We bought ourselves a two-day bus ticket and headed off happily to see the sites of Lisbon and to learn more about this city. The weather was perfect and the crowds were minimal when we started. It certainly got busier as the day went on.

This photo shows the Rua Augusta Arch, at the end of this famous street in the heart of the city. We wandered along it yesterday and it was where we had lunch the previous day. The arch commemorates the city’ reconstruction after the earthquake of 1755.

The bus tour we took today included the modern Lisbon areas. We drove past the 1998 World Expo site and were suitably dazzled by the snazzy architecture. This shot shows an amazing roofline and if you peer underneath it out to the Tagus River you might see the Vasco da Gama bridge, the longest in Europe at 17km.

We visited the Oriente Railway Station yesterday, but did not get this view the way we came. It is very impressive.

We were told that Lisbon has a population of just over 3 million people which is a quarter of the country’s population! Its patron saint is Saint Anthony and there are quite a few things named after him.

Tram 28

Riding on this is supposed to be the highlight of any trip to Lisbon. Nowadays, the city officials and locals warn travellers to take care of pickpockets. The trams were originally commissioned in the 1930s and are still an integral part of the city’s public transport network. The trip was fun up some extremely skinny streets.

How have we sustained ourselves today??
Well, morning tea was had at the same restaurant as yesterday, the busiest cafe in Rua Augusta. We broke our rule about avoiding sugar to try the local custard tart, pastéis de nata.

For lunch we went in search of a local restaurant we’d read about on TripAdvisor. We tried the suckling pig sandwich (roll) and a fresh lemonade, lemon juice without sugar. It was yummy, but not cheap.

We are going to a local fish restaurant this evening, just 200 metres away from where we are staying. It is supposed to be fantastic. Will keep you posted.

Can you guess what this small business is about? We have spotted two of these setups in the main city area.