Lisbon (Saturday 3/25)

 We turned the trip around. Today was a wonderful first day in Lisbon. First, Andrew and I went to a grocery store to get provisions for the apartment (there was no soap, shampoo, anything at all) and brought back some pasteis de nata from a small bakery. Then we headed out to explore, beginning what would be 7.5 miles of walking throughout the day. 

We walked for a bit then had coffee at an outdoor cafe before heading to the Rua Augusta. We saw Commerce Square, visited our first Ale-Hop of the trip to buy sunglasses for Greta, and had a delicious lunch of jamon sandwiches (and grilled veggies for Mom) at Beher Lisboa. We walked to the Santa Justa lift--we didn't take the lift but walked up to the viewing platform, where the views were spectacular. (We stopped at another Ale-Hop and a Muji along the way.) There was a beautiful view of the castle from there--our destination for tomorrow.

Then we visited the Carmo convent and archeological museum, where we saw two mummies of children--they were in glass cases, and had all their teeth still in tact; truly one of the creepiest things I've ever seen. We sat at an outdoor cafe in Rossio Square for coffee after that, then headed to the Santa Roque church. The side chapels there are amazing. There's also a statue of a lottery seller in the square outside, and we rubbed his ticket for good luck. We stopped at a bakery for a snack of pastries.

At some point today we stopped in H&M--the kids loved shopping at H&M in Barcelona and were thrilled to pick out a few things here. Lucia got a t-shirt, a cardigan, a phone strap, and a purse; Greta got a t-shirt, pants, a sundress, and a jacket. 

We had dinner at Oficina, at a table tucked onto a landing between many very steep sets of stairs. It was a perfect spot, with delicious food. We shared a bottle of vinho verde and enjoyed the people-watching. Afterward, we had some of the most delicious gelato we've ever had at Sorbettino on Rua da Misericordia (Chiado neighborhood). 

It was a great and full first day in Lisbon.