Tuesday, May 5th- Lisbon- 19 degrees and sunny. We got up around 7:15, showered, had breakfast and headed out around 8:45 or so. We still had about 5 hours left on our Hop on Hop off from yesterday so we decided to use it. It can be used for every form of transportation in the city so we thought of the tram. It's the oldest form of public transport that is still used and it was headed in the direction of the market and the castle which we wanted to visit today.

It can get pretty tight in some of the narrow streets as this team follows a rail and can't go around parked cars. We saw a few interesting scenarios. 

We reached our destination in about 20 minutes. There was a local market where there were some newer items, but mostly it was a huge flea market. I did buy a brand new belt and Rémi bought some rings. We then went in search of the castle. You can see it from the bottom of the city, but what a mystery when you get to the top and there are no signs. We met up with many other people looking just as lost as we were. Finally a local man lead us I the right direction. It is called Castel ....Jorge. What is ever crowded. It feels like the heart of tourist season, but it isn't. We did see at least four cruise ships docked so that's a lot of people. 

 

The castle is basically the walls and interior courtyards. 

Ron with city in the background. Notice the pack in front. Tons of pickpockets around and there are warnings everywhere to keep a close eye on your stuff.

Nice little archway. 

Ron getting frisky with the ladies of the castle. 

We saw at least six peacocks and some of them liked to show off for the tourist. We didn't even have to tip them.

Photo of the market.

Band playing Fado music outside of castle. This is the soul music of Portugal. It is the oldest urban folk music in the world. Very cool with no singing. 

The sidewalks are of mosaic tiles and this design makes you feel like it's uneven.. 

They copied Rio de Janeiro with the statue of Christ the King, but awith a smaller version. 

Tons of statues around town. 

Statue of the Marquis de Pombal. After the 1755 earthquake that pretty much demolished Lisbon, he is the one who got credit for rebuilding and reinforcing the buildings. 

Another really nice statue.

We were out from 8:45 to 6 pm. We came back for a break, to have some salad and then we headed out again around 8pm. The city is so alive at night, not that it's sleeping during the day, but in a different way of course. The restaurants are striving. One near our place has a line up of about 20 people and it's packed inside. Upon our return at 10:00, there was still a line up. Unreal! 

Tomorrow we will be going to Sintra by train. Really looking forward to visiting this place. It is another UNESCO site with many palaces, and castles.