Five Mornings in Lisbon

There is a light in Lisbon that arrives about forty minutes before the tourists do. It comes in low over the river, catches the tiles on the eastern side of the Alfama, and turns them the colour of weak tea. If you are staying anywhere south of the castle, you can watch it happen from a window.

Day one — Alfama

Reveals as you read

Alfama at 07:12. The bakery on Rua dos Remédios opens at 07:00.

Photograph: Rui Amaral

The neighborhood was already awake when I got there. Two women were washing the pavement in front of a tasca. A cat sat on a doorstep with the composed indifference cats reserve for tourists.

Morning wash Blue tiles, Rua de São Miguel The 28E, empty A doorway First coffee Laundry line

"You do not visit Lisbon. Lisbon lets you sit in it."

— A waiter at Café A Brasileira

By eight the café was full and I had, without meaning to, met three people I would see again. This is the other thing about arriving early: you become a regular quickly.

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