Jun 21, 2019
Last fun day in Lisbon
Very early Thursday morning Colin went on a three hour plus walk about. He wanted to get out before others were on the street. His primary goal was to check out the three ascensors which are old tram cars that carry people up as well as down very steep hills. The cost is 3.8EUR each direction which is pretty steep 🙄 if you ask me.  Fortunately our 24 hour metro pass covered the fare.  Colin got some great shots before any other tourists were out. We had pretty much seen everything we wanted to here in Lisbon and decided to go out and ride the ascensors.  Sadly Ascensor  de  Bica, the most photographed one, was closed for maintenance.  Along all of them there is a narrow sidewalk or steps beside the steep track.  We noticed that the locals walk up, likely due to the expense.
The next six photos are from Colin’s early morning walkabout.
We walked several blocks before we got to Ascensor Darava. Colin had planned a walking route that was not too hilly. It runs every 15 minutes and when we got to the top there was nothing to see. We walked a few blocks more and just saw residential buildings. Â Back to the tram and down we went. The conductor said that he just went back and forth all day long and that he enjoyed his job as it was usually quiet plus there was free internet for him to use. We were the only tourists.
Quite the step up to get into the tram.
Going back down.
We next walked to the Ascensor da Gloria from which another tram goes up a steep hill but in the opposite direction.  There were more tourists here and all the seats on the tram were full. Colin suggested we not bother going up but I said that we were already here so lets do it. We stood and had great views of the walls on both sides of the track.  They were colourfully covered in graffiti. At the top everyone has to get off and get in line to go back down. First we decided to explore the area as it looked interesting. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a sign saying Miradouro with an arrrow. What a lucky find. It was the Sao Pedro de Alcántara viewpoint. It faces the east and north parts of Lisbon. So we were looking towards the Castle that we had been at yesterday. It was too bad that the Ascensor da Bica was closed as it also has a viewpoint. So we have something to look forward to if we go back.
Ascensor da Gloria.
There was an artist from Estonia up top painting as well as selling her art. Â She is truly talented but we have no wall space left in our home nor the RV.
There were a few vendors plus many food booths.
A soy hot dog, the perfect light lunch. Those are mini potato chips sprinkled on top.
Our picnic was complete with a bottle of wine.
These poor pigeon has something tying its feet together. It was sad to watch it struggle.
Getting on to go back down.
These fellows were painting over the existing graffiti and then creating their own art.
This lady was deaf and asking for money to feed herself and her dogs. Someone had brought her some dog food and I gave her some money. I was able to explain that it was on behalf of our two girls that had passed two years ago. I loved how the one dog was resting its head on her knee and the other sat in her lap like a small lapdog.
After our late lunch we went back down and walked back to the apartment. It was time to start packing. Â Once that and the blog were done we went around the corner to a lovely restaurant for our last meal in Lisbon.
Dinner was linguine negro ( colored with squid ink which we had missed in the transition ) and the salmon fillet was simply placed on top, again not what we were visualizing from the menu description. Â The white balls of course were mozzarella cheese.
I found the proper name for this dish, ” Linguini negro com salmao defumado e mucarela fresca.
Next up is a two day marathon to get back home.
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Wow that is a lot of graffiti! What an awesome trip you have had, I really enjoyed following along. I hope you have an easy trip home.
Thanks for taking us along on your trip. You’ve been many places I doubt I’ll ever see! You have a knack for giving us just enough information and pictures to whet our appetites for more. Have a safe trip home.
BTW we had paella negra with squid ink at Gaia in Maz last year…the taste was fine but the color was too off putting for me.
There was lots of graffiti there!! They ok with that? It is pretty and kind of spectacular, but still…
Lovely red roofs
Great trip…really had fun!