Finishing up Lisbon in 1964 - post 13

Streetcars from the bridge of the street above


Following a fishwife up the street

We are staying in Lisbon tonight. We got our Wagon-Lits express ticket this afternoon. we lost our money on the Seville reservation by waiting too long to cancel it. We are going to skip Andalusia and go back to Madrid tomorrow night and the next night to Valencia.

My sister doesn't have a watch and so she doesn't ever know when it's time to feed the baby.

Thursday, 23 July​

Postcard from 1964 - Lisbon

Dear D

I hear you have been helping Grandmummy with the mice. That is my good little girl. The card shows the narrow streets of the old part of town where they hang wash out of the front windows, but it is a clean city. The Portuguese love children. This stamp has two children playing ball on it. Your cousin has cut some more teeth and now has 8 -- Love Mummy



Laundry - Lisbon Hotel

Dear Mother

Rue Garrett fabric shop

I forgot to tell you about a package yesterday. I sent one with Nicky's name with two pieces of Portuguese cotton - 2 meters each. One is for him and one for me. I mailed this morning a package with a dress, two blouses and a hat and several straw pieces. They are from Spain. The dress and hat are for my daughter and one of the blouses may be for Viola. I decided to give you the pkg addressed to you for your birthday, so you may open it. It is antique stuffs, so don't think it is just ordinary.

Fisherman's sweater

I am also mailing today a pkg with 2 fisherman's sweaters for Portugal for my daughter and niece and a pocketbook for you. This is bought with your money and you may open it. I have spent a lot of shopping money in Portugal as per instructions and aside from a few things in Madrid and Valencia, I don't expect to make many other purchases. The fisherman's sweaters are insured for $35.00 and includes also a Spanish fan.

My sister is shopping for tiles this morning. We hope to be able to see the coach museum this afternoon.

Coach museum

A banquet cloth -- organdy with applique costs about $80.00. I am sending 2 rolls of film with her hoping they will be developed by the time I get to Nuremberg.

We more or less pooled our pictures because if one of us was holding the baby it put us out of circulation as far as picture taking was concerned. I'll mail this and continue our adventures in my next.
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We had a nice trip from Lisbon on the train and everyone slept well. The evening before we took a ferry across the Tagus

Ferry dock on Black Horse Square


Sailboat near ferry dock



Lisbon ferry


Looking back at Lisbon


ferry dock


passing ferry

and ate a nice seafood dinner (sole for me and eel for my sister) with tiny little shrimp in tomato soup -- overlooking the river.

Stairs of restaurant


Cacilhas lighthouse

In those days I didn't have the internet to identify this lighthouse, but on VT, solopes identified it. He said that it.. "was built in Cacilhas (just across the river from Lisbon) in 1886, and moved to Azores in 1978 (after our visit), to replace Serreta lighthouse, in Terceira, destroyed by an earthquake. After strong protests from local people, in 2004 it was decided to rebuild the lighthouse in Cacilhas, with the same appearence and approximately in the same place. It was finished last July, but, so far, the lighthouse is... red, still with some discussion."

Ferrys


Across ferry engine room - sister and niece


Sailboat from ferry


Wake and city


Dock with man

The baby also had a good nap at the hotel

On the way to the train, my niece fell asleep in the taxi. It was a long ride, the driver did not understand (!) and took us part way to the airport out of the way. At the station he wanted to charge us 50% of the whole bill for our luggage, and got a policeman to prove his point. We were furious -- it was about $1.50 for what should have been a 50 cent ride. The baby was fast asleep, transferred to her stroller. We were so mad that we refused a porter and carried our own bags. Besides we didn't have any more escudos.

But once on the train, the baby woke up, looked around, recognized the compartment as one she had been in, and went to sleep, from 9:30 to 4:30 and 4:45 to 8. We'd bought drinking water to wash bottles with, to supplement the bottle in the compartment. I slept on the top, the baby slept next to the wall on the bottom and the ladder kept my sister from falling out.

By this time, I was a veteran window hanger on-er. The Europeans spend much time in the aisles, outside the compartment, looking out at the passing scenery. Which was picturesque in both Spain and Portugal, but more poverty stricken in Spain.