(The title is a Dilbert reference. You're welcome, Angie.)

We left Evora yesterday morning after breakfast, and made the two-hour drive west to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Many Brits I know rave about how gorgeous this drive is.To us, it felt like driving through northern California; lots of scrubby trees, vineyards, fields, rolling hills....granted, it's FAR different from England's landscape, but as a western US resident, it's familiar. So this is my way of saying I played with the radio and slept most of the way (note: in case you're wondering if it's possible for an ENTIRE nation's radio stations to suck, then let's congratulate Portugal on this ignoble feat, shall we?) (and yes, I just used "ignoble." <drops mic>)

We arrived in Lisbon around noon, dropped off the rental car at the airport, then took the Metro to Old Town to our hotel. We were quite happily upgraded to a nice room with a view, which of course charmed my elitist travel industry heart. We then went in search of lunch, and ended up at a tasca, or small neighborhood tavern. We were the only patrons, and the family scrambled to serve us as it was obvious we were foreigners to be impressed and possibly fleeced. The old patriarch was set upon to serve us, and a wily old dude he was. In Portugal, when servers bring bread, olives, or such "free" things to the table, they're not free, ever. So we usually wave them away, and it's no problem. But since we were hungry, and we felt a little bad for being the only diners- plus, the prices were ridiculously cheap- we decided that we'd eat what he brought because really, how bad could the damage be? Well, Grandpa brought bread, cured hams, cheeses....when we got the final bill, the jug of Portuguese house wine was just two euro, but evil grandpa had sold us fourteen euro of snacks. I had to hand it to him- well played, even on those of us who knew we were going to get fleeced. However,two euro wine forgives a lot. (hic)

We took a walking tour after lunch of the Alfama district, which is a hilly, scenic, historic district near Old Town. Lisbon is famous for its lovely handmade ceramic tiles, and the building exteriors are covered in them. It's like walking through a giant china shop. The 15th century churches and cathedrals (called "se" here) are ginormous Gothic masterpieces, set on the hills to overlook the city. Those hills were pretty nasty- I'm no longer used to living in a hilly area, I have learned to like my walks FLAT- but the scenic views over Lisbon and the river were breathtaking. We timed it well for photos, given that Lisbon's schizophrenic weather goes from 40F with wind and pelting rain to 65F and stunning blue skies within an hour.

After our walking tour, we headed back for much-needed naps, then went out at 9pm to Barrio Alto, Lisbon's nightlife district. I am a 1940s Tin Pan Alley jazz junkie, so we found a blues bar and settled in with vinho blancos and listened to an eclectic jazz trio. And I use "eclectic" in the broadest sense of the word, because their ninety-minute set included everything from classic blues to Disney soundtracks to, and I am not joking, Daft Punk. It was awesome.

We headed back to our hotel a bit after midnight, but stopped at a late-night ginjinha bar to sample the famous liqueur. Ginjinha is a Lisbon invention of brandy-infused cherry liquor, served from closet-sized bars tucked into alleys. It's just one euro a shot, or an extra fifty cents if you want your ginjinha served in a chocolate, edible shot glass (yes PLEASE!). It's a fun, boozy way to end the night.

Tomorrow, we continue our explorations of Lisbon.