Public transport

We decided today to explore the sorts of public transport we don't get at home. First: a commuter boat across the very wide Tagus river to Barreiro. We had no idea what we'd find there in the half hour before we caught the boat back. Turned out to be an abandoned railway station and three round white windmills on a spit of sand (extra).

We then went in search of the famously overcrowded 28 tram which all tourists are 'supposed' to ride because its route happens to take you through lots of interesting bits of old Lisbon. Most visitors now say not to bother but we walked west towards the terminus through areas we hadn't seen before into bits of Lisbon way off the tourist route where ordinary people just seem to be getting on with their lives. Because we boarded at the terminus we got two of the twelve seats then spent the next hour either putting the places we were going through onto our existing mental map of Lisbon, or extending it. I was actually much more interested in the ordinary places we'd never have otherwise seen and fascinated that having taken us a long way east, the twists and turns ended us up in quite a central place we hadn't previously been to. I did feel (a little) guilty, though, about the swaying hordes standing, especially the locals who have to use this tram to get from one part of town to another.