Abel & Odete Vieira were excellent hosts! Odete met us at the apartment at the agreed time and showed us where everything was. They had thoughtfully provided a nice variety of fresh fruit and a bottle of wine for us to enjoy during our stay.
The apartment was very pleasant to stay in, comfortable for two. Having a washing machine to use sure was nice.
Be prepared to climb two flights of steep stairs at the end of the day.
During our time in Lisbon, the temperature during the day was in the low 90's which made the apartment warm up during the day. But we were able to open all the windows in the apartment and the evening breeze and cooler temperature made it fairly easy to get to sleep.
Abel made a point of contacting us regularly to see if we had any needs he could help us with. We had purchased an inexpensive cell phone from Vodaphone at the Lisbon airport just so we could call our hosts if we needed help. We were told by the Vodaphone assistant that the phone could be used in Spain if we purchased a phone chip in Spain. We did that, but the phone would not work in Spain.
The apartment is approximately 5-7 minutes walk to the Santa Apolonia train/metro station. Using the public transportation system was very straightforward. Much the same as in Germany and Italy, if you have had experience with it in those countries.
Navigating around on foot in the Alfama streets was difficult. Even people that live in the area can give you misleading information about how to get to some location. So we would strongly recommend that you obtain a very good map of whatever area of Lisbon you plan to stay in. The free maps provided by the metro system are inadequate. If you have a smart phone that you can use in Portugal and it has Google maps on it, that is probably the better way to go.
Regarding the Alfama area itself, my wife and I had a difficult time with all the rubbish thrown on the ground in the narrow streets. The sanitation crews would come through and sweep up the majority of it, which made it tolerable for the brief time it remained that way.
We were able to confirm what we had read in Rick Steve's book on Portugal with regard to the people not speaking English. We came across a very small number of people while we were out and about who knew a little English. This made our stay in Portugal a bit more challenging than we had expected it to be.
If you have the time before your trip, and the inclination for it, we would suggest that you learn some key words and phrases in Portuguese. It will help you have a much more enjoyable experience in the country.
Our thanks to Abel and Odete for being wonderful hosts.