I had an interesting journey there. As I didn’t know the name of the district, only the hotel, I managed to get put off the bus a long way away from the hotel and in the dark! Having walked around towing my case I then approached someone who directed me to a nearby shop wher the staff spoke English. They were very kind, even phoning the hotel for me to find out exactly where it was. They told me to get the Metro. However by this time I was too tired to walk any more so I hailed a taxi and got to the recidencia. Only 5 Euros for that distance.

The staff there were great. I even got one of them and his colleague to translate my mobile voicemail into Portuguese. The room was huge compared to some of those I have stayed in in UK B&Bs. There were plenty of extra blankets which I duly piled on the bed as, even though Lisbon was not suffering the awful weather back home, it was still pretty cold. Again there was the usual wadrobe, desk TV, dial-out (I think) phone and the room was cleaned, towels changed (if you left them on the floor) etc. every day. There even seemed to be an on-request laundry service! I did take a few pictures but I have yet to take them off the camera. They have a website: http://www.residencialjoaoXXI.com.

Breakfast each morning was every bit as good as reviews of other places suggested. Plenty of everything in the buffet – enough to stoke up for an energetic morning! and, as observed about other places, pretty chaotic and low on seating. However there was always someone who would shuffle things round and I always had a place to sit.

The drill was – hand in keys when going out but the desk was covered 24 hours so getting back in was never a problem, Once I had mastered the Metro and found out about the daily travel card there was no stopping me. I even got a taste of the Lisboa ‘rush-hour’. I was soon hopping on and off trains and exploring. I could have caught a bus outside the hotel but, as I was more sure of myself on the Metro I took the five-minute walk to Picoas station each time I went out.

Having friends in a place, of course, makes for an even better time. I saw some places I might otherwise have missed, including the mammoth ‘Vaco Da Gama’ shopping centre near Oriente metro. Most of the time I just wandered around Lisbon, taking in the sights and sounds of a city I had only, previously, passed through. In one of the bigger stores, curiously named FNAC, I stocked up on Fado CDs from their excellent selection. Eating, as we know, was no problem and prices very good, as always!

On my last night there my friends surprised me with a visit to a Fado bar/restaurant in the older part of Lisbon (might have been Alfama?) which we reached by navigating a maze of hilly streets. I must find out more about it as I am sure others would like to visit it. The atmosphere was wonderful. Had I been less tired I would gladly have stayed longer.