Wednesday 4th May
Apartment: https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Vacation RentalReview-g189158-d3731449-Comfort_c lass_convenience_Historic_Centre_CS2-Li sbon_Lisbon_District_Central_Portugal.h tml.
It was our last morning in Marseillette and, with a Somewhat cruel and twisted irony, it was sunny mild and calm. Gone were the bitter winds that had plagued us since our arrival. The story gets better though as the forecast for Lisbon, our next port of call, shifts from sunny and mid-20s to cold and wet for the full five days of our stay.
Anyway, on with the move. The Gite owners, Carol and Andrew, had kindly offered to give us a lift to Toulouse airport for our 1pm flight and so we departed at about 9am for the 90 min journey. Mark was most impressed to be having his first ride in a flash red Tesla model S. The best feature from my perspective was that, given the Tesla doesn’t have a conventional engine, there is ample storage space with a boot in the back and front as well! So, all our luggage fitted in without any problems.
The flight to Lisbon went fairly smoothly, albeit with some delay, but we finally landed by about 4.30pm and made it to the apartment some 30 minutes later. The weather for our arrival was sunny and warm but this seemed like a cruel tease of what we’d be missing in the days to come.
Susana let us into the apartment and we were pleasantly surprised by just how lovely, clean and well equipped the lodgings were but, even more importantly, just how well situated we were. Susana mentioned that Lisbon is transitioning into a more sophisticated European city and we had already gained a sense of that from our airport experience.
Our apartment is located close to the water for our morning walks ( see the photo of water glimpses) and just minutes away from a huge array of cafes, restaurants, some produce markets and the more authentic of the Fado bars. The local area had a buzz similar to that of Darlinghurst: lots of people and activity, but especially young people. Being on the 2nd floor and with double glazing though meant the apartment was rather quiet for now which hopefully bodes well for sleeping.
Susana eventually left us and we followed her instructions to source some milk, wine and beer. Life’s staples. We then headed down to the covered market area where we were advised there were some great restaurants at the Time Out Mercardo de Ribeira. What an understatement this was!! We stopped off at the Trinca restaurant and had a fantastic tapas-style meal served by Andre. Everything was fantastic; the food, the wine and even Mark’s chocolate mousse dessert. Mark and I were amazed by this whole dining concept space. We’ve only been here a few hours but, if you haven’t been to Lisbon, hurry up and book a ticket before it takes off without you!
We eventually dragged ourselves away and headed home for a well earned rest before tomorrow’s walking tour. We have a great feeling about Lisbon and we’re looking forward to the next few days.
