It´s now 2:40 and I´ve had a busy day! Shortly after my previous post, I gave up on the ticket office and decided the whole thing would be easier from the correct train station, Barreiro. This however is across the river from Lisbon, so I walked down to the port and hopped on a ferry. After a surprisingly long trip (it´s a wide river, and Barreiro is not straight across) I got to Barreiro and managed to get the timetable for the trip to Evora. I also had no trouble reserving a spot on the train: €2. However, the information office there was unequivocal about getting from Evora to Seville, which I have planned for Saturday: can´t be done!

I returned to Lisbon, picking up a small picnic lunch on the way, and walked up through the Alfama streets to the castle. Alfama is renowned for its thin, twisty cobblestone streets and stairs, and it took me no time to lose my bearings. Fortunately, since the castle is at the top of my hill it´s pretty easy to find: just keep going up. It had an impressive view and made a good place to eat my picnic.

I walked down past the Largo das Portas do Sol, a terraced area that was originally one of the entranceways to Lisbon when it was run by the moors. It had a spectacular view over the Alfama rooftops. At this point, the clouds, which had been darkening ominously, decided to start dumping a light rain, which lasted just long enough to slick down the cobbles and make the journey back down to ground level treacherous. I had visions of slipping in front of a tram, but made it ok.

Returning up towards Rossio, I stopped at the Coliseu and bought a ticket for the Weezer concert tonight. I hope I can stay awake! Then I turned back to the train station, and finally found the ticket office to which I had been directed in the morning. (Turned out I´d been looking at the wrong one.) They also confirmed that Evora to Seville is basically not doable, except via Lisbon and Madrid. I resolved to check this out for myself, and headed down to the tourist office to hit the web. They were right. Doh!
posted by Tom at 5:50 PM | link |