Lisbon

Planned an early departure from our Water Lines Sintra apartment, with a blue sky for our drive to Lisbon.  We took an alternative route but the main road between Sintra and Lisbon is supposedly the busiest road in the world!
We had read about the traffic in the city, so decided to park and catch public transport, a good move.  Found a parking building near the Benfica Stadium that has 6000 parks!  When arrived there were very few cars but when we returned, there were very few empty spaces!
We caught the metro to Central Lisbon and walked up the hill to the centre of the Alfama district.  We had thought about catching the number 28 tram which takes a circuit through the city.  As with most things touristy, it was crowded and there were long queues waiting.  In true Kiwi fashion, we decided walking was a much better idea.  We wandered through the narrow streets, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells.  Saw some wonderful graffiti, along with the colourful streamers that Alfama is known for.
Managed to navigate our way to The Mill Cafe that had been recommended to Ella as a place to get a mochaccino -  something not well known in this part of the world.  It is an Australian cafe and vegemite and cheese toasties are on the menu!  Along the way we did try Portuguese custard tarts - Pastel de Nada.  We watched the bakers making each one individually and the ones we ate were still warm, the flakey pastry melted in your mouth and the custard was warm and gooey - delicious!
After our walking tour, we managed to find our way back to the car and headed north to Santarem.  The drive was interesting with views of the coast, and the outskirts of Lisbon.  The land is more undulating in this part of the country, without the hills and mountains toward the west coast.  We have been upgraded to a suite at the hotel and have an enormous deck with spectacular views.  The town seems to have a slower pace than other places we have visited, probably as it isn't really a tourist destination.
We were very sad to see the Notre Dame Cathedral fire, especially as we will be visiting Paris before returning home.  In an unexpected twist, we now find ourselves in the midst of a fuel crisis.  The Portuguese Government has bought in the armed forces to try and manage a truck drivers strike which has resulted in most fuel stations running out  We did mange to fill up, once we realised what is going on, but now hear that the airports are running out of aviation fuel.  We are due to fly back to London on Thursday, so promises to be an interesting few days.  We will just have to watch this space!

The People Mover...

Massive food hall...

Our large deck...