We left the house at about 5.15 pm, Sunday 1st April. Farewell to the puppy, the tub, the lawn. Everything went as smoothly as it could. A limo to the airport, and we had a couple of hours to chill in the Emirates lounge awaiting our flight. We duly boarded, had our dinner, and went to sleep. Thank god for flat beds! I slept quite well, awoke to have breakfast, and arrive in Dubai. What a huge airport that one is. The last time we were at Dubai Airport we were transferred from one terminal to another on a bus, an interminable bus ride. This time were big elevators and trains between. Lots of people, but things moved smoothly. We had not much transit time to get onto our flight to Lisbon. Lots of space in that plane, so Michael stretched out. I finished watching all seven episodes of Big Little Lies. I watched four episodes from Sydney to Dubai, and three from Dubai to Lisbon. Very well done series, gripping right to the end.
More than twenty eight hours since we left home had elapsed, so we were pleased to have a driver waiting for us at Lisbon airport, and Diego drove us to the Hotel Bessa, which is in the old part of town. We checked in, and before we could settle into showers and snoozes, decided to have a walk around. First I checked out the steam and sauna rooms, just to see where they were. They will be used some time this week.
Our walk took us past old buildings, lots of shoe shops and shops selling handcrafts. There was one very large fabric shop, so people here are still sewing. There were several beard and moustache shops - not barber shops, but they seem to sell shaving stuff, moustache wax, and other arcane items. There is a spring market in the main square with lots of little stalls. We bought supplies of apples, oranges, chocolate dipped fruit, ginger and nuts, and a ham and cheese roll. We passed many restaurants, and a shop with custard tarts. We had already loaded up with goodies so eschewed the tarts until another day. We are here for six nights, so we have time to fill up on such things.
The best part of the walk was the paving. The main square is rippled with black and white pavers, giving a fantastic sense of movement and waves. The illusion is amazing. There were all kinds of designs, often with ships and anchors, and a memorial plaque to the paving artists. S
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