When the draw came out and we had Porto for a third time I decided I needed to do something different.  Porto is okay but I didn’t want to do a day trip and I didn’t think I’d find enough to keep me occupied on a longer trip.  So with the failure of the Lisbon based teams to do much in Europe I decided on a trip via there instead.  Easy enough to book and I went for one night in Lisbon and two in Porto but with the idea of spending more time in Lisbon.  I managed to book the train tickets directly on line too so didn’t have to worry about that when I arrived.

I followed a similar pattern to my previous trip in doing some work at home on the Monday morning before heading off to Gatwick.  Travelling on your own on Easyjet is easier as it seems quite easy to sit near the front without having to rush as couples or groups often leave a spare.  Going via Lisbon also meant I didn’t bump into anyone I knew this time.  We flew in straight over Sporting Lisbon’s ground and the lights were on for some reason even though I couldn’t find anything about a game being on.  I hopped on the airport bus but got off en route to walk across to my hotel, which I found easily enough.  Then it was a short metro trip into the old city centre to have a look around.  This is fairly compact but hilly so I stuck to the bottom of the hill and finding something to eat.  Easy enough to do even on a quiet Monday though there seemed to be a lot of English voices around.  So after getting my bearings and having a decent meal I returned to the hotel for an early night.

First surprise in the morning was a view out my window of early morning commuters parking behind the hotel but more impressive was the good view of the old 18th century aqueduct, which is still considered an architectural marvel.  As I had a bit of time before check out I explored some of the neighbourhood walking up to the top of the Parque Eduardo VII from where you can see straight down to the waterfront.  After checking out I bought a day pass on the metro for the princely sum of 3.70 Euros and headed further out to see the rebuilt Estadio do Luz.  Redone for the European championship it is pretty impressive even though it looks very much like the Dragao in Porto.  Unfortunately I’d just missed the start of a stadium tour and in true Iberian style there was a large gap over the lunch period with no more tours.  But I did manage to get far enough into the ground to take a couple of photos.  I then decided to dump my luggage at the station and was pleasantly surprised that this was hassle free in terms of security and only cost a couple of Euros.  I took a wander around the same area as the previous night and it looked better on a bright, sunny day.   For any fans of art deco there is a huge old cinema called the Eden though unfortunately it is now some sort of hotel.  The paving in the main square is strange as it gives the optical effect of being uneven despite being flat.  I guess if you live there you get used to it but I found it quite disconcerting.  Next pleasant surprise was that my metro pass also covered the lifts, funiculars and all trams, which I hadn’t expected.  So I went up the Elevador Santa Justa, which is a strange looking lift that takes you up one of the steep hills.  I’m sure it did have a practical purpose once but now it seemed to be only tourists taking the trip.  You definitely get a good view over the valley and over to the castle but as there did not seem an awful lot to look at I walked along the hilltop until I reached the funicular railway that can take you back down the hill.  I was lucky, as it had reopened that day after being closed for refurbishment.
I was trying to work out which old trams were running and after one abortive hunt for a starting point just jumped on one which was going up the hill into Alfama, the heart of the old town.  If you’ve never been on one of these trams it is quite hard to explain the experience.  They are single carriage and quite small but seem to have no trouble racing up steep windy hills through some worryingly narrow streets.  How there are not loads of accidents is amazing and locals have to know exactly where to park their cars to avoid any problem.  At one point we passed some pedestrians and there was only inches to spare.  Because of road works I could only go halfway but I got off at a viewing point on the way back down to look out over the city and the waterfront.  Then I went further down the hill and stayed on the tram until I realised I didn’t actually know where the route ended.  So I decided it was safer to go back again to the centre so I didn’t miss my train to Porto.

At the station I retrieved my bag and looked for somewhere to get some snacks, picking the local mini market in the station.  Some old dear was causing a problem at the till so I didn’t put my purchases down to avoid confusion.  The woman behind me rudely dumped her stuff down so the teller started ringing it up before the woman said it was hers.  I’ve no idea what the teller said to me but she wasn’t happy.  I politely just said, “I don’t understand you and I don’t know why this woman put her things down” which somehow seemed to be enough to placate her.  So on to the express train that was up to it’s billing as being fast and efficient doing the journey as advertised in less than three hours.  The initial bit of the journey had some interesting sites with the first station and the Vasco da Gama Bridge being highlights. But once out of Lisbon and away from the river estuary there wasn’t much to see.  Getting into the centre of Porto was fine once I’d found a ticket machine taking cash though I then realised I didn’t have a particularly good map with me.  But staying at the same hotel as on my last trip meant it wasn’t too hard to find my way.  I went out for a wander but the town was pretty quiet to say the least.  My favourite restaurant from previous visits was one of the few places that was open but was too busy for my liking.  So I climbed back up the steep hill and eventually found a local place that had enough people to be encouraging.  Being a very local place we communicated by pointing, as there was no common language.  I ended up eating these strange small fish that were recommended and were presented with the whole head on and swallowing their own tails!  But they tasted okay!

The next morning dawned as the most of match day turned out to be – wet.  This had been forecast but meant for a pretty dull day, as I’ve never found much to see indoors in Porto.  So after meeting up with Clive, on another day trip, we didn’t do a lot apart from sit around in a couple of cafes and in the hotel lobby as we failed to identify anything worth going out in the wet for.  When the rain eased off we went down by the river but failed to find much of any interest.  So we ended up in the Guarany café, which I’d been in before.  Clive was suitably impressed though surprised I’d managed to drag Phil in there on a previous visit.  We had an excellent meal and had one of those typical moments on these trips when some people we knew walked in and sat down.  The interesting thing this time was that our mate Terry was with them – his first proper European trip after years of being a fan.  Never been sure why it has taken him so long but he’d made it this time.  Not a lot to say about the stadium or the match itself but at least we won here for the first time.  Afterwards it was off to eat again with Andy, Scott and a couple of their mates.  We were forced to walk a long way round by the police and stewards, which seemed pointless as we ended up in a restaurant full of Porto fans.  They were all very friendly and just seemed pleased to qualify and still mention how much of an influence they have on our squad thanks to our ex-manager Jose.  So feeling very full I strolled back to my hotel to make sure I got enough sleep for my early start.

So the morning after it was back on the train to Lisbon.  I left my bag at the station again and got another cheap day ticket.  I had a plan of sorts but it turned out to be over ambitious just because there was too much I wanted to look at.  The bit of my planning that had gone wrong was both main days in Lisbon ended with having to travel elsewhere at the end of the day meaning I was always up against the clock.  But the first stage of the plan was fine as I got a modern tram along near the front to Belem.  This is the bit of Lisbon that you probably have seen various photos of as it has the castle that is seen as the entrance to the city, plus several other sites.  When the stop said Belem I got off but quickly realised I’d jumped the gun in doing so as it was only the edge of Belem not the centre.  But I took the opportunity to wander up the hill to see the ground of Belenenses, very much the third team in Lisbon.  I could probably have walked out on to the pitch if I wanted to as all the gates were open and the bloke sitting in a hut at the entrance was firmly ensconced and not bothered by me walking in.  But I resisted the temptation and just took a few photos.  I then navigated my way to where I’d meant to get off the tram although this wasn’t particularly obvious as there is a main highway and a railway track splitting you from the waterfront.  The famous Belem tower was slightly disappointing on first view, as I’d assumed it would be much bigger than it is.  But inside it was quite interesting though they must have been much shorter people when it was built, as I had to duck through every doorway.  It also afforded great views across the water to the other side and up to the huge suspension bridge with a statue of Christ looming over it on the south side.

Going back to the city centre I’d realised by now I wasn’t going to manage everything and although I found an old tram it wasn’t the one going up towards the castle, which would have to wait for a future visit.  So I did another circuit of the bottom of the hills and also had a look to see if I could find any cheap football shirts.  I couldn’t and the one place I decided it was worth asking he wanted 30 euros for a Sporting shirt because it was genuine, not realising I was happier with a non-genuine one at a lesser price!  I hadn’t eaten since breakfast so found a local shop selling some type of sandwiches plus a cake.  I then just missed the airport bus so hung around waiting for the next one.  This was fairly empty and I got back with no problem despite the heavy traffic.  Then more of the Easyjet experience though I couldn’t be bothered to get worked up about how everyone seems to want to get on first.  This time there were a few Chelsea fans but not anyone I knew.  I still managed to get in the first dozen rows despite getting on near the end.  The woman next to me didn’t seem to be an experienced flyer and got very nervous when we took off although I’ll admit the noise made was a little unusual.  We landed at Gatwick as far away as possible from the terminal and I had a tortuous journey home that took far longer than necessary.  The train station at Gatwick was bedlam and I thought I’d have to spring for a cab at East Croydon though that would have been difficult with a huge queue of Thursday night revellers.  Luckily I managed to get a couple of buses and get home at a reasonable time, well almost!  Now we have the fun of waiting for the draw for the knockout stage.  Unfortunately it is unlikely to be a new place as only Lyon fits into that category of the seven options available, but we’ll see.

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