Chiado

The Chiado is named for the poet, Antonio Ribeiro, the 16th Century poet from Evora. His nickname was Chiado which means "squeak."
The Armazens do Chiado is a shopping center at the bottom of Rua Garrett [where my hotel is] about 4 blocks. After being destroyed by fire in 1988 this and the adjacent Edificio Grandela were redesigned by Alvaro Siza Vieira. Inside the unspoiled exteriors is a modern 5-story shopping center. The 5th floor is a food court with FREE Wi-Fi. There is a great little shop there selling huge bowls of soups, usually 5 to choose from. It is a filling and healthy meal. The bowl, some bread and a beverage came to 3.50 EU. There is a huge sporting goods store in the basement, clothing shops, a McDonalds, L’Occitane, toy store, shoes, shoes and more shoes.
There are tiles everywhere, on the street, on the buildings, in the buildings. I will probably spend half the time I’m here photographing tiles.
I woke to the sound of rain at 6AM but it seems to have stopped. I plan a long day of walking. First I’ll check out the “continental breakfast” in the dining room [8AM to 10AM]. Coffee and Carbs should get me through to supper.
I got my Lisboa Card [32 EU] and hopped on the train for Sintra. They run about every 20 minutes and take about 40 minutes to get there. They stop at all the towns/cities in between. My train left at 10:01; at 10:11 we were in Santa Cruz/Damala. I mention this only because of the huge aqueduct there. I love aqueducts. At 10:15 we were going through Amadora which is covered with modern apartment houses covered in Tiles with contrasting color trim. They look like Louis Vitton luggage, Gucci boxes etc.
By 10:40 we were in Sintra. The Lisboa Card is magnetic; you don’t insert it in anything, you just pass it over a sensor. I got on the train and off the train without passing it over anything. I did have to show it to the conductor when he passed through the car. He nodded. I think it is general knowledge that if you want to ride between one or two cities you can hop off and hop on without any hassle.
Sintra is high above a beautiful [but well-inhabited] Valley. There are lovely old Homes, a church with a tiled tower, a grand palace with odd milk-bottle shaped chimneys.
But the Palacio de Pena is what I came to see. You can walk to it but it will take some time and energy; it’s quite a climb. I was already walking for a couple of hours and decided to take the bus. 4EU will get you to the top and back down again on bus #434. It runs intermittently but generally about every 15-20 minutes. It is a narrow one-lane, one-way road with switchbacks along the way. It costs 8 EU to see the palace and the gardens. I got in for 4 EU because of my Lisboa Card. OMG! Wait till you see the pictures. This is a fantasy castle to end all.

Borges Residencial

I am lying in bed in my room in Lisbon. The location is magnificent. The hotel has seen better days but it is clean and quiet. I got the voltage thing figured out. I don’t think the hotel has wireless but the shopping center [hidden in a beautiful old building] at the bottom of the block had a sign that said free Wi-Fi, if I translated it correctly; I’ll try to post later today. I arrived at the Hotel at 9:30 this morning. The taxi was way expensive, 27 Euros for a 10 minute drive. 5 Euros of that was a “luggage” surcharge. There were two guys at the desk who did not seem particularly interested in helping me. I was told that check-in was 12:30 and come back then. They did store my luggage. I found their demeanor just short of rude. After walking around for a few hours and getting caught in the rain [AGAIN] I returned to check in. He asked for my passport, copied it, returned it to me, showed me how to work my key-card, and that was it. A dozen words max. I’ll chalk it up to a bad day and see what happens.
Lisbon is dazzling, even in the rain. There were policemen on every corner as there was a marathon through the city. Most of the shops were closed [because it was Sunday?] but this is a shopper’s neighborhood. The street that The Borges is on, Rua Garrett is pedestrians only. Several other streets in the area are the same. There is a magnificently wide promenade from the river to the Rossio that is paved not unlike the sidewalks in Rio. And the coffee is strong!