It was another late start day. I woke at around 7, but Dan was asleep so I set my watch alarm for 8. When it woke me I thought Dan was still sleeping so I snoozed some more, only to wake up far too late (after 9:00!) to see Dan awake and reading. Ah well … we are on vacation so I suppose I can sleep in. (But I really hate losing time out and about.)

When we finally got moving we went first through Rossio Square with its crazy tile work that makes me want to step up when there is really no step.

Then on to the Rossio train station to see what we will do for an excursion we have planned for tomorrow.

It took us a bit of time to figure out the train ticket situation, but we did finally get that done, and then we went up to see “our” old place from 2023 and the restaurant we’ll return to after two years that was mere steps from our VRBO. First, though, there was this changing of the guard for who knows what reason: I think they are just in front of a museum, but who knows?

It was an easy walk from the station to “our place” and the restaurant and then we just rambled a bit. We went inside a church, and managed to get a glimpse of “pink street”, among other things.

With such a late start we soon decided we wanted to get lunch. We walked a while, and saw nothing inviting (but we did see a group of French guys who were already quite inebriated … go figure). Finallly I (foolishly?) suggested the Time Out Market. It’s really a tourist trap, and not a culinary delight as they might imply, but at least we knew we would find food.

Trouble is, we might not find a place to sit! And so it goes. People who do find a spot stay for eons, and no one thinks to look at two senior citizens who are on their last legs and offer to give up their chairs. Okay … maybe we look rather healthy. But still, I have gray hair and I’m old, doggone it! In any case, we ordered or chicken piri piri and stood at a table until, about when we were done, a woman next to us found a chair and brought it to me. (Dan never did get to sit.) The food was okay, but I think we could have done better a few streets down. We just didn’t know just where to go.

After lunch we went outside to check and see what was on my to-do list. There were two things I mentioned: the “LX Factory” and the Capela de Santo Amaro. Both were over two miles away, and Dan and I weren’t really sure we were up for that, so we were looking at other things, but finally decided (as it was raining, but only lightly) that we’d give the Capela a try. Thankfully the rain stopped and the shower was so light I wondered if I really needed to bring my umbrella at all.

So off we went. On not lovely roads. As I mentioned to Dan, he hadn’t gotten his camera out once! But on we plodded, until I noticed, to my left, the LX Factory. Go figure! So we walked in. It’s a bunch of places to eat and shops, and very cool looking. But we weren’t hungry and we aren’t into shopping, so we decided we might return for a snack later and continued on to the Capela.

And the Capela (yes, I’m bilingual, if not more … hah! Capela=Chapel) was really rather cool. I’ll just let it speak for itself in photos.

When we left raindrops began to fall. And fall. And fall. Plus there was wind. We walked back down to the LX spot, but decided, since we weren’t into drinking alcohol, that there really was nothing there for us, so we opted to walk back to the hotel.

That rain was really annoying by this point, and the wind wanted to mess with my umbrella. But we plodded on and eventually we got back to the hotel for a very brief rest.

Soon it was time to head to dinner. I had been looking forward to our return so it was such fun to arrive and tell a server how we had enjoyed it so much two years ago. Back then both our meals were served outside, but since — can you guess? — it had started to rain again on our walk that certainly wasn’t going to happen today. We went inside, were seated, and proceeded to enjoy an absolutely delicious meal, with excellent service. If you ever go to Portugal, be sure and try and find Oficina do Duque. It is well worth it!

On our way home we stopped by a Ginginha spot we knew from 2023, and we enjoyed our little “medicinal” (!) treat.

It’s a cherry liqueur and surely it must be good for us. They can be served in a chocolate cup if ordered that way, and that’s what we did. Unfortunately this place doesn’t serve it with a cherry if requested, and I missed that. I guess that means we have to visit another one before we head out of Lisbon … right?

Then back to the hotel. I enjoyed a shower after spending far too much time trying to figure out how to get hot water. I think we need a universal law regarding showers. Yes?

Tomorrow we have another adventure. I suppose I should sleep now.

Oh … a bit of an aside: adjusting to the time change has been surprisingly easy this time. I have no clue why, but I’m not complaining!