Desculpe for so many pictures

See? I'm learning a few words. "Desculpe" means "pardon me" or "I'm sorry."

A tired olá as I'm ending Day 3 in Portugal. On today's agenda was Lisbon. From Cascais, we took a bus, then a train, and then a metro to the city. It's a beautiful trip with the ocean on one side and the various towns you pass through on the other.

Since I managed to fix my camera problem (read: I bought a new camera-- in my defense, it was 78 euros to actually fix my problem and only 10 euros more to buy a new camera), I took a ton of pictures. I'll try to select just a few to share so that I don't completely bore you (mind you, the pictures aren't great because I'm still learning the settings, and I'm too tired to Photoshop them).

When you get off the train and enter Baixa, it's a little like walking through Diagon Alley.

Walking down Rua Agusta, the main shopping and dining drag, you eventually wind up at the Commerce Square, which is home to the very grand Verissimo da Costa's Arch.

The Commerce Square is home to several government ministries.

Baixa is paved with beautiful cobblestone streets, many inlaid with intricate designs. This is a tribute to the talented cobblestone artists, as well as a sampling of their work.

Another artistry in Baixa is the tile work covering many of the buildings' facades. The blue and green buildings in this picture look painted, but they're actually tiled.

Do you see the little squares at the very top of the building pictured below? Each one of these is a tiny, inhabited apartment. I was dying to go up and see one.

I love the architecture of this train station.

This is a fountain in one of the squares. I really like the way this pic turned out.

The main throughway of Lisbon will make you dizzy if you watch the traffic long enough (four lanes of traffic merge in and out of the roundabout).

One of the things that I was not happy to see was the way stray animals are treated. Lisbon apparently has a large population of stray dogs, and without going into details that will make you cry, suffice it to say that their lives and their fate are not good. I share this because I believe in a balanced perspective of the places I go, and I think it's always important to note that no place is perfect, no matter how great it is. Fortunately, Lisbon is much nicer to people than to dogs. When I asked the bartender at the Ginjinha bar if I could take a picture of the drinks he lined up (I had gotten in trouble earlier in the day for taking pictures), he placed the Ginjinha bottle behind the glasses for my shot. So cute!

If you ever go to Lisbon, you must try a Ginjinha. It's like a cherry cordial and is sooo yummy. Come to find out after getting back, the traditional way to have Ginjinha is to drink it from an edible chocolate cup. Needless to say, I am now in search of a place that serves it the traditional way. :)

Obrigada (thanks) for coming on my virtual tour.