Sunday, November 19, 2023
We gained an hour last night, so when I wake up at four it’s really five!! Yay! And another yay because I was able to add photos to the last entry that already had some! Maybe I’ll be able to add more if I can be awake in the middle of the night so I can use both of our internet accesses!
Anyway, we head down to breakfast in one of the dining rooms instead of the buffet and it is quiet with piano music playing in the background. I have the special breakfast of the day, scrambled eggs with cheese and avocado in a flour tortilla, with salsa and breakfast potatoes. It’s okay, but “flour tortilla” is an oxymoron in my book! The hot tea is good, though, even though the little pot only holds three cups’ worth and we are supposed to both be sharing it!
We have ample time to finish and go down to deck seven to disembark. As we are going down the gangplank we see that Lisbon is lightly shrouded in the “Lisbon Mist”, which may complicate the day. We are to meet another Top Day guide and there she is with a smaller, silver bus that will hold all nineteen of us and be easy to spot amongst all the behemoths at the sites. Our guide is obviously a history major and she tells us all about Portugal’s complicated history., beginning with the Carthaginians, then the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Barbarians, the Moors, and the Second Crusades in 1147.
We learn that the Tagus River is vital to Lisbon and that it originates in Spain and flows into the Atlantic here. It is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula.
During Portugal’s Golden Age it was the wealthiest country in the world in the 1400s and at one point Portugal and Spain agreed to split up the world between them! Portugal got Europe and Spain got the Americas.
We see a statue to Magellan who circumnavigated the world and learn that during Napoleon’s invasion, Portugal’s king moved the capital to Rio de Janeiro and all the nobility moved there with him! We also hear that there was a huge earthquake in 1755 called “Lisbon’s Earthquake” that devastated the city, including a fire that lasted for a week and a tsunami. It was along the same fault line that contributed to Morocco’s recent major earthquake.
In 1908 King Charles and his son Prince Louis were assassinated, ending the monarchy. Subsequently they became a republic and then in 1928 there was a military coup. The dictatorship lasted 48 years ending in 1976.
In 1986 Portugal joined the EU, giving up the long-distance fishing rights and accepting quotas on their exports, both of which were hard on their economy.
Interestingly enough, Portugal participated in World War I but when World War II came along, they made a deal with England, their long-term Allie to provide intelligence and an important mineral instead of fighting. However, the also provided those to the Germans as well! Our guide said Lisbon was a nest of spies!
We’re off to see some of the sights. Our guide is having to make some adjustments to her schedule because saying “over there you can see the bridge” doesn’t work when you can’t actually see it! But we do get to see several of the most iconic attractions. The first is a big, red building which was the first train station in… It’s now a hotel.
As we’re driving we notice that many of the buildings are decorated with tiles that cover the entire front walls. They are in all colors and patterns and reflect the Moorish influence.
The center of the city is marked with a statue of Pedro IV and from there we go to see the Torre de Belém with a replica of an old airplane and a sixteenth century tower that served as a fort. It marks Portugal’s Age of Discovery.
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| The Tagus River is so wide here that it looks like a lake! |
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| Interesting pedestrian overpass - note all the electric scooters. Portugal is trying very hard to be eco conscious; but they still love their cars. |
Next we’re on to Padrao dos Descobrimentos, or The Monument to the Discoveries, which was built to honor Prince Henry the Navigator in 1960. It payed homage to all those who explored the world during Portugal’s Golden Age. It resembled the prow of a caravel, the Portuguese sailing ship with triangular sails, and also honors the priests, the cartographers, warriors, and artists, and the women who were left behind.
On the ground as you approach the monument is a large map, all in marble, which shows Portugal’s far reaching discoveries, and, of course, the parts of the seas with sea monsters!
We pass many beautiful buildings and pull into the parking lot of the Monastery of Jeronimos. There is a Christmas market set up and we have twenty minutes to explore. And Ginger finds a bathroom!
We pass an impressive Roman aqueduct, visible through the mist and stop at an overlook to see the city spread out below us. It’s called Web Summit and Nick finds a cafe that sells the tarts we had been told were a “must eat” even though they don’t look all that appealing. OH! What a treat! The filling is creamy custard at least three-fourths of an inch think and the flaky shell is amazing! There is a lovely fountain, a statue, and a talented street musician.
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| She's not always this serious! |
We now stop at a monument to the engineers and craftsmen who build the ships. There are two figures and, in the pavement is the symbol of Portugal. It is said that two crows always accompanied the ships as the set sail. You can see them in the stone work. This kind of pavement ornamentation is everywhere! So beautiful!
Here we have a bit of time to explore before returning to our meeting place. We have the option of returning to the ship in the bus, or exploring more on our own and finding our own way back. Of course we choose the later! We have to be back to the ship by 3:30 which is barely enough time to get a feel for the city. We check out the Christmas Market and some of the shops and find a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that seats about eighteen, called Taverna Alfacinha. It’s highly rated on all the review sites and we are lucky that a table has just opened up when we arrive! We have a liter of red sangria that’s delicious and split a Caprese salad. Nick and Ginger share a Mixed Paella and I have the Cod Special which has lots of vegetables and the world’s thickest piece of cod! Our guide told us that there 185 ways to prepare cod in Portugal. When we pay the bill there is a little surprise! We each have a tiny glass of cherry liqueur!
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| People lined up waiting for a table! |
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| The art museum as seen from the Christmas Market |
We pass back through the Christmas Market and find a stall that is selling tarts!! Yes, please, six to go! Then it’s time to catch a cab back to the ship, well before our deadline. We worry that they may not let us bring the tarts through customs. We’d have to eat the all right there! But it’s okay and we go back to the cabin to drop all our shopping treasures.
Nick goes to the spa and Ginger and I notice that there is something going on alongside the ship. There is a vessel(?) smack up beside us and one of our lifeboats is visible along slightly behind us. Much later we learn that we are taking on additional fuel because there are supposed to be gale-force winds between here and the Azores and we might not be able to dock there. If not we need to have enough fuel to get across the Atlantic to Bermuda!
We all three meet up back at the room and while we’re watching the tanker pull away Christine calls. We arrange to meet for a drink in a few minutes.
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| Ginger and I watched a guy doing the ropes course on the ship. |
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| Last view of the city |
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| The tanker pulling away |
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| goat cheese tart |
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| The server made a small slit in the top and poured in the sauce. |
Oh! There’s a line-dancing class in progress in the atrium right below us! Ginger and I go down and join the fun while Nick and Christine find a quiet place to chat O’Sheehan’s. When the class is over we join them for a bit, then Christine has to leave for her dinner reservation. We really aren’t all the hungry and having a full tummy in rough seas doesn’t sound smart. We order a round of Caesars, although Nick’s is actually an American Dirty Caesar, and Nick and Ginger each get a half dozen chicken wings, (I have one of Ginger’s), but nothing else there sounds inviting.
We wander down to Savor to look at the menu in case there’s something we just can’t miss. There is! Ginger and I want the goat-cheese tarts! As luck would have it, they can seat us right now! Nick has an appetizer and entree but Ginger and I just have the tarts and a Caesar salad (no ingredients in common with the drink!) and then the three of us share two desserts, the lemon-scented créme caramel and the warm chocolate hazelnut soufflé. I was only going to have a small spoonful of each. Ha! Who was I kidding! They both are to die for!
The cumulative effect of all the traveling is catching up with us and we decide that going back to the cabin is the best choice for now. Nick takes a Bonine (like Dramamine) but Ginger and I decide to tough it out. I’m down for the count in about thirty seconds!
