Planes, trains and automobiles

Sunday morning we woke up and with Sarah and family going home, we were left to our own devices. It was a bit drizzly, so Ryan took Willow out nearby for a coffee and some morning bacalhaou. Then after some chill time, Ryan suggested we wander towards some park. He assured me it was a 15 min walk, but alas it stretched out into over an hour, through the middle of nowhere with us having to hop over rolling tumbleweeds. We eventually made it to the park where there was a small amusement park which wasn't really pumping so maybe was more a night thing. Of course Willow slept the whole timewe were doing this annoying trek. We ended up just getting the metro back to the touristy area, which we never should have left.

We got the metro to San Bento station which is beautiful in its amazing tiles. We then wandered down the streets until we found a suitable place for lunch. Ryan had an awesome chicken dish, and I had a healthy prawn and mango salad. It had been overcast but by the end of lunch the sun came out so we did some more wandering down the windy cobblestone streets until we got near the river. Willow was thrilled to see a lady making big bubbles.

Sao Bento Station

We got the funicular up the hill one last time. I certainly respect Porto’s use of all transportation types. And still with full bellies, we were happy to just have takeaway for dinner that night, in preparation for our journey to lisbon the next morning.

Monday morning we woke up refreshed, ready to set sail (by train) to Lisbon, until I read an email from Angelo, our dear Air BnB host in Lisbon, telling us he saw on the news there is a train strike. Gah!! Dear Angelo sent us a few links to buy bus tickets… but the first link only had tickets for a 9pm train. And the second link didn't work work when we tried to buy tickets for the 10:15 bus. Ryan tried to ask our hotel staff to book tickets for us instead, but they weren't too helpful either. So we quickly packed up, checked out, walked through some drizzle to the metro and arrived at the bus station. Ryan queued up for tickets, and after about 15 mins realised we needed to get more cash out to buy the tickets, and we'd have to wait for the 1pm bus. So by this point we decided it would just be easier to rent a car and drive to Lisbon. So we got the metro back out to the airport and rented a car.

Three or so hours later, we had successfully navigated the hairy streets of inner city Lisbon, and Ryan managed to park behind a pole which I never thought possible. He really does impress me with his Euro driving skills. So then we checked into our air bnb which was beautiful, and dear Angelo had left us a bottle of red and some Portuguese tarts as a welcome gift which were sorely needed by that point.

So we soon hit the streets of Lisbon. Lots of cobble stone alley ways, and then suddenly some popup markets where Ryan was thrilled to get a take away vino tinto in a plastic cup. I've never seen him so happy. We also stopped by a playground for some fun and shared some churros.

We then had dinner in a little hole in the wall place while Willow quietly sat in her pram and watched Peppa Pig. She has been a perfect little travel companion!