Sunday morning in Graça

Today was our day to explore another neighborhood in this beautiful city. We chose Graça.  When we first saw the hill to reach this area we looked at one another, gasped, and trudged on. I am not sure this photo shows the incredible steepness, but believe me, the incline is harsh. I will say the climbing is getting a little easier. We will see tomorrow if my calves punish me again.
The Graça quarter, which lies on a hill northeast of the Castelo de Sao Jorge, is a very interesting and lively part of the city. At the turn of the century many houses were built here for the families of workers. The facades, some extremely narrow, give an indication of the cramped living conditions to be found inside.

Igreja Paroquial da Graça

It is Sunday...a day for mass at the Igreja Paroquial da Graça. I stepped in for a brief look at the mass in progress, but being the good Jew that I am, I started to feel the guilt for being in the wrong place of worship. Wait, I am a heathen, so the guilt I was feeling was promising Steve we would get a coffee right away and not following through. The church sits beside a  miradouro (scenic view), a popular spot in Graça where people sit at a cafe tables under full pine trees enjoying the spectacular view of the castle.

miradouro

lemon cake

Steve and I enjoyed a cappucino and yes, a pastry that resembled a moist lemon cake.
We decided that this would definitely be the spot where we would get early morning coffee and bring our visitors from the states. There are 20 different ways to order coffee here and by the time we leave we will be experts.
Athough most shops in Lisbon are closed on Sundays, there was both a mercado (grocery) and a pastelaria (bakery) where we bought fresh sardines and of course, 6 pastel de natas. REALLY, I was only going to buy 4, but the grocer told me in portuguese that I could get 6 for 4 euros. WHAT A DEAL!!!

Tonight  I beheaded and cleaned, then grilled sardines.

I am getting good at this Portuguese stuff!

Boa Noite