Lovely Lisbon
A refreshingly beautiful, fun city

I liked Lisbon more than I expected to.  The section I stayed in felt clean and safe even after dark.  There were always lots of people around.  The public transportation system was easy to use and took me where I wanted to go.
Avenida da Liberdade's sidewalks are absolutely beautiful!  The mosaic tilework is stunning, and the trees give the busy street a park-like feel!  Beware, though, that the tile is slick when wet (as it poured throughout my first day in Lisbon).
After a trip to the Entrecampos train station to check on the next day's trains to the Algarve, I took the bus to the city center, Rossio Square.  Even in the pouring rain, the Christmas lights were beautiful!  Every street had a different style.  The lights on Praça da Figueira (above right) were especially nice, as they included the lit-up Castle São Jorge.
	I ate at the late-hours McDonald's on Rossio Square (even open until 2 am on Christmas Day!).  The double cheeseburger value meal was €4.10 [$6].  I also bought a phone card (€5 [$7.30]) at the kiosk near the McDonald's.  (The brand of card was Footcall--not the best.) All along Avenida da Liberdade, there were giant numbers as public art.  (They reminded me of Helsinki's Las Meninas!)  The zero was on Rossio Square, and they went in order all the way up to Marquês de Pombal.
I spent two days in the Algarve and returned to Lisbon.  I stayed at the same hotel, but this time I got room 602.  Hooray--they had my room ready when I arrived!
	My first thing to do after getting back to town was to take the Elevador da Gloria (funicular) from Praça dos Restauradores to the Barrio Alto.  Here we've just started going up.
It was crowded on this historic funicular!
	There goes another funicular down.  It's quite steep!
We made it!  Here we are at the top of the Calçada da Gloria.
	The park at the top of the Elevador da Gloria was roped off, but I could still enjoy some of the amazing views across to the Castelo de São Jorge.
My next thing was to follow the Rick Steves Barrio Alto and Chiado self-guided walk.  I got to enjoy a few minuted in the São Roque church (pretty painted wood ceiling and mosaic chapel) before it closed.  I really enjoyed the walk--the weather was perfect, it wasn't very crowded, and there were many beautiful buildings like this one, covered in distinctive Portuguese tilework.
Here I am, in the Barrio Alto, looking down on Rossio Square (the one with the big column in the center).  I made most of my phone calls home from phone booths along Rossio Square.	Behind me in this photo is the Eiffel-Tower-esque Elevador de Santa Justa.  I didn't pay to go down (I just walked), but it was pretty to see, and the view from the top was amazing!
	I walked down to the waterfront to see the Praça  do Comércio.  So fancy!
On Saturday, I found the number 8 sculpture and and explanation of the exhibition!
On to the next pictures!