Spectacular Street Car Views and Back in a Castle Again

After the Octopus and prior to the Urban Art, I went back to Alfama, the winding, ancient neighborhood, because I only saw a bit of it before the sun set last night. Here's what it looks like when the clouds burn off:

And this is St. Vincent:

Earlier I tried to catch the famed street car, E328, but the line was long. So I started wandering, and what do you know...the small stops along the way were not long at all; in fact, they were non-existent. I hopped on and was treated to some spectacular views - so spectacular that after disembarking 40 minutes later, I re-traced the route on foot to get these photos.

What a fascinating ride. Hard to believe that this ancient form of transportation exists. And the tracks seem so shallow, the hills so steep, the cars so full (I was pressed up against a metal bar for most of my ride). I sat up front where I watched the operator CRANK the dial to switch our course and screech the brakes when a truck  - with emergency lights flashing - continued to load huge pieces of furniture while we waited. Or when a car tried three times to parallel park in our path. The driver had nothing but patience for all of these shenanigans on his tracks, and gave a friendly "thumbs up" to all of the street cars that passed us. It was so much fun I think I will do it again tomorrow now that I know the secret to catching it without waiting in line.





Here is a view from my smashed viewpoint - he is cranking the gears, I guess:


























Prior to the Octopus, after my breakfast Pastel (egg custard tart - yes, delicious, but not as divinely crispy as that first one), I climbed back up to the castle to see all of it. Yesterday I only saw the big line to get a ticket in, but this morning it was empty. Not only is February a great time as far as lines go, it is the perfect temperature - for me, at least. It's between 55-60 degrees, a little warmer when the sun comes out.

Having lived in a castle for two years in Vietnam, it was especially fun to see this one - Castelo de Sao Jorge - a Moorish castle which has overlooked the city since the 11th century. It's a great landmark for me since it's by my hotel - I cannot get lost - and it's in almost every city view.

Anyway, I spent two hours climbing up and down a bunch of ancient, steep, scary stairs that America would not allow us to climb to get "the best views of Lisbon" (according to the toothless-yet-smiley guard at the archaeological site). One of the best things about this castle - its inhabitants include dozens of regal peacocks who roam around freely. I tried desperately to get a good shot of one, but was reminded of the days when Angie and I would take countless bad pictures of zoo animals. Here is one, even though everyone hates pictures of zoo animals:

And here is a very old house not far from the castle. I could take pictures of streets and houses here all day. In fact, that's what I did. I walked for about ten hours and took too many pictures of streets and houses, only a few of which I am sharing with you.






















I came in at 8 pm to rest my feet. Now I will venture down the eight flights of stairs (I'm on the fourth floor, but there are two winding flights per floor, so I'm claiming all of them!) and find something to eat. This city is small, walkable, tasty and beautiful.