As you may have noticed in previous photos, the area where we were staying and the areas we visited were big, wide and open. Not so in the old part of Lisbon.
To town, please driver. Well, we caught the metro train actually. We queued briefly and bought stored value Viagem cardboard tickets at Marques de Pombal Station to go to Baixa-Chiado Station using the Blue Line. The train system was clean, well signed and easy to use. By luck we exited from the station at the right place for tourists.
Small trams were running around, but my goodness, were the streets steep. The area is known as Bairro Alto or the Gothic Quarter.
R noticed the funicular and pointed it out to me. Please daddy, can we have a ride? We did, down and back up. We used our stored value train tickets to pay. I did know about the funicular and had every intention of riding it. It was lucky that we just came across Elevador da Bica. There are two or three other funiculars.
One comes up as the other goes down.
Small Bar, the smallest in town.
We were going to have a proper early dinner, but after bread, olives and wine, the moment had passed
Because we had ridden on the funicular, there wasn't enough credit left on our transport cards to travel back to our hotel. The ticket seller had left for the night so we tried to use the ticket machine to top up our cards, but failed. There was a button on the machine to press for assistance and as someone answered, a staff member came to the machine and pressed the necessary buttons.
The train seats don't look so comfortable, but they were and had great lumbar support.
Is that a tablet the Funicular driver is holding? Or maybe a control screen for the vehicle?
ReplyDeleteControlling the funicular using a tablet greatly amuses me, Victor. Tablet bloke was a passenger.
DeleteLooks wondrous, Andrew. The funicular looks a lot like a trolley.
ReplyDeleteSandra, it is a little little like a trolley but it is not self powered. Clang, clang, clang went the trolley.
Deletebread and olive never heard of that. I need to try it some time.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
Delicious, Dora.
DeleteI've just finished reading a novel where the murder scene was on one of those 'one goes up while one goes down' trams. It was set in Seattle I think and wasn't called a funicular, but I suppose it is one. Lisbon looks nice.
ReplyDeleteRiver, future post, the Seattle funicular.
DeleteSad to see all that ghastly graffiti, but I suppose it is everywhere!
ReplyDeleteCro, and is anywhere worse the entry on Eurostar to Paris.
DeleteThose streets DO look steep. Very steep. And I am impressed that a staff member came to help after the ticket seller had left.
ReplyDeleteEC, I expect he was security. He was bright and friendly and quite sober, unlike us.
DeleteThat sure is so very steep. It's pleasing you both could venture up there fairly comfortably.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, we can walk flat well enough, but not hills at all. Amazing to see old local people walking up hills with ease.
DeleteThe people that live there would be used to walking up those steep hills walk ways - like you I wouldn't be able to do it now.
DeleteYou would have been in funicular heaven Andrew 😀
ReplyDeleteGrace, I think there were four in Lisbon and we only got to use one.
DeleteYikes, that was a steep climb up then down, looks interesting, however, fun, a great ride! Bread, wine and olives, a good supper I'd think. I enjoy olives.
ReplyDeleteStrayer, and I think we had oil to dip our bread into. We wouldn't eat much dry bread, no matter how nice.
DeleteI love travelling on those funiculars, such fun!
ReplyDeleteSami, and ever so useful too to get up a hill.
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