Day 2 Monday 8th April

So after a 12-hour sleep, we start getting ourselves together from about 6am. No coffee or tea in the rooms so Liz pops down to the dining rooms and grabs a couple of coffees from the Nespresso machine. We move slowly because breakfast doesn't start until 8am and really we don't want to hit the town until at least 10.

At breakfast, it's the usual continental fare. Cheese, ham but there is a large range and you can order scrambled eggs (but not today because they are having trouble with the electricity in the kitchen) Everything is fresh and tasty and we do what we should have done with the kids on all those trips overseas. We make rolls to take away.

We have a few places to hit today as well as the usual get lost in Lisbon stuff. There are a few Thrift Stores near us. First was the Humana shop which is kind of like a Fashion Salvos. Clothes are cheap and then 50% off. I grab a tee. Round the corner is another vintage shop. But this one is in a magnificent building and decorated so cool I have to take pix. A pleasure to shop there and the clothes are also cool and different.

From there, we wander down to the waterfront which takes us to the port. Again we are amazed at how cool everything looks. And because it is a Monday the tourists are not really out in force. We see the bridge designed by the guy who designed the Eiffel Tower. Strikingly similar to the Golden Gate Bridge. Walk along the beach which was a bit of sand and a lot of rocks and pebbles. And then we catch a Bolt (Uber) to the LX Factory.

Must say that LX Factory is very impressive. A kind of artist hub with a bunch of bars and restaurants. We wander around the small shops. The bookstore looks amazing and there is a record shop adjoined to it. Jazz Messenger. I pick up a Chet Baker and a Nina Simone album. We have a couple of Sangrias and check out vintage shops and mini art galleries. Great art here and everywhere in Lisbon. 

Grab another Bolt to Pink Street. So called because it's painted pink. And a canopy of umbrellas. Not much to see really and we move on. Check out a couple of record stores but nothing there. Head back to the hotel to catch a bit of shut-eye because tonight we're going to a gig. Before that, we have a Bifana across the road from the hotel. Long queues so they must be good. Pork sandwiches. We meet two young guys in line and have a great chat. They are so impressed that we are going to see Yard Act. They each have two Bifanas, like a bacon sandwich times 10 in flavour. One of them is so keen to see the band he is trying to switch his flight home which is a few hours away.

Kind of overslept back at the hotel and realised we were running late. We're off to see Yard Act at 10 pm at Lav Ao Vivo. The Bolt picks us up at 9.55 and it's 15 minutes to showtime. We get there at 10.15pm and they haven't started so we have time to get a drink and find a spot.

Top gig too despite not playing Fixer Upper. Went fast and the band played great. They reminded me of a cross between Arctic Monkeys and Happy Mondays.












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