Today we decided to take a couple "hop on- hop off" bus tours. But we did not realize until we went to book these tours that their routes would be shortened because of a marathon race day.

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The first bus trip took us west of the city centre to Belem and the Tower of Belem along the Rio Tejo.

_02A0372 This place was very touristy, crawling with all sorts of hawkers.

_02A0388 Our second tour was into modern Lisbon. Many new and modern buildings were along the route. This contrasted with central Lisbon which has numerous derelict and vandalized old buildings in various states of disrepair.

What we really wanted to see was the Gloria funicular. After hopping off the bus and waiting in line for about half an hour, the conductor walked down to inform us that the funicular had mechanical problems and had stopped running. So yesterday our tram broke down during a rain storm, today bus trips were rerouted, and now a broken-down funicular - not good luck!

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This is a photo of the stalled funicular train.

_02A0500 This photo illustrates how most of old Lisbon's streets and squares are covered by mosaic cobblestones and decorative tiles, all uniquely patterned. It's beautiful, but one must walk carefully especially when the street and sidewalks are wet.

This was taken in Figueira Square, near our hotel.

So we returned to our hotel and decided to have a glass of wine at the rooftop bar and photograph the city from there.