For the second time in her life, D had somebody message her in facebook that they had her wallet and could she come to collect it. She was extremely delighted and we decided to split. D and family were to go back to Sintra to collect her wallet while we would finish visiting Se cathedral and they would catch up with us at Lisbon.
We bade good bye to a very relieved and happy D and family and made our way to Se Cathedral.
The train to this destination covered all the main sights of Lisbon including the Praca Dom Pedro iv AKA rossio which was really cool with it's wavy tiles and alluring water fountains.
From the station we alighted to arrive at Praca Do Comercio , with the majestic statue of King Jose, shining in the late morning sun. The waves of the Tagus were shimmering in the sunlight and the view of the Vascodo gama bridge and the Christ the King statue from this side of the city was a sight to behold. We did stop the night before for tea in the restaurant on this promenade but the view in the day was something else altogether. We took some snaps and made our way to Se Cathedral.
Compared to many other cathedrals in Rome , London and Paris, this was on the simpler side and while we enjoyed the stained class windows and the chapel there was nothing much to impress. We did enjoy the visit to the treasury which housed the catholic ritual ornaments and lots of artefacts from India. The stained glass work in the small balcony on the top part of the chapel was quiet charming.
We then walked down the hill to the utterly charming Rainha D'Amelia restaurant. It was an experience in itself as this tiny cafe with just 6 tables let us see those walking outside and also the tram 28 passing by Se Cathedral to the background of the soft music from the restaurant. The young one happily had a goat's cheese toast accompanied by hot chocolate with loads of cream and sprinkles while I had a light bean soup.
We bought ourselves some icecream and walked through the streets of Lisbon discovering beautiful squares, narrow tiled houses and scary pick pocketers. I was focusing on getting the young one to safely cross the roads while she was happily licking her icecream when suddenly in French and English several people cried out that I had 3 pick pocketers trailing me, trying to snatch my back while my focus was entirely on the young one. Apparently they ran away when the others warned me off.
The silly reality was that I was carrying a huge bag with absolutely nothing in it but my back up rain coat and sun glasses! K took us to the metro Restauradores subway to top up the Viva viagem card and there I stumbled upon the fantastic Luiz Ventura a Cheganca tile mural 'The Arrival'. I believe this type of art work is called the Azulejo. The work was so interesting that I was hoping to find out what it depicted. Unfortunately google did not seem to throw up any valid results ( Sacrilege!)
We then took the historic and graffiti painted Gloria Ascensor across the road from downtown Lisbon to Bairro Alto. We had a fantastic hot chocolate at a restaurant up the hill walking the world go by through the open glass doors. I changed from my summer maxi to a costume more appropriate to the hilly winds. We lounged around taking in the lisbon city view, looking at knick knacks and taking snaps with a tawny owl ( don't ask!) while the happy D and family rejoined us. The wallet had been retrieved intact and they were raring to go.
We walked down the Bairro Alto district enjoying the more colorfully tiled historic buildings and stopped at Amorino Baixa for some icecream and Macaroons.
P was keen to try the ancient Santa Justa lift so we stood in line for 1.30 hours to go to the top to get a circular view of lisbon. We then went back to Praca de Comercio for dinner at the Can the Can restaurant. I tried Guincho which was like cherry liquer and I liked it :)
Back to the hotel but everybody crashed. No kid swapping took place :)
..last day next
We bade good bye to a very relieved and happy D and family and made our way to Se Cathedral.
The train to this destination covered all the main sights of Lisbon including the Praca Dom Pedro iv AKA rossio which was really cool with it's wavy tiles and alluring water fountains.
From the station we alighted to arrive at Praca Do Comercio , with the majestic statue of King Jose, shining in the late morning sun. The waves of the Tagus were shimmering in the sunlight and the view of the Vascodo gama bridge and the Christ the King statue from this side of the city was a sight to behold. We did stop the night before for tea in the restaurant on this promenade but the view in the day was something else altogether. We took some snaps and made our way to Se Cathedral.
Compared to many other cathedrals in Rome , London and Paris, this was on the simpler side and while we enjoyed the stained class windows and the chapel there was nothing much to impress. We did enjoy the visit to the treasury which housed the catholic ritual ornaments and lots of artefacts from India. The stained glass work in the small balcony on the top part of the chapel was quiet charming.
We then walked down the hill to the utterly charming Rainha D'Amelia restaurant. It was an experience in itself as this tiny cafe with just 6 tables let us see those walking outside and also the tram 28 passing by Se Cathedral to the background of the soft music from the restaurant. The young one happily had a goat's cheese toast accompanied by hot chocolate with loads of cream and sprinkles while I had a light bean soup.
We bought ourselves some icecream and walked through the streets of Lisbon discovering beautiful squares, narrow tiled houses and scary pick pocketers. I was focusing on getting the young one to safely cross the roads while she was happily licking her icecream when suddenly in French and English several people cried out that I had 3 pick pocketers trailing me, trying to snatch my back while my focus was entirely on the young one. Apparently they ran away when the others warned me off.
The silly reality was that I was carrying a huge bag with absolutely nothing in it but my back up rain coat and sun glasses! K took us to the metro Restauradores subway to top up the Viva viagem card and there I stumbled upon the fantastic Luiz Ventura a Cheganca tile mural 'The Arrival'. I believe this type of art work is called the Azulejo. The work was so interesting that I was hoping to find out what it depicted. Unfortunately google did not seem to throw up any valid results ( Sacrilege!)
We then took the historic and graffiti painted Gloria Ascensor across the road from downtown Lisbon to Bairro Alto. We had a fantastic hot chocolate at a restaurant up the hill walking the world go by through the open glass doors. I changed from my summer maxi to a costume more appropriate to the hilly winds. We lounged around taking in the lisbon city view, looking at knick knacks and taking snaps with a tawny owl ( don't ask!) while the happy D and family rejoined us. The wallet had been retrieved intact and they were raring to go.
We walked down the Bairro Alto district enjoying the more colorfully tiled historic buildings and stopped at Amorino Baixa for some icecream and Macaroons.
P was keen to try the ancient Santa Justa lift so we stood in line for 1.30 hours to go to the top to get a circular view of lisbon. We then went back to Praca de Comercio for dinner at the Can the Can restaurant. I tried Guincho which was like cherry liquer and I liked it :)
Back to the hotel but everybody crashed. No kid swapping took place :)
..last day next
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