The summary is...we had the BEST day!!
It didn’t start out very ambitiously, and I was initially afraid that the day would be a bust. I was up by 6pm, awakened by an alarm clock that didn’t cause my husband to even stir. I slipped out of the cabin and went to the Horizon Court Buffet for a breakfast of oatmeal and fresh melon (which, by the way, has been exceptionally tasty). I kept my phone on (the local system was Vodafone, and the data speed was awful but texting worked fine) in case G was looking for me, but my phone was quiet. I returned to the cabin to find him still sleeping, so naturally I laid down again and slept for another hour. Eventually I awoke and took care of some paperwork (disembarkation form, if you can believe that, and Captains Circle Party RSVP) and walked around the ship a bit, which is fun to do when everyone is off in a port, and eventually I picked up two danishes and a vanilla latte for G and took it to him in the cabin, and finally he came alive.
I think last night’s Most Traveled Guest cocktail party did him in. He partied a bit too much!
It was nearly noon when we finally walked off the ship. This was our first time ever in Lisbon, and all on board time was 3:30pm, so we had some serious sightseeing to do, and quickly. In this situation, there is only one thing to do: we hired taxi driver Sousa for three hours for €100 and got a wonderful tour of old town Lisbon (the Alfama), Downtown Lisbon (the Baixa) and Belem, the launching point for early Portuguese explorers. Sousa spoke perfect English, had a nice car and was patient with us at photo stops (because we like to take a lot!) and by the time we parted company, we knew all about Lisbon and Belem AND his three sons, ages 27, 24 and 17 and his 14-month old grandson Francesco (and we saw photos of all of them, too!).
Our first impression of Lisbon is that it felt a lot like Naples, but much cleaner. We didn’t see a single piece of trash anywhere today. But it’s hilly like Naples, with very narrow cobblestone streets in the Alfama area, and lots of red-roofed buildings. The Alfama area had a devastating 8.5 to 9.0 earthquake in 1755 and the city quickly rebuilt in the Baroque style, so there is some homogeneity among the buildings. Our first stop was Miradouro de Nossa Senhora Del Monte (Lookout of our Lady of the Mountain) with its expansive views of the Castle of St. George, Lisbon and the port.
We loved this table and chairs set on an sloping sidewalk!
We next visited the 17th century church of Santa Engrácia which, in the 20th century, was turned into the National Pantheon, where several Portuguese dignitaries are interred. Finally we visited the Se Cathedral, and with its barrel ceiling, many naves and large stained glass windows, it was stunning.
Se Cathedral of Lisbon
We left Alfama and drove to Baixa, home to the central business district with its wide, orderly streets, green spaces and large squares.
Praça Don Pedro II
On the outskirts of this area was a long 2000 year old Roman aqueduct that just floored me. It is currently used as a trail for walkers and runners and I can’t imagine doing that. If we ever return to Lisbon, that’s #1 on my list of to do’s.
The Belem area featured the UNESCO World Heritage sight of the Jeronimos Monastery. The naves and stained glass windows in this one were more stunning even than what was in the Se Cathedral.
Inside the Jeronimos Monstery
From there it was a fairly close distance to Belem Tower. It was built on the bank of the Tagus River in the early 16th century to defend the city from attacks by water. The Monument of the Discoveries is shaped like the prow of a sailing ship; it commemorates Portugal’s great explorers including Vasco de Gama who “discovered” Brazil.
Belém Tower
Monument of the Discoveries
We returned to the ship, driving by the large commercial square, one of the largest in Europe.
Sousa also stopped with us at an ATM for me to get more Euros. We’re now all set for awhile. I always prefer to go to an ATM when I’m in a taxi and not simply walking back to the ship.
Scenes from sail away:
The Pathenon
Praça de Commércio
25 de Abril Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in Europe
Belém Tower
We walked back onto the ship at 3:32pm, late only because we where held up by others also returning at the last minute. Go us! We were famished but more dirty, so we showered first and then went for a hot tub soak. We have a hot tub clache thing going on there. We cut it short just to get cleaned up for our other discussion group ;-) located in Skywalkers during the PES Lounge. G ate lots of fresh veggies with dressing (he calls it his dinner salad) and started on a beer. But we arrived in the International Dining Room still hungry for dinner, and I ordered four courses without stressing about it; they were mostly seafood with a spinach salad and everything was yummy.
We were quite excited to see a new (to us) show called the BackBeat Beatles, and we were dancing in the aisles by the end of their show. They’ll play again tomorrow night for the outdoor pool party; that the next day is a sea day means we might get to go.
We then went down to Club Fusion for Princess’ Oktoberfest. Cruise Director Paul Chandler is a harious comedian and he kept the party going so well with his never faltering fake German accent and his quick wit. We danced and sang and it was a great good time. (Mom, Gramma would have won the award for best polka dancer, for sure!)
And that is how it came to be 1:20am the new time and I am still finishing this up. I will end it now, and correct its many errors tomorrow.