Farewell to our Square

This was the view out the window of the living room in our apartment in Lisbon. We were on Praça Luis de Camoes, in Chiada. We couldn't have wished for a better location. Not only did the 28 tram stop outside the door, but the Baixa-Chiado metro stop was just down the road, it was a short walk down to the river front at Cais de Sodré, and all we had to do to get to the Bairro Alto was turn right or left and head up behind the block the apartment was in.

As usual with any strange city, none of this was obvious for the first couple of days, but we quickly got out bearings and got a feel for the scale of the city layout. By the time we got a taxi to the airport at 7.30 this morning we felt fully confident about finding our way around. Our Square was a bit of a hub of activity, from first thing in the morning to late at night. The Brazilian Embassy was on the adjacent corner, and queues formed outside from first thing every morning. There was non-stop coming and going in and around the square itself, and a great feeling of buzz and activity. A great location, and a part of the city we'd recommend to anyone.

As to Lisbon itself, I was impressed. It's a bit like Barcelona to the extent that it seems to consist of several cities in one, with each area quite distinctive. The Bairro Alto, described in all the guide books as the liveliest place to be for night life, is really quite seedy, with run-down buildings and graffiti everywhere. The Baixa, on the other hand, is laid out in a rigid rectangular grid, is home to shops and offices, and is all a bit boring. That all changes by the time you get up to the Sé (Cathedral) and into Alfama. The weather didn't cooperate for our day around Alfama and the Castello, but the experience was intriguing enough to make me anxious to get back there some time again. The highlight? That would have to be our day trip to Belém.

Apart from the sights as such, the most impressive thing for me was the public transport system. The contactless integrated ticketing was amazing, the connections between the different modes of transport were convenient and efficient, and it all worked like clockwork. Indeed, the infrastructure as a whole, from the transport network to the smoothly flowing traffic to the hugely impressive suspension bridge towering over the Tagus, put our pathetic system to shame in every way. Coming back home was all a bit of a depressing let-down, I'm afraid.