A tram jam only adds to the ambience!!
As does this delightfully colourful line of washing.
We have fallen for this old and character-filled city and though we were excited to be beginning our walk we were also a little sad at the prospect of leaving so soon. Cruise ships had docked overnight, strangely juxtaposed against the lower Alfama.
We wandered down for an early breakfast and met our first pilgrim, a German man from Hamburg, standing outside the church of St James wondering which way to go. We were able to tell him, take a photo of him at the start and to wish him bom caminho. A little later we returned to begin ourselves. We met an Italian man checking it out in preparation for his start on Sunday. He took our photo and wished us well. We told him we'd have tapas ready for him in Santiago when he arrived!
It was a much photographed departure! Did we mention we were reluctant to leave??
From the church of St James we walked to the Cathedral, where we got the first stamp in our pilgrim credential. We met two other pilgrims from the UK who plan to walk in a couple of days. We were able to tell them where to get their credentials. These meetings gave us a sense that we are already finding ourselves in the fellowship of pilgrims, to which Kerry had commended us in his blessing.
This arrow is on the bottom corner of the cathedral. It directs us into the lower Alfama and the edge of the Tagus.
And from there we started noticing arrows everywhere.
Perhaps you can see the small yellow one on the wall above Sarah's head. The little blue arrow above it points the way to Fatima.
We loved being on our way when we finally left in earnest, and though it was pavement all the way and mostly the outskirts of Lisbon, there were all kinds of things to notice and delight in.
The National Museum of Tiles was on our way.
And so was lunch - our first grilled sardines of the trip, at a very unpretentious local bar. Just delicious and very cheap!
We arrived at tonight's stop - the Parque do Nacaoes, the site of the Expo 98. A bit like Darling Harbour, actually, but with the amazing Vasco da Gama bridge across the river.
The Torre Vasco da Gama.
Kerry finished his conference today and has decided to catch the metro out to meet us for dinner. It's been lovely to have the connection with him our first days here, and we've also appreciated the comments and support of others via the blog.
So with enormous gratitude for the graces of this day and place, we head off for our evening beer - beds secured in the youth hostel and hand washing done!
Bom caminho
Sarah and Neil
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