Adios Barcelona, Ola Lisboa

24 September 2018

We leave for Lisbon this morning with a noon flight.  Packing and tidying up was super efficient, we were ready an hour before the taxi van was due.  The 8 seater taxi took us and all luggage with room to spare.  All the taxis in Barcelona looked new and tidy.  The van was no different and the driver very professional.  I booked the taxi by mytaxi mobile app, and approved payment by the same app when the driver keyed in the 48 euros fare.

We enjoyed Barcelona so I will say bye with a couple of final images.

Our last metro into town and walking the Gothic quarter.

Barcelona El Prat airport was a busy place but we were early.  We cleared security with plenty of time to spare.  Being a domestic EU flight, there was no immigration but the airline  staff checked our passports every step of the way.  

We flew TAP Air Portugal.  We queued by those with carry on bags and those without (hand-bags, small back packs).  Those without boarded first.

It was a 90 minute flight and we arrived 30 mins later Lisbon time.  Lisbon is an hour behind Barcelona.  Disembarking was via the rear, so TC was off first onto the tarmac bus.

The rest of us took some time to check out tax refunds at Lisbon airport and toilet stops.  By the time we got to baggage claim, TC had removed our bags plus someone else's from the carousel.

There was no queue at all at the taxi stand, and I asked what looked like a taxi concierge where the taxis are.  He said taxis are on strike and recommended I should take the Aerobus.  I of course hadn't to read Rita's (our AirBnB host) email from a couple nights ago recommending that the best transport option was Uber.

So I went ahead and bought 5 Aerobus tickets.  The agent recommended that I upgraded to the 10 euro ticket which includes trams, hop on bus and the Santa Justa elevator.  6 to 10 euros wasn't that much, so I did.

THEN I rang Rita who said Uber was the best option because the Aerobus and the connecting bus don't quite get us there.  And then there is the luggage.  Uber only takes 4 passengers without luggage.  We needed 2 cars.  

I called the first Uber, and saw on the map he was waiting somewhere else.  A place called KissnFly at the departure gate.  We were at arrivals.  After some mis-steps we got there. 

By which time, I'd lost the driver and paid the 2.5 euro fine.

For new visitors to Lisbon, the Uber stand and KissnFly is across the road from departure gate 3 at the car park.  The price was reasonable at 11 euros to get to our AirBnB, getting 2 was not a cost hassle.  

I was the only one with an Uber account, so we could not call our rides simultaneously.  Michelle and I stayed behind and waited for the first ride to complete before we called the second.  It was a 20 min wait, a soft drink and beer was consumed in that time (or in less time).  We observed many people getting dropped off and kissed at the car park during the wait.

So our Uber arrived and we were on our way.  I amused myself by telling the Uber driver about the time Marcus and I watched The Dictator movie in Prague.  It was in English with Czech sub titles and we embarrassingly laughed 30 secs before the general laughter.   

We arrived and being unobservant, walked up the street past the Hospital and rang Rita for the location. 

She leant out the window and waved us down to the apartment.

We wanted to do a recce of the area after settling in, but I hadn't orientated myself to the Alcantara area and we got nowhere nice.   It was then decided we would do groceries, and a detour was made to the appt to secure the hand-drawn map to supermarket.  It was a long walk to the supermarket and a shorter walk back after short cuts were figured out.

Being Portugal it was a sea food dinner.

25 September 2018

I was up early this morning and went out for a walk at 5.30 am.  I decided to walk to Belem (Ber Lame) where we would be taking our hop on bus this morning.  It took 45 mins to get there, and the Jeronimos Monestary was still dark.

I crossed under the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge twice.  It looks like the Golden Gate. 

The sun was just rising.  When I got home the others were busy getting breakfast.  Still not familiar with public transport, we resorted to the old 2 Uber move to Belem for the tour.  And soon we found each other at the Jeronimos Monastery.  A quick trip to the water-front for some photos and we were ready for the Belem hop on bus.

Saw this cute VW ice cream van being towed.  And iconic sea faring monuments.

We got on the Belem hop on bus and did the 45 min loop.  After seeing all the sights, we awaited the tram to the city centre Baixa and Chiado.

But about 2 minutes before the tram arrived, after waiting 15 mins, Michelle and WT decided to go across the road to buy the famous Belem egg tarts.  There is always a queue at the shop, even to buy takeaways.  

These egg tarts were invented by monks centuries ago in Portugal when they used the egg whites for starching (before starching was invented) their robes or collars, and had to figure out what to do with the yolk.  Now that there is no need to starch robes, they are trying to figure out what to do with the egg whites.  I think we might have to introduce them to the pavlova shop in Karori.  We missed the next tram and waited for next one while we enjoyed the egg tarts.

The first thing in town was to take the Santa Justa elevator but the queue was too long.  So we walked up to the elevator platform.

The view of Lisbon from the elevator platform was pretty good.

This is the Santa Justa elevator platform.  Although we didn't take the elevator, we still had to show our 24 hour pass to get to the platform above.

These egg tarts are everywhere.

We finished up at Plaza Comercial where the World Cup Socca was happening.

The cruise ships moored on the water front walk to Alfama district.

Alfama is Lisbon's most emblematic quarter thanks to its medieval alleys and outstanding views. 

Alfama involves a lot of climbing so Michelle, mum and I took Uber home, leaving TC and WT to meet their friend Kai Chooi there.

Black Madonna

22nd September 2018

TC decided last night that we would spend today at Monserrat.  Monserrat is part of a multi-peaked mountain range and it houses the Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Monserrat, which hosts the Virgin Mary of Monserrat.

While we were waiting around at the station, I asked Michelle (who had been on the East Europe tour with mum and WT), how she felt about organised tours vs our current DIY tour.  She said they are completely different activities.  Organised tours are easy of course as far as sightseeing goes when you have no local knowledge.  DIY is preferred if you have at least one team member who has good navigation and planning skills.  The pace is also more relaxed and you can stop and smell and drink the coffee. And more shopping time, of course! However, the most important criterion to a successful DIY trip is the compatibility of personalities within the group.

The R5 railway took us there in 61 minutes.  After a 30 minute queue, the cable car cabled us up in 5 minutes.  According to the sign at the cable car station, the peak was 1,200m.  The other way up was by funicular, its like a short train except slanted.

The very solid rock formations were well weathered and smooth.   You can see all types of shapes and faces.  Like Homer Simpson tummies and Easter Island faces.

While the others were taking pictures, mum and I joined the cable car queue and we went up first. There were no seats, so everybody stood when inside.

The little cable cars took about 20 people so after 2 cars the rest joined us.

A short walk and the Basilica came into view.

Then I was sent off to the information centre to:

• Get a map
• Locate the toilets
• And I forget this 3rd request which I forgot to ask..... received aiiiya! feedback 

We spotted a long queue at the concourse and immediately joined.  We thought this might be the queue for the famed boys choir.  

The young exchange student ladies in front told us there was no choir on Saturdays.  And the queue was for viewing the black Madonna.  We queued for 1.5 hours, so we got chatting with the students.  They were 2 Hungarians, 1 Austrian and 1 Brazilian.  The exchange programme was at University of Vic, a city an hour or two north of Barcelona.

Queuing.

And then there was light. 

And we saw and touched her.

Soon we were out.  Water bottles were filled from the holy tap, where we assumed the water was blessed every morning and therefore holy.

And we wandered around the concourse a bit more taking in the views.

Fake disapproval photos were sent to the friends who recommended this place.

Lunch was ham and cheese baguette.  

Monserrat is a lovely place with plenty of walkways to various scenic sites and spectacular views.  

Returning to earth on the cable car.

I received a request to go shopping.  As we were taking the R5 train to Placa Espanya anyway, we went above ground to Las Arenas shopping mall, which is the circular structure on the left.  Things and food were bought.

 

The view from the top floor was 360 degrees and towards the MNAC museum on the hill it looked like...

23rd September 2018

We were invited to lunch by my late god mother's daughter Tai Mooi and her husband Josep today.  Meeting place was the Liceu Theatre on La Rambla.

The Merce festival was on this weekend. I think this is for the patron saint of Barcelona and Monday is a public holiday.  There were a lot of activities going on in the plaza like concerts and exhibitions.

After a bit of meandering on the the way, we meet up with Tai Mooi and Josep at Liceu Theatre.  After introductions and warm greetings, we made our way thru the Gothic quarter to the El Gran Cafe Restaurant.  They serve traditional Catalunyan food here which is what we had.  Josep choose an excellent local red, the Nomes Garnatxa Negra made in the Emporda region on Costa Brava.  Garnatxa is Grenache. 

We ate tomato and olive infused baguette, cured meat platters, croquets, omelettes, pork sausages and beans, pork knuckles, beef and mushroom, marinated fish and creme brûlée.  It was a feast.

Tai Mooi is from KL and Josep is a Barcelona native.  It was great catching up with them, and WT cleared up a mystery that only a local can know.

 As in many European cities, rubbish is sorted and put in these bins, which are collected by magnetic cranes on the street.  They are everywhere and usually only metres from your apartment.  We could figure out the paper bin, glass, organics and plastic.  But there is still a whole bunch of left over general non-recycling-classifiable stuff to go somewhere.  But where?

Tai Mooi cleared that up.  General rubbish goes into the R - reject bins.  

Soon lunch was over, and the restaurant started filling up with patrons on normal Catalan lunch time.

We bid Tai Mooi and Josep a warm farewell, as we enjoyed their warm Catalunyan hospitality.

We hung around the Gothic quarter after lunch to wander the narrow alleys that occasionally bursts into large piazzas with outdoor cafes, fountains, statues and playgrounds. 

Shops were shopped at, and some shops were more interesting than others.

We carried on home but TC who peeled off from us earlier stayed on for the festivities in the Plaza.

TC's Merce

After leaving the others to their own devices, I ventured into the Gothic Quarter, which is the centre of the old city of Barcelona. I wandered around the labyrinth streets  where many small streets open out into squares, exploring the area.

After a relaxing cup of coffee at one of the squares in the shade, I headed back to the Plaça de Catalunya, a large square in central Barcelona that is generally considered to be its city centre. The Mercè Festival 2018 was in full swing there. It is Barcelona's biggest festival of the year and is also known as La festa major de Barcelona, and a public holiday on 24th September for Barcelona only.

At the Plaça, there was an air of festivity with swarms of people thronging in between the stages and tents, and crowds watching the performances at the various stages on the warm, balmy evening. I caught a flamenco dance performance, having managed to squeeze through the crowd, and was very tempted to stay on longer to see what was on offer at the other stages. However my tummy was starting to growl and the thought of Michelle's yummy dinner meals and nightly (yes, nightly!) delicious soups managed to extract me from the festivities to catch the bus back to satiate the hunger pangs that grew with each minute on the bus journey back to our Airbnb accommodation.