Lisbon, capital of Portugal, population 3 million, I arrived there in a drizzle and left in a drizzle, 2 good weather days out the 5 I stayed there.

The buildings all need a coat of paint and the streets are full of Africans, all the small shops are owned by people from Bangladesh or China, the new look Europe.

And there is no Tapas or Paella hahaha, quite different from Spain.

Public transport is disorganised, there is the Metro (Underground), 2 kinds of Trams, Buses and also Trains. You buy a card for 50 cents and load it with credit which you can use on any of the above but when you continue a journey from one to another you get charged another ticket and the prices all vary.

I took the back roads for the ride from Sevilla to Portugal, up to the border the road went through hills with winding roads dotted with small towns and villages, great ride. After the border it flattened out and then an hour from Lisbon it started to rain.

First stop was to buy an umbrella from a former resident of Bangladesh, I asked him where I should have dinner and he gave me directions to his local hangout and it was good, authentic Chicken Biryani in Lisbon.

The Castle of St.George (E8.50 entry) up on a hill dominates the old town and you have to hike up the cobblestone streets to get there but I discovered a lift coming down. Its a well kept secret, on Largo do Chao do Loureiro behind the Pingo Doce supermarket, you  knees will say thank you.

Sintra, 40 minutes by train west of Lisbon in the hills has a fairy tale palace called Pena Palace completed in 1854, there are a number of other sights as well in the area. There is a train every 15 minutes from Rossio station and costs E4.90 return. When you arrive at Sintra there is a hop on hop off bus that takes you past all the sights for E5.00 and entrance to Pena castle is E11.50. The castle is a bit run down and is undergoing renovation.

Praca do Comerico, Lisbon Cathedral and Belem

The ride back to Sevilla, my favourite Spanish city. I decided to use the freeway a toll road to get out of the Lisbon urban sprawl and the rain as quickly as possible, should have done this on the way in, lesson learned. After 120 kms (toll E9.05), the rain stopped, off the freeway and back on to the same road I rode in on.