The original idea was to find a nice balance between sightseeing, doing school with the boys, working on projects, and laying low to keep things within budget. The weather forecast, however, had something else in mind.
It’s been absolutely gorgeous for the past week, and is supposed to continue to remain so through this next week. Then, if the forecast is to be trusted, rain arrives and our days are going to feel very different around here.
Our Euro-African Journey (So Far...)
So, lots more sightseeing up front in our month-long stay in Lisbon than we anticipated, but we’re not complaining.
On Saturday, we did a nice long walk from the apartment to Parque Eduardo VII.
As we often do, we passed Fonte Luminosa in Alameda Park. The pictures of this thing online are impressive, with gushing water and seasonal light show. These days, it’s barely a trickle if we’re lucky.
Our walk takes us down the hill and back up to the other side of Parque Alameda, for a nice view of the fountain from the other side of the bowl.
Along the way, we pass El Corte Ingles, which Lori remembers from her days living in Spain. She called it a department store. I’m not sure what most are like but this one was essentially a mall, and a sizable one at that, covering some seven floors.
Here it is October and it’s already Christmas on the top floor of El Corte. Too soon, guys. Too soon.
In the basement was the biggest toy store I’ve seen in years, and a bookstore. The boys spent equal amounts of time in both.
A couple hours after we set off, we finally arrive at the top of Parque Eduardo VII, which is located on one of the city’s seven hilltops.
We were all pleasantly surprised to find a well-equipped playground in the park. This one has a zipline, which entertained the boys (and their new friends) for a good long while.
One of the coolest things about Lisbon is that there is usually an outdoor cafe adjacent to playgrounds. Parents here basically bring their kids to the playground, then grab a table and chairs nearby and order a beer or coffee.
These stone designs are a hallmark feature of the city’s sidewalks every where you go in Lisbon.
We’ve been wanting to ride Lisbon’s historic Tram 28 since we got here, but have been waiting for a good day, crowd-wise. We read that Sunday mornings are usually of the better times, since you’re not competing with commuters and many locals are attending mass.
So, Sunday morning, we hopped on the metro to Praça Martim Moniz, the starting point of the famous streetcar route, only to find a line wrapping around the block.
We waited for fifteen minutes, but the line barely budged. I was ready to nix the whole thing and make a beeline to Monsanto Park for a hike instead. Lori said, I have an idea how we can do both.
Minutes later, we were in an Uber heading west across town to Monsanto.
Known as “Lisbon’s Lungs”, Monsanto Park, or Parque Florestal de Monsanto, is the city’s largest green space, covering 900 hectares.
Established in the 1930s, it is a large urban forest with dozens of miles of trails for walking and cycling, scenic viewpoints, and a several picnic areas and playgrounds.
We did a three-mile hike around the park and the boys played on the playground for who knows how long. Yet Lori and I realized afterwards that we didn’t take a single picture while we were there [sorry].
From Monsanto Park, we headed to Campo Ourique, the western terminus of Tram 28.
On the way, we got a close-up view of the Aqueduto das Águas Livres, a Gothic aqueduct stretching some 14km.
The idea was to board the streetcar at the far less touristy western terminus of the popular line, hopefully grab some seats, and ride it back through the city to Praça Martim Moniz.
The plan ended up working wonderfully. We didn’t have to wait long to get on, and enjoyed taking in Lisbon’s historic neighborhoods from our prime window seats.
At just €3.00 per passenger, it’s one of the cheapest ways to tour the city on wheels for 45 minutes.
Mind you, this is NOT the same type of tram that was involved in the fatal accident in September. That was a funicular cable tram. This is an electric-powered streetcar.
While I didn’t get any photos of the exterior of the tram on this particularly day, I have many from other days out and about. This is what one looks like plying Route 28 through town…
Basilica of Estrela, across from Parque Estrela.
Making our way through the Baixa (downtown).
The iconic Sé de Lisboa (Lisbon Cathedral) in the Alfama.
Sometimes, the streetcars come just inches away from homes.
And…other streetcars…
Arrival back at Martim Moniz.
We had planned on eating back at the apartment tonight, but our morning jaunt transformed into something a bit more epic (and exhausting).
Praça Martim Moniz is surrounded by reasonable South Asian restaurants. We found a Nepali cafe that looked good and were treated to a small feast on a budget.
Odaan has a ton of options, but I’d venture to say their thalis have got to be their best deal. We got a mix of things we recognized (momos and lassi) and some new dishes, like the sekuwa meat skewers (above), and the dhindo set (below).
Everything was excellent, but we probably could have skipped the dhindo (the brown stuff—basically boiled flour akin to fufu or pap in Africa.
Chores, then rest time. Noe’s technique might need a little refining, but it’s nice to have everyone pitching in. There’s a lot more floor space to keep tidy than in a 25-foot RV!
