet), This place gave me several packets and those fries were good! Better was to come.

Not long after we started eating we saw a bunch of men arrive. They were all nicely dressed--most in dress slacks, dress shirts and ties (some with suspenders). They were all carrying brass instruments. There were three trombones, trumpets, horns, and a host of other instruments. There was also a drummer. I saw the waiter from our restaurant come out with huge mugs of beer and a couple Cokes. And then these guys (14 or 15 of them--I never got a true count) started playing. They were just magnificent. Totally professional level. Soon the street was crowded in both directions and anyone trying to get through was having a heck of a time. People were going wild, clapping and cheering. And there we were with a front row seat.

We never figured out just what the deal was. Ken thinks (and I think he might be right) that these guys just play for the joy of it. It was Sunday afternoon, and they probably have regular jobs somewhere, but they must have some kind of deal with this particular restaurant. The waiter made sure that they had all the beer and Coke they wanted. I never saw a “hat” in front of them and I didn’t see people leaving money, so I think they weren’t the regular street-type musicians. They were just playing for fun. Oh how good they were! I will never, never forget that experience.

Things continued to look up. Ken made me leave the cafe as he said we had used the table far longer than was fair. So we got up and left. We could hear the guys playing far, far down the street.

We wandered along the harbor a bit looking at the various crafts that vendors had on display. It was time to catch our bus again, but I could tell that Ken was really not wanting to do that.

Along the way we had seen something interesting. There were these little jitneys like motorized rickshaws. They had two seats in the back and a driver in the front. You could hire the driver to take you around the city. We both thought it looked like fun. We asked each other how much we thought it would cost. Ken thought one price--I thought another much higher. We decided to ask. It turned out that I was pretty much right on the money for the cost, but we were both really wanting to do this--so we did!

Oh, it was wonderful. We actually got to SEE the city. Our driver was able to get us right up to the sites--something the HOHO bus couldn’t do. We had a full hour of seeing Lisbon at its most beautiful with a driver who knew it well and could tell us about what we were seeing. It was one of the most enjoyable experiences of our entire trip. And worth every single penny!

Our guy was a great guide and we found out he had four kids--three boys and a girl. we liked him tremendously--he was even able to find me a water closet when nature asserted her ugly head again.

He told us that in order to qualify for the job you have to be able to speak fairly good English, some Italian, German and French. He said the French are the worst. They refuse to speak any language but their own. They may understand English very well, but they make the driver talk to them in nothing but French.

What had started out to be a not so great day totally turned around. We loved Lisbon. It is just plain gorgeous if you see it the way it should be seen. What a great city!

We came home to our beautiful condo and just sat and thought what a wonderful day we had had and thanked God for His great blessings on our trip.

End of Day 31