Our guide João picked us up early this morning for our private all-day tour.

To start us out with a bang, he took us to one of the most stunning ‘miradouros’ (viewpoints) in the city.

The view was breathtaking.

This was going to be a good day!

(And it was. )

We told him early this morning that we don’t really need to see the insides of buildings or museums, and that we like to walk and wander around and see places.

To top it all off , it was a beautiful day made for being outside.

So he happily parked in a good spot and we walked to the next viewpoint.

Around the corner was the next moroudoro. Then we made our way down the narrow crooked streets of the Alfama.

This is one of the oldest parts of the town and dates back to the Moors that conquered this area. To protect from invaders potentially coming from the river, they built all the streets narrow, crooked and with steps.

This way invading armies can not use animals or anything on wheels, and the Moors will always have the high ground over the invaders.

Urban planning with function.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfama#History

And then in one alley we stumbled across a fascinating door in a 'street'

It was a door to an exclusive hotel and João was able to get us in to take a look around.

It was built in the late 1800s early 1900s by a rich merchant importer. It is wonderfully eclectic with influences of Victorian times as well as beautiful Art Deco rooms.

On the balcony outside was a grotto with a fountain. This was a 'cool room' where people would go to enjoy natural AC.

The walls where 'tiled' with broken china pieces, supposedly from porcelain that got broken on the long perilous journey around Africa.

Down we go and once we got to the river and entered the Baixa area we stopped for a quick break.

We walked past the Lisbon Cathedral. One of the most important buildings in Portugal. Construction started in 1147 immediately after conquest of the Moors on the site of their mosque.

https://www.sedelisboa.pt/history/?lang=en

Then we went around the corner to the statue of Saint Anthony. According to local legend, if you can flip a coin from where you are onto the Bible in his hands, you will have good luck. It is nearly impossible, we tried. Many times.

João did it on his first throw. He was so excited! Has supposedly never happened to him before.

Fine, we'll admit it. We love the codfish cakes. Pastel de Bacalhao.

And here on the main tourist area, they have it with the local cheese inside.

Second (or maybe third) breakfast yay! It was delicious.

Bacalhau.

This is salted cod. The process was invented to have food on the long sea journeys, but is still a staple in Portuguese cuisine.

Then we went to the Church of St. Dominic. It was started in 1242 but got destroyed in the 1755 disaster of the earthquake, fire and then tsunami. (A third of Lisbon’s population perished)

They rebuilt the church, and then it burned down again in 1959.

Not having enough money to fix it yet, only the roof got fixed and now they are just using it as it is. The walls and pillars are stilled scarred, and you can still see melted/burned statues.

In all the churches I have ever been in, this is probably one of the more unusual ones.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igreja_de_S%C3%A3o_Domingos_(Lisbon)

We walked back towards the river and had to try the Portuguese version of prosciutto, called Presunto. Yum!

Then towards the back of the elevator we also had to try the gelato. Everybody agreed the strawberry is the best since it is all natural and can only be made for a short time while strawberries are in season.

The smallest store in Lisbon only makes leather gloves.

Then João left us at Entranto, a rooftop bar next to the Santa Justa lift, with a glass of wine each while he went back to go get the car. What a great view to sit and relax after all that walking, and have a nice cool Vinho Verde.