Monday morning arrived and the weather forecast was partially correct. We had some heavy rain overnight. However, now they are saying the day will be mostly sunny with just a short shower predicted.

Having cancelled our tuk tuk tour, we were disappointed that the weather would now be clear. We decided to just find a friendly looking driver and do our own tour. We walked down to the front of the cathedral to pick a ride.

We saw a decent looking tuk tuk and the driver looked friendly enough. He saw us looking and walked over to give us his sales pitch. Just a little hesitation and the price dropped a wee bit, so we booked him.

It would be a two hour tour that would include the three main viewpoints and everything in between. Plus, we could stop for pictures along the way. It was just what we wanted.

Before heading out, André gave us a little history lesson on the areas we’d be visiting and Portugal in general. With a thrilling rush, we were off!

Ok, it was a mediocre ‘putt putt’, but you get the idea!

Our first stop was the ancient Roman amphitheater ruins. Just as we were approaching the site, the skies opened and it started to rain. Not mist, not drizzle, but pouring rain. The weather gods were against us.

We scooted into to the ruins as did everyone else who was close and getting drenched. When we finished, we ran back to the tuk tuk and put down the plastic rain cover.

That “this is going to be miserable” feeling started coming over us, but on we went.

We passed by the two Miradouros that we had already been to and headed up the hill.

The rain let up when we reached the Miradouro do Senhora do Monte.

Despite being a bit damp, we enjoyed the spectacular view over the city.

Sue put on her rain poncho, which would have a significant bearing on the weather. Summed up: the rain stopped and the sun started peeking through the clouds.

We drove on through the old city, weaving our way through the bumpy, cobblestone streets. Seeing the residential neighborhoods was very interesting, especially the small shops, restaurants and squares. Everyone we came across knew André; I guess that’s the benefit of having a local as your guide.

The second viewpoint was Miradouro da Graça. It was close to the city Pantheon and provided picturesque views down and across the river.

By the time we were ready to move on, we decided to raise the plastic covering on the tuk tuk. While we could see, we couldn’t take pictures and wanted that option back.

Next we passed by St. George’s Castle as we headed across to our third viewpoint. There was a lone peacock from the flock which reside at the castle. He had wandered over to a nearby house. We surmised that the person must feed him, so he returns to visit. He looked ready to ring the doorbell for a treat.

On our way to our next location, we made a short stop at the Church of Saint Roch. André said that many people have called it one of the prettiest Catholic Churches in Lisbon.

Our final viewpoint was the Miradouro de Santa Catarina. It’s a beautiful little park and was across from the first two and gave us a perspective from the other direction.

Up and through the more posh part of town, we went to the Parque Eduardo VII. It was a beautiful park that had been dedicated to King Edward VII when he visited Lisbon.

We then made our way to the Avenida da Liberdade, the grand avenue in the newer part of town. The area along the avenue is where all the fancy hotels and designer shops are located.

We had the option to extend our tour and go to the riverfront areas, but frankly, my back just couldn’t handle it. Some of the bumps along the way had been spinebusters and I needed to stretch out. So we headed back to the Alfama.

We really enjoyed the tour, even with the short spurt of rain. Our driver turned out to be the right person for us. He was informative, funny, personable and a good driver!

It was a short walk back to the hotel and I couldn’t wait to just lie down and stretch my back a little bit.

For dinner, we went back to Audrey’s, which was our Thursday night destination. I was hoping that they might still be serving their daytime menu as the piri piri chicken sounded good, but it was not to be. Not that there is anything wrong with their dinner menu…

We tried to keep it a little lighter. Sue had the prawn appetizer and then the cod. I went with the prawn appetizer and then had the scallop appetizer as my main course. We paired it with a white wine from the Dao region. Since I kept it light, there was room for the chocolate mousse dessert.

The best part was the short walk back to the hotel afterwards.

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Tuesday, we snuck in what would have been the second half of our cancelled tour. We walked back to the tuk tuk station in front of the cathedral and spotted the guy who had chatted with us on Friday.

We approached him and said we were hoping to find him as we were interested in a tour. He seemed genuinely surprised that we would seek him out. His name was Bruno, the price was reasonable and we were off.

He was asking us about things we’ve seen in Lisbon and made a couple of ‘turns’ so we could see a few things that we missed.

We started with a short stop at the Praça do Comércio. It’s one of the most famous squares in Lisbon and faces the harbor. Behind it is the Arco da Rua Augusta, affectionately known as the gate to the city.

Before the earthquake of 1755, the palace stood in this location. In the center of the square is a statue of King José I and Gentil, the horse he is astride.

After some pictures, we were off once again. Bruno made sure that we passed by the “pink street” with its myriad of hanging umbrellas. It’s home to many restaurants and bars.

We swung down to the main street that cuts across the riverfront. Hooray, an end to cobblestones bumps!

As we were cruising along, there was a sudden downpour. Luckily, it only lasted a few minutes, but it was just supposed to be cloudy – just ask the weatherman.

We enjoyed chatting with Bruno; he kept referring to us as his ‘Favorite Buffalonians’. He told us he actually lived in Toronto for a short while and has a friend in Seattle he wants to visit.

We passed by several spots that he pointed out and stopped at a few others. We drove by the Timeout Market and stopped to catch a glimpse of the LX Factory.

Our next stop was at the Presidential Palace or the ‘Pink House’ and then on to Jerónimos Monastery.

A loop around and over the train tracks took us closer to the waterfront. It was noticeably windier, but the fresh sea air smelled so good.

Our first stop was at the Torre de Belém. Now a tourist attraction, it was formerly a medieval defensive fortress and a perfectly located tax collection point.

We were still at low tide, so you could walk on the riverbed; however, when the tide is high it becomes surrounded by water.

Located near the entrance to the park where the tower is located is a statue commemorating the first airplane flight to South America.

Next we made our way over to the monument to the discoverers. It is dedicated to those people who represent important figures in Portuguese history. Leading the way was Henry the Navigator.

Bruno wanted to make one last stop before we started back towards the Alfama. It was along the river and he said it would be great for a picture – we agreed.

We wound our way back towards home and Bruno insisted on dropping us off at the hotel.

In the grand scheme of things, maybe having to cancel our original tour wasn’t such a bad thing. We met and enjoyed two new friends and maybe that’s just the way the world works.

We needed to relax for a while and thought a small bite to eat might be a good idea. We went out on the terrace for a beverage and a couple snacks. New boats were at the dock – one that must have just arrived, as there was a stream of people exiting at the terminal.

We enjoyed our little nosh and then headed to the room to rest up for a while. Tonight we have our final celebratory meal to cap off the trip.