August 13, 2014 - GUIMARÃES to LISBON 370km by Train with a change in PORTO (€33.40 for Dave &€17.05 for Mi) 4hrs42min 
Stay: http://bemyguestlisboa.com/
€33.30 ($44.56), Double with share bath, without breakfast
Sunny and bright. 22°C (72F)

We've become old hats at riding the rails in Portugal. We found the schedules on bahn.de and made our way to the station and got our tickets to Lisbon a few minutes before departure. It was a commuter to Porto and we had 45 minutes for the next Porto to Lisbon train. While we waited, Dave ran over to a grill restaurant and brought lunch back to the platform; roasted chicken, sausage and a big bag of fries for just €5. It was more than enough for the two of us and the flock of pigeons. 
 
It was a smooth ride into Orient Station and we noticed a giant shopping mall with a Sportzone just across the road. That was the chain where we found close-out bargains in Viana. We went over to see if they had some of the same items in stock. No luck when we checked the items on the racks but we asked anyway. I showed the young woman the pants I was wearing and she said, 'maybe we have some in the back'. I was able to score a second pair of identical pants. I should be set for the next year or two.

Our zap cards wouldn't let us through the metro's turn-styles. We went to the vending machine where you can check the balance on your card. It was suppose to be a bi-lingual display but all we got was a message in Portuguese - no numbers. We showed the ticket to a lady at the ticket window and she said our balance was depleted. Now why wasn't the vending machine programmed to say that in English? 
 
We topped up and took the metro to Be My Guest guest house where we had stashed our extra luggage for the last few weeks. Be My Guest is a 3rd floor walk-up and the owner/manager Nuno was there waiting for us. He gave us a great room. We hadn't been shown our exact room before when we had stopped by and now we were pleasantly surprised by the size and less-is-more stylishness of our private double. We felt at home immediately. We made it over to Pingo Doce and bought some things for dinner from its deli. 

We have just three days left in Portugal and we touched bases with Rick to coordinate a meet-up. We'll meet him for dinner in a couple of days.....


August 14th & 15th LISBON
 
 
Unlimited Travel Day-Pass

We purchased the transport day-pass (€7 per person) which entitled us to unlimited travel on bus, tram, train, lifts, funiculars and cable cars in Lisbon for 24 hours. 

We had a few sights in mind that we wanted to visit. The Azulejo Museum, the Aquaduto das Aguas Livre and ride the famed Tram 28. Tram 28 is a historic tram known for the pick-pockets who ply their trade on it. 

 
Crowds Everywhere
 
We started out half way up Rua Augusta, a large pedestrian street to the arch and on Plaza do Augusta. Along the way, we hoped to go up in the elevator lift which promises a great view of Lisbon. The line of people waiting wound around-the-block, and in the sun no less. That deterred us. We later found out that today is a holiday and the tourist crowds are at their peak. We crossed under Arco da Rua Augusto to Augusto Plaza on the waterfront.

We stopped at tourist info and had them give us a few pointers as to how to tackle our sights. They suggested we'd take Tram 28 first. "just be very careful with your belongings because that tram is known for the pickpockets." We boarded the adorable yellow creaky old one-car Tram 28 just before the big climb to Lisbon Cathedral. It was packed, standing room only. And we kept an eye out for the pickpockets, cause our outside view was blocked by the mob. 
 
We rode till the end and immediately boarded the next tram for the entire route. It took about 45 minutes and passed numerous historic buildings and sights. We stayed on until the end of the route and walked back to the Campo de Ourique Market where we enjoyed a tasty lunch at one of the restaurants before getting back on the tram. This time, we spotted two very suspicious characters. They checked out every passenger from top to bottom and their whole demeanor was suspect. We got out at the fabulous view point just past the 17th century Igreja de Sāo Vincente de Fora.
 
Brightly colored tuk-tuks scurried through this part of town as well, up and down the windy narrow streets.

With a sharp eye, you'll notice unique storefronts and homefronts with carved marble details, tile work or murals. 

We admired the stunning view of Castelo de Sāo Jorge, Igreja de Sāo Vincente de Fora, the red roofs and whitewashed houses stacked on the hillside, and several cruise ships docked in the river. After a while, we made it down impossible narrow streets and steps to the bus station on the riverfront where we boarded a bus to the Azulejo (hand-painted wall tiles) Museum. 

 
National Azulejo Museum
 
The Museu Nacional do Azulejo has the largest collection of Azulejo tiles in the world. I adore those tiles and the museum didn't disappoint. It even held Dave's interest. 

Most of the tiles are dominated by blue glaze but there are many yellow tiles too. At the museum, we asked if the 'azul' in Azulejo is because of the dominant blue color since 'azul' is Spanish for 'blue.' We were dead wrong. We were told it was derived from the 'Arabic' term for tiles. Wiki confirms: the word azulejo is derived from the Arabic word الزليج (az-zulayj): zellige, meaning "polished stone" and goes on to say' ..this origin explains the unmistakable Arab influences in many tiles: interlocking curvilinear, geometric or floral motifs.' 

Glazed tile pavers were used in Portugal since the 13th century. Azulejo use on walls disseminated in Portugal in the 16th century.

The museum route began in a room displaying the ingredients, tools and process for creating the Azulejos. Then we went on to the oldest examples and progressed, forward in time, ending in a room displaying modern ceramic art. The museum makes an excellent presentation of the centuries old craft.
  

August 15, 2014

Jerónimos Monastery (1501-1601)

The Monastery is first on the "not-to-miss" sights in the historic Belém area of Lisbon.
  
We were impressed from the outside of this former Monastery and Church when we were here with Hiro, Junko and Ryoko in July. It was closed that day. And now, we had until 12:30 to use the our the 24 hour transport cards we had purchased yesterday. We decided to zip over to Belém to see the inside of the notable 'Mosteiro dos Jerónimos'. 

The temperature got up to 33°C/91°F and the line with people waiting to buy tickets was 50 meters long. After 5 minutes standing in that line, another tourist came over and told us go to the Archaeological Museum next door and get our tickets. It had a much smaller line. I waited inside out of the sun where it was much more bearable. Thirty minutes later, with tickets in hand, we by-passed the the people in the 50 meter long line and entered the unique arched hallways surrounding a large courtyard. 

It is known for is Gothic Manueline style of architecture and is ornate complex design and scale is impressive. The place is massive with two levels of cloister rooms surrounding the courtyard. Off to the water side, is the high ceilinged Church of Santa Maria, a three-aisle church with five bays under a single heaven-high vault,

Building of the Monastery was requested in 1496 and it was built primarily in the hundred years from 1501. It has been expanded and altered over centuries. It is recently cleaned and restored and in good condition. It has a large display room with story-boards explaining what was built when and by who - way to much detail for us.

We ran out of time and did not get over to see the aqueduct. We'll save that for next time. 

 
Dinner at Ricks

We found our way over to Rick's apartment where we were greeted with hors d'oeuvres and free flowing Portuguese wine. Rick has been on a health kick recently after, in his words, 'years of working, partying, screwing and drinking'. Part of his new religion is eating natural and whole foods. He is now settled and has the time to cook healthy food for himself. He had prepared humus and something he called Serbian Caviar. Not bad effort for a novice.
 

August 16, 2014 - THE BEST OF PORTUGAL

We had plenty of time to pack in the morning and make our way to the airport for our flight to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

We've covered much of Portugal from seas to summits over the last two months. Highlights for us were:

Marvão
Monsanto
Monseraz
Lagos
Calcais
Sintra
Rocky cliffs of Algarve
Vinho Verde
Tawny Port
Azulajo Tile,  and...
 
the people of Portugal (except the rude manager at the car-rental co;)