Lisbon

Above - Pastel de Nata - custard tart.

Above - Praça do Comérico.

Above - Cobble mad. It appeared to be a national obsession, not one just limited to the Algarve.

Above - Whole houses tiled. One way to support the local economy I suppose...

Above - The Museum of Decorative Portuguese Art and a Lisbon tram.

Above - Me in the tourist tram.

Above - The tourist tram.

Above - The view from Castelo de Sao Jorge (St George's Castle)

Above - One of the many statues in the middle of one of the many squares.

Above - A sign in a restaurant window that made me chuckle - a meal for William perhaps?

Above - The cable car.

Above - The Cathedral.

Above - The Castle

On Thursday morning, my first in Lisbon, or Lisboa as the Portuguese call it, I left the hostel and went walking, heading for the Praça do Comércio where the tourist information centre was. I decided to purchase a Lisbon Card which allowed me to use all the public transport free of charge, have discounts on various tourist attractions and get into museums for free. I'd calculated it would save me money. As soon as I'd purchased my card I took advantage of it by going on a tram tour of Lisbon. There was just me and an Italian lady on the 10h departure. We had the tram to ourselves and our very own guide - the tram driver. The tour last about two hours and there was an English commentary to tell me what was what as we were going around. After the tram tour I felt a little better about which direction I should head in to see certain things and how far apart things were. I headed for the Cathedral and then on to the Castle where there was a view over Lisbon. I went around the Musuem of Portugeuse Decorative Art and ate lunch there - rice salad, quiche, strawberries and a glass of orange juice. I also went in the museum of Portuguese History which mentioned that the national obsession of tiles began long ago in the 15th century for asthetic purposes. Later on in the afternoon I stopped for coffee and a pastel de nata (custard tart) at a coffee shop before going on a walk around. I stumbled across the cable car which I went on (downwards rather that upwards - bad planning on my half - I'd already walked up the steep hill!!). I then carried on walking around and came across a couple of square - both with statues in the middle, before talking the metro and going back to the youth hostel.