Day 7 At leisure in Lisbon

I could have done with longer in Lisbon, it really is a great place. Once I'd surfaced at the Holiday Inn and had a swim in the rooftop pool, I decided to head out for a bit of a gastronomic experience. Mid morning I headed to the nearby Versailles patisserie with all its typical Portuguese sweets and pastries along with real Portuguese coffee which is quite like Italian coffee in style and quality.





Pastelaria Versailles

A bit later, for lunch, the restaurant of my choice was the gastronomic As Velhas, a lovely place where I tried a local speciality of monkfish, clams, garlic and coriander which arrived sizzling at my table (€38 incl starter, dessert, drinks and coffee).


Restaurant As Velhas




Monkfish and clams with coriander and garlic, sizzling


Typical Portuguese tart, very sweet

After that, it was time to visit something uniquely Portuguese, the Museu Nacional do Azujelo, which is a specialised exhibition of those blue ceramic tiles that you find on and in buildings throughout Portugal.


Museu Nacional do Azujelo





From there I headed down to Praça do Comércio, a huge square which is the heart of Lisbon and which gives directly on the waterfront, presumably so traders in previous centuries could draw up in their boats and unload their wares.


Streets around Praça do Comércio


Classic Lisbon tram


Praça do Comércio







All the Lonely Planet recommended bars and restaurants around Praça do Comércio and Cais do Sodre were boarded up and closed, so I hopped on a bus and headed back out to Belem, where I sat at the same café with a couple of large Super Bock beers and a wonderful evening meal, spicy chicken and salad (€3.95). From there (bus and tram stop in front of the cafe) it was an easy bus ride back to the Holiday Inn in the Campo Pequeno part of the city.






Selfie allowed here? I've rarely seen anyone do it