Corinne Crawford
The next day I downloaded the Rick Steves audio guide for the Lisbon city walk. My plan was to do it in two parts over two days. I walked the 20 minutes or so down to the river front where the tour began at the Praca de Comercio, the large square right at the river front.
Turning towards town, you see and walk under the large arch onto the main pedestrian drag that goes through the middle of town.
The city of Lisbon is made up of neighborhoods on two hillsides and the valley between them and the main drag goes through the valley.
The route took me to many a square and church and a few interesting tidbits along the way including how cod is part of the history and culture of Lisbon as well as a traditional brandy type drink called ginjinha.
I saw the oldest ginjinha place in town. It took me to the funicular which is one way to get up to one of the hillside neighborhoods and it runs every 15 minutes or so. I did not buy one of the transportation passes so I would have to pay cash for the ride, about 3€, which I did not have with me so I thought I would just walk up instead next to the funicular track that went up and curved to the left. It is a pretty steep angle and only when I got to the curve did I realize just how far this thing went and how much further I had to go. I huffed and puffed, questioning all of my life decisions before arriving at the top in the Barrio Alto neighborhood, literally translated as the tall neighborhood. I found this to be so far the most charming area with narrow streets and lots of shops and I made a mental note to look for a place to have dinner in this neighborhood that night. After about 2 hours or so of wandering around following the tour route, I made my way back to my hotel to do a little work and rest before dinner. I was still thinking I wanted to go to Morocco before going back to the states so I did a little research on that as well and struggled to figure out what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go and how I wanted to get there.
I found a recommendation in the guide book for a restaurant called Bota Alto in the Barrio Alto neighborhood and made my way back there, making sure I had change this time in order to take the funicular. I had a wonderful simple steak dinner with wine and I even treated myself to chocolate mousse for dessert. When I ordered my wine, the waiter asked me if I wanted a glass or a half bottle carafe. I told him that I should just order the glass but that we both know I will have the half bottle. It was the perfect amount. I was enjoying the wine here so much more than in Greece so I thought I wanted to go for another glass in this neighborhood before going back the 15 minutes to my hotel. Even though it was still two more days until Halloween, it was a Saturday night so there were people out in costume starting the night out. I finally found a wine bar, apparently one of the oldest ones called the Old Pharmacy Wine bar. I found a rare empty seat inside and enjoyed the rather authentic old feel of this bar with small barrels serving as tables and simple décor. It also smelled a bit like feet and for some reason that made it that much more authentic. I ordered a glass of a type of red and he came to pour it for me, having me taste it first. The place was so busy and I felt rushed so I just nodded my head and he poured the rest, which was a decent size pour. I should have taken a moment because it really was not a great glass of wine so when it was done, I left my money on the table and slowly walked back to the hotel.
