Today was another late day in getting the engines going. I got moving around 1030, while Ken was still dreaming of walking up and down hills. So, I walked the few blocks to the bakery and got a couple of their yummy cappuccinos and some pastry items for breakfast. Like yesterday, it was sunny and around 60 so nice weather for seeing the sites.   

Ken finally stirred around 1130 and we finally made it out of the apartment to start the day. We had decided to do the three Rick Steves walking tours which were doable in 4-5 hours. So, perfect timing. The first one started a few blocks away at the park overlooking the city. So we headed there and started down the path towards where I thought the tour went. At the bottom we found the Starbucks, grabbed some coffee and sat down to research our route, which I quickly found that we had gone the wrong way. Ooops. Oh well, we were close to start of the 2nd walking tour....so we went with it.  

This tour was of the Amalfa area on the opposite hill from where we were staying in the Barrio Alto section. The Amalfa area was once known as the Sailors quarters and is known for its small alley-like streets and the Sao George Castle, high overlooking Lisbon. To get there we had to take one of the trolleys, which look and feel like the San Francisco trolleys, up the steep hill from downtown. With help from Rick's book, we easily found the trolley stop, paid the 3 euro pp fee (kind of expensive) and shaked/rattled and rolled up the hill. We got off at the right stop and wandered up the small streets towards the Castle.  

Once we purchased our tickets, we entered in the castle gates and walked along the walls with a 360 degree view of Lisbon, the rivers and the bridges. The 11th century castle is mostly in ruins, and there are areas which are still in excavation. We spent an hour going up and down the steep stone steps, looking over walls and peering through slivers where they used to shoot at the intruders.  

After exiting the castle we continued to follow Rick's guide and took some small alley steps down through houses built into the hill with laundry hanging from many windows. On the way down, we found Resturante Santo Antonio de Alfama , which came recommended in Rick's book. Since were were overdue for lunch (it was now 330p) we got a table in the small patio, covered with grape leaves and twinkle lights in the front of the restaurant. We enjoyed salads, a glass of wine and the requisite Portuguese snacks.  

We have learned that every restaurant brings bread, butter, olives, etc before the meal and you are charged for them. If you don't want them, you send them back. It isn't a big deal, but if you think you are getting them for free...um, not so much!  

We finished lunch and then continued down the stairs to the main road along the water. We followed it until we got to the shopping area below our apartment and immediately were in the middle of the masses doing after Christmas shopping. The pedestrian streets were jammed with shoppers, street performers and people watchers, so we tried to get past as quickly as possible.  

We had hoped to find a grocery store, get some supplies and make dinner tonight, but the only food store we saw was way back over by the Ritz, which was a long hike away. The Texans were playing, so we got comfy on the couch, powered up the iPad, connected to our Dish at home and watched our team crushed the Titans. By the time it was over, we were both hungry and decided to wander down some other side streets to find an interesting place to try.  

Well, while we passed a lot of cool looking places...we ultimately ended back at Grapes and Bites, where we were the day we landed. They have amazing service, great food and we were lucky to snag a table. We had another great bottle of wine, with the cheese/pumpkin jam combo (again...couldn't resist) and a nice big chunk of code with potatoes.  Our server, Mario took great care of us and we ended the day with smiles and happy stomachs.