Lyn announced that it was once again hair-washing day so I fled the apartment in search of adventure. I’m always happy to climb a tower and Lyn isn’t, so the Torre dos Clérigos was my morning target. It proved more than a view. The church and museum were quietly impressive and included a view from behind the statue of Jesus suspended above the altar. The final climb up was a challenge because it was not designed for passing. Medieval staircases are no respecters of personal space. The view from the top was worth the climb and not really reproducible in a photograph. When I reached the bottom I discovered that a very long line had formed. Not many others would be enjoying anything like my morning moment. Instead they’d be waiting and jostling and watching in frustration as tour groups with ‘skip the line’ access added to their waiting time.
Hair-washing day had morphed into shopping day when I returned. Lyn found a shop with a ‘nice man’ and replaced her handbag. Then we walked down to the Douro and soaked up the sun and the views.
Then we reclimbed the hill towards the shopping street called Santa Caterina. Firstly though, we found the cathedral. The most beautiful part of this rather untidy lump of mostly Romanesque stodge is the blue-tiled cloisters area.
Then we found a restaurant for lunch. This also turned out to be Romanesque stodge. However, we really enjoyed the local vinho verde that went with it. More shopping followed, then siesta.
We had booked for a fado performance at 6.00 pm. We slept till 5.40 which led to some hurried dressing and an unseemly hustle down the hill to get to the show. Before I could say it to her, Lyn said, “I can’t believe you didn’t set an alarm.” This meant I had to apologise. I’ll be quicker next time. We enjoyed the performance. Lyn has requested we find a fado place in Lisbon. We leave tomorrow.
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