Sunday 28th June 2009: Tram and boat trips

Sunday did not look promising as we woke to a grey sky and rain drops on the balcony. With all plans on hold we decided to spend some time tidying up all the leaflets and guides that we had collected. Then, while Sonia read her holiday book, I "snoozed and snored". The rain passed and we decided it was OK to head out about 11ish. We walked down to the Parque metro station, hopping off at Restauradores to pick up a copy of The Observer and to have a drink at Cafe Nicola.



Having pepped our selves up with caffeine, we caught the Elevador de Santa Justa up and out through the back streets of Chaido to Praca Los De Camoes.



We caught the 28E tram from Praca Los De Camoes to Graca. We had an entertaining journey as we headed into the narrow streets of Alfama. The tram tracks merged into a single track due to the narrowness of the streets, and we came round a corner to find the downhill stuck. It had come down just too far for our tram to pass, but it couldn't reverse back up hill so our driver had to swing the boom and she then reversed back down the hill to the points so we could let the other tram pass. Hidden behind the tram were a load of cars and two other trams who had been held up while this "tram jam" had been sorted out.



We eventually made it up to Graca, where we jumped on to another tram and headed down to Rua Victor Corden. We then cut through the back streets, heading for Cais do Sodre where we planned to catch the boat trip. When the rain suddenly started up again, we dived into a handy Irish Bar for lunch.

The rain eased up a bit and we headed across the road to the Cais do Sodre station where we bought tickets for the boat trip to Belem. We set sail from Cais do Sodre and headed down river toward Belem, passing under the Ponte 25 de Abril, and enjoying the panoramic view of the city.



We arrived at Belem, where we had half an hour to wander around before the boat headed back. We decided not to go into the famous Torre de Belem but visited the memorial to Overseas Combatants, that not only commemorates those who fell in Portuguese wars but those who died on UN and humanitarian duties.



The trip back was another chance to enjoy the panorama of the city. We passed two contrasting forms of water transport on our way back, the sailing ship Principe Perfeito and a submarine (possibly Russian from the flag).



As we turned to dock at Cais do Sodre, we looked back at the approaching rain clouds (see above) and decided that we might not bother with any more walking than was absolutely necessary, so we caught the metro from Cais do Sodre up to Prace da Spanha. From this metro station it was as short walk to the Gulbenkian museum for coffee and a donut in the cafe. We made it back to the hotel at 6pm just as it started to rain again. Looking at the weather, we decided this evening would be the ideal opportunity to try out the hotel's bar snacks. While I watched the USA lose 3-2 to Brazil (having been 2-0 up at half time) on the bar's TV screen, Sonia used the netbook and the the hotel's wi-fi connection before we headed up for the night.