Day 4 Lisbon

"Early to bed, early to rise". We got a pretty good start today and went directly to the Mercado Ribeira (market) which consisted of two old connected 100 x 300 foot food-filled buildings. There were 40 to 50 butcher shops and about the same number of fish mongers and flower stands (the produce stands were uncountable). In addition, there were an abnormal number of egg stands, cheese shops, and bakeries. It sure would be nice if we had something at home one-tenth of that. It's definitely worth seeing. After the market we walked across the street and jumped on an electric train and headed down by the river to the town of Belem where we went to the Ingreja de Santa Maria and Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (chapel and monastery). It's a must see if anyone comes to Lisbon, a definite four star. The best part is that it doesn't take long to get through. Belem is right on the river and has well manicured gardens and parks between the town and the river. The one garden was tropical and had many Florida type plants including large palm trees. It seems strange that Lisbon is on the same latitude as Washington D.C. and can grow tropical plants. The town has several outdoor cafes and we certainly thought we deserved a break. We located a rather rustic (old) on and ordered coffees and one appealing looking pastry that after one bite we had to immediately order another. I don't know what it was and if I did I surely couldn't pronounce or spell it, but it was great. Afterward we grabbed the train back to Lisbon. In Lisbon we switched from the train to a tramway for an easier trip up to the Alfama district. It's the oldest part of Lisbon and is a maze of narrow streets, alleys, steps, and archways. What makes it most interesting is that it's a real neighborhood with laundry hanging out the windows, kids running around, and dogs barking. We didn't do much, just walked and took in the atmosphere. Except, we did do a light lunch at a little alley restaurant called Barracao de Alfama. Grilled sardines for me and grilled salmon for Sylvia. That and some sangria made for a terrific light lunch with a local atmosphere. From there it was a long walk back to the hotel for a regrouping.

Neither of us was hungry so we didn't go out until later and decided to just hang out in the neighborhood. It was interesting in that we stopped for drinks at two restaurant/bars, and at neither one, could anyone speak English. One place didn't even have ice; Sylvia loved her Vodka straight up. At the other place she got it with ice, but they served it with some fruity soda...so much for "everyone speaks English". We did succumb to food though, and we each had a bowl of pureed vegetable soup and we split a plate of Serrano ham. Earlier I had also gotten some roasted chestnuts from a street vendor (the best roasted chestnuts ever). The people over here are so pleasant. They really try to please. We got back to the hotel by midnight. I think I'll declare tomorrow Horticulturist Day and try and talk Sylvia into seeing some of their famous botanical gardens.