Back to Lisbon

 Mon Oct 16 2023


We packed up all the bike stuff according to detailed instructions — this bag inside that bag inside another bag, then send a photo of all the packed-up stuff + bikes to the bike rental company — and were free until check-out time at noon.

At breakfast, we took a little extra to eat on the train later. (No morals left, I swear.) Then we dashed off to catch each of our #1s, now that things are actually open. We stopped in the Misericordia church with its blue tiles and gold Baroque altar, as a hoodied man played pop songs with great flourish on a grand piano. Apologies for the dizzy video; just imagine you're walking in and gawking all around.

After the church, we went to the Camera Obscura for a 20-minute presentation in which we gazed at a large dish where we saw tourists walking, cars making their way across a bridge, a woman hanging her laundry — all in real time, projected by a lens in the roof.

The guide told us Andie McDowell had been in to see the Camera just a few days ago, and he described her as charming and tiny. He claimed George Clooney was considering buying an old convent, and that Brad Pitt had come for a weekend. Lots of stars, he said. I don’t know quite what would draw them here, other than perhaps privacy. Not sure how much of that they’d get here, with hoards of tourists probably ready to pounce on anything famous. Maybe our guide was just a name-dropper.

Today was train day. The 15-minute walk to the station felt a bit strenuous with all our stuff in bags that are less than easy to carry. This seems pretty amusing, after the nature of our bike rides. In the train station, we met a couple from New Brunswick who were taking trains all over Portugal. They will be on the same flight I’ll be on in a couple of days, bound for Montréal. The train to Lisbon was comfortable and super cheap, at less than €15 for a 5-hour trip. We were hoping for good scenery, but it was rather bland. I prefer riding a bike through these landscapes, but there’s something to be said for speed.

Nice train, not busy

From the train station it was a rather tough uphill hike, loaded like burros, to our Alfama Hotel. We got a huge welcome back from Pamela at the desk, checked in, retrieved the luggage we’d left behind, and went out for dinner at the same tapas place we’d eaten our very first night in Lisbon. Huge cheese plate, great salad. Nice to be back in what has become familiar territory.

Weary and hungry, at "our" tapas place

They were all so good!