Day 16 We get to the Castle of St. George

This day started out with some laziness after the dedicated sightseeing we had done. However, we didn't want to drive since the long drive to Madrid was ahead and bustling about didn't sound so tempting either, so it was a read in bed and write on the computer morning. Had it been sunny and warm, it would have been nice to laze about the pool, but that's for another season.

By the time we were ready to hit the sidewalks, I had a surprise for dh. It would be a Goan restaurant for lunch, in a different area - Anjos. We like to try various ethnic meals, and even I had never had Goan. I hoped it would be a treat! By now we had the Metro down almost pat, and were even able to zap our metro cards On Our Own! Woohoo! The Benfica sign (old UEFA memories for me) was a guide on our walk down to the zoo.

We spotted both the Rua de Guinea and these maids at the same time. We had found our way.

A couple more hills (what else?) and I asked a woman coming home with shopping for directions. Right down the street, and there was lunch.

(I thank my dh for the use of his camera for these lunch shots.) His pork vindaloo (sadly not hot enough for him)

and my grilled prawns with a very small bit of piripiri. Messy but delicious.

Happy to eat among happy people.

On the walk back to the metro I spotted something I hadn't noticed before. This is for my first dear grandson...

Once we got down to Rossio, I spotted these but really wasn't that hungry.Maybe later. Anyhow it was too nice to sit inside.

So we went back to the Rossio and sunbathed with galaos, and watched other visitors.

Despite our map reading and studying of the transit map, we could not find the bus to the Castle. When in doubt, ask, so I asked. Oh no...we are finally on 'the short bus'. It had to happen! But it takes us to the Castle!

We arrive at the same time as several school groups.

How much can we see before we flag? (I speak for myself.)


We finally get a good view of the 25th of April bridge (goodbye Salazar!).

And the magnificent Vasco de Gama bridge to the far east.

The views are stupendous and we can see from this vantage point the western side of Lisbon we were on earlier in the week.


But the highlight of my day, and my entire trip is meeting these students.

You can read about this on... Cooking My Life . I was really touched and grateful.

But dh and I continued to listen to this guitarist, Joao Batos, in a courtyard.

Climb more walls



And finally realize the sun is both setting on this day and our visit to Lisbon

But those pastries earlier? Well yes, we had to stop and have a quick 5:30 coffee and pastry break with everyone else at the Pasticiere National. Then back to our hotel, and after heading out to dinner we had another serendipitous meeting with a fellow traveler. Bill it was good to meet you! Stay safe on your travels.

Obrigado Portugal!