Caught in the bright glare of sunshine at 7:00AM, I duck into the Pastelaria Recife by Praça Duque Terceira for an espresso and a custard pastry. Its clientele is a fascinating mix of Sunday worshippers waking up and all-night partiers winding down. I meet a young couple named Poly and Catia there, and they are fascinated with my tales of travel. They are eager to get my contact information so they can visit me in the US. Poor Catia is tired but Poly wont stop talking to me and exhorting me to keep in touch. Giuseppe from Valencia appears and I share one more cup of coffee with him and bid him farewell. I climb back up the hill to the hostel to pack and check out. Around 10:00AM I am ready to go and decide to ride the little yellow tram to Alfama. I had wanted to see this romantic quarter above the river, and although I don’t have time or energy to explore it, I enjoy the tram ride and get off near a church with a large terrace and a great view of the river. The Englishmen are waking up and I head to their hotel to say goodbye. At the Hotel Olissippo Marquês de Sá, I stow my bags in the luggage room and find Guy and Mark at breakfast, but Paul is still up in the room. I scam some eggs and sausage from the buffet while they go finish getting ready to check out. I have a couple of hours before I have to be at the airport, so I tag along with them as they ride the trains to Belem. Take another look at the fabulous Mosteiro dos Jeronimos before I leave them in line with all the other tourists at the famous Belem pastelaria… I hear via text message that the pastries were extraordinary! Too bad I missed out. At the airport I drink my last Sagres – a watery cerveja that does not suit my usual tastes but serves well in the warm weather. I enjoy the window seat view taking off and think I would like to visit Portugal again, especially to see the beaches, which I missed this time. |
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