The second walking tour was roughly 4 hours, so it deserves its own post.
The walking tour began in Chiado a word that means squeaky like the sound made by a mouse. But it could be named after a poet who frequented the area — no one really seems to know. Then we started our climb with the sun warming us far more than we needed or wanted.
We visited some places we saw on our own the day before — the church ruins and the elevator. Then the guide surprised us with a treat! We went to Leitaria Académica for a bica coffee (it is like an espresso but pulled longer like a lungo) and a pastel de nata.
Then we walked up up up again.
Eventually we came across places that play fado music. Really want to go into one, but our guide says we need to make reservations.
Then we got on the No. 28 cable car and climbed to the top.
We saw this time mosaic depicting Lisbon history, and we encountered this mural telling us about the history of Lisbon.
From the top, we descended into Alfama.
Then we took the subway to El Corte Inglese food court, then back to the hotel hungry & exhausted. Tomorrow we head to Lagos.
Carnation Revolution
In this tour, we learned about the carnation revolution, a military coup that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo government the on 25 April 1974 in Lisbon. It resulted in Portuguese transition to democracy. The Carnation Revolution got its name because no shots were fired, and carnations were placed in muzzles of soldiers’s guns and uniforms. Celeste Martins Caeiro is the restaurant worker known for handing out the carnations. There was even a Banksy graffiti referencing the day.
