The trip from Sagres to Lisbon was pretty straightforward. Took a bus to Lagos, then walked five minutes to the very modern-looking train station. There were quite a few other travellers doing the same trip back. Transferred trains at Tunes (I had pictured scurrying around in the eight minutes we had to transfer, trying to figure out the platform and going up and down stairs to get there, but it was just a three-platform station, and we just had to walk across to the other side of the platform).
Got off the train at Entrecampos (one of the four stations in Lisbon) a very clearly-marked station. We found our way to the Metro, purchased our tickets and were on the metro as fast as if we used it every day.
We checked into the Eurostar Das Letras. Heather asked for a balcony view, which was no extra charge, and so we're in a very nice room on the 7th floor with a beautiful view of Lisbon.
Armed with our 72-hour Lisboa Card (€35 for unlimited transit and free or reduced entrance fees to museums etc), spent yesterday and today touristing. For reference, we saw the following sights (listed in the order from the Lonely Planet):
Elevador de Santa Justa (an outdoor elevator to get up to Alto Barrio, looks somewhat similar to the Eiffel Tower); Rossio (just a big plaza); Convento do Carmo (an old cathedral destroyed by an earthquake, only the frame remains, you have to pay to enter the museum which is inside the cathedral, I really liked it); Museu do Chiado (we liked this museum); Castelo de São Jorge (this castle overlooking Lisbon was a highlight, and the camera obscura is really cool to see); Museu do Teatro Romano (free to enter, we both liked it); Igreja de São Vicente de Fora (we've seen too many churches to appreciate it, but there were cool views from outside); three miradouras (lookout points) Santa Luzia, Graça and Senhora do Monte (our favourite); Panteão Nacional (originally intended as a church, you can access the upper levels for really cool vantage points -- one of our favourite, and not many tourists); Sé (another cathedral); Ponte 25 de Abril (a twin of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco, built by the same company); Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (we were impressed by this monastery despite having seen a lot of churches -- almost missed the doorway to the upper choir, which is a great angle for pictures); Padrão dos Descobrimentos (a 52m high limestone structure dedicated to explorers such as Henry the Navigator and Vasco da Gama, there's an elevator to the top for great views of the Mosteiro); Torre de Belém (an old fortress on the river, overrun by tour bus tourists).
In between we rode tram 28, as all tourists do. The trams are great subjects in pictures. Because we have the Lisboa Card, Heather took a tram for one stop so she could hang out the window while I chased her taking pictures.
Yesterday we had dinner in Barrio Alto, where there's a lot of bars and restaurants. The restaurant (called 580) had really interesting appetizers, so we just ordered six and called them tapas. The kitchen was great and actually plated each appetizer on two plates. We weren't sure if we were getting two of each until we got the bill!
We saw a lot of planes in the sky today, which bodes well that the Lisbon airport is open. We haven't seen any recent news about the volcano affecting flights (just BA strikes are on the news, which we're not on).
The weather has been great since we arrived in Lisbon. We froze up north at the start of the trip, with rain the first couple days and highs of 12C. The middle part of the trip was too hot with highs over 30C. The last couple days have been perfect, around 23C.
Now to figure out where we're going for dinner...
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