Thursday 7 June 2001

We have breakfast in a tiny café around the corner from our  hotel. We take the tramway to the  cathedral. It is a sober romanesque building. Built from 1150 celebrating the reconquest of the city on the moors. It looks like the one in Coimbra. Inside it is not very special. Once the cathedral was adorned with rococo elements, but they were all removed by subsequent earthquakes and restorations. In the museum (fee) there are some relics of Saint Vincent on display, brought here by king Alfonso Enriques by ship, piloted by a flock of raven. For centuries these descendants of these birds lived around the church until the last one finally died in 1978. Raven are still the emblem of the city. The cloister is being restored rather unprofessionally (at least that is what we think).. We walk a bit futher uphill to the Miradouro (lookout) de Santa Lucia next to the church with the same name. It looks out over the Alfama, the old (moorish) working class neighbourhood of Lisbon and over the river Tejo.  We carry on to the remnants of the São Jorge castle. The castle is sitting beautifully on a mountain overlooking the city. The ruins themselves are not very special, but the view is unique. We intended to visit the Olisponia, a  multi-media show about the history of the city, but it is closed for technical reasons. Then we head for downtown. We have lunch and go to an internet café to send off some emails. Just before a long email is finished, the power is cut off. No e-mail!!

We walk into the Chiado quarter to  café Benard in the Rua Garrett. We have a drink on the street café.

At night we have dinner at A Casa Nostra. A modern Italian restaurant in the Bairro Alto. Delicious and innovative cooking. We take a break in our hotel room before we set out for another night in the gay scene.  We walk to the Rato area, an emerging gay village. We start at  Bar 106, a trendy bar with a thirtysomething crowd. We happen to meet a fellow Rotterdammer. He knows his way around here takes us to a couple of other bars. We first stop at Agua na Bica. A small bar with internet access  and - at this hour (1am) - few customers. We move on to Max. That place is full of life. Fashionable in a way. The party goes on for hours at Max's. A show is due around 3am, but by that time we are already vast asleep in our hotel. 

Friday 8 June 2001

After breakfast we take the metro to Parque de Naçoës, the grounds of the 1998 Expo. We visit the Oceanium. A gigantic aquarium with a wide variety of fish and waterbirds, It is also full of school groups which makes it a bit noisy. Nevertheless it is an impressive sight. It is one of the largest aqariums in the world. We move on to the centre of virtual reality.  We watch a multimedia show about the life and times of Luis Camoës, Portugal's national poet, who must have been an adventurer and war hero. Video's animations and a moving theatre make the experience all the more intense.

We have lunch at a restaurant specialising in Alentejo dishes, but it turns out to be something we could have done without. It is awful and quite expensive. After lunch we take a ride on the cable lift and end up at the panoramic tower. It offers a good view of the grounds and the Vasco da Gama bridge.  We take the metro back into town and our hotel.

At night we have dinner at  Põe-te-na-bicha. A small restaurant with delicious food and fine ambiance. After our usual break we head again for the Rato area. We go to Max and Bar 106 to end the evening at  Portas Lagras around the corner from our hotel. The punters fill the street, as the bar itself is too small to hold them all. The atmosphere is fantastic. A great farewell to Lisbon and Portugal.

Saturday 9 June 2001

After breakfast we wander around the Chiado area. We have coffee at Benard. Around eleven we clear our room go find our car. It is still their unscathed. We head for the airport, where we arive some 45 minutes later. It is a bit of a puzzle to find the entrance to the rental car return area. Then it is a long waite for our plain that will take off around 3pm. On the aircraft Erik has to squeeze himself into a seat (he is 2.02 metres tall). People sitting near the emergency exit are unwilling to swap seats, not even after various attempts by the flight attendants to persuade them. Finally there are two guys sitting on the first row of the economy class who are willing to help us. A round of aplause from the other passengers is their reward.  In Amsterdam there is no passport control of course (Schengen area) and our suitcases are already on the belt when we get there. At the railway station our train pulls in the moment we get to the platform, so that we are on our way home within 20 minutes after landing.!!!

At home  in Rotterdam everything is fine. The plants and flowers are doing well, our fanmail has been carefully sorted, thanks to our good friend Arian.