Lisbon Thursday, June 26
We arrived at the Lisbon airport around 10:30 a.m. Portugal time, exhausted but excited to explore this part of the world we had never seen before. Thankfully we had no trouble knowing what to do since a Uniworld representative was holding up her sign and we just had to follow her to the bus which would take us to our hotel.
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| View of Lisbon from Hotel Tiara |
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| You could see all the way to the waterfront of Lisbon from the park near the hotel. |
Hotel Tiara was a short drive away and it was very well appointed and comfortable. After a short nap we explored the area on foot at the recommendation of Pilar, our Uniworld local hostess who gave us maps and suggestions for where to go for dinner etc.
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| Gulbenkian Museum |
We visited the Gulbenkian Museum and walked around a beautiful park with an outdoor restaurant for our first Portuguese beer.
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| A beautiful Park near Hotel Tiara with a jumbo screen for watching soccer and for other events. |
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| The red umbrellas welcoming us in for a beer. |
Back at the hotel we attended the welcome briefing with Pilar and got the scoop on a few things that would help us deal with the being foreigners in this lovely city. We walked a few blocks away to “Relicario” a nearby local restaurant. On the way we met up with Roger and Lynn from New Zealand and had our first of many great meals with them. Already I felt comfortable and safe in this beautiful country.
Lisbon Friday, June 27
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| Old Fortress at the Waterfront |
We boarded the bus for a guided morning tour of Lisbon, Europe’s second oldest capital, next to Athens.
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| Henry the Navigator Monument |
This included the waterfront and amazing Monument of Henry the Navigator UNESCO sight, a visit to the custard tart factory with a tasting, a tour of the ornate cathedral where Vasco De Gama is entombed, and a walk through the narrow streets of Alfama an old and incredibly soulful section of the city.
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| delicious custard tart! |
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| Vasco De Gama entombed at the old Cathedral |
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| Sofia showing us the world map of Portuguese explorers |
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| Alfama |
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| Famous Portuguese Tile facades |
With recommendations from our intriguing guide Sofia, we set off on our own to have lunch at a lovely outdoor restaurant and then touring on our own.
We took a public transit bus up the winding streets to the ruins of Castle Jorge and one of the most spectacular views I have ever enjoyed.
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| our hotel from the castle |
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| Castle views, ever present red roofs |
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| Castle beauty |
We could see our hotel in the distance from here and realized Sofia was not being over enthusiastic when she said it would be perfectly reasonable to walk back to the hotel.
We did just that inhaling the sights and sounds of this gorgeous place. We went to another local restaurant near the hotel called Sabor and Arte for supper where we met Ellen and Richard, from near Toronto. We had a blast with them and would enjoy their company throughout the cruise. Ordering was a fun challenge each meal but the locals were quite good at explaining but many of the menus had English as well as Portuguese. Fish galore but I enjoyed the chicken.
Sintra and Cascais Saturday June 28
This was an optional excursion that we chose which included a visit to Palacio Nacional de Queluz, an 18th century palace with Rococo architecture and breathtaking gardens.
From there we went to the city of Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was stunning to say the least. We toured the National Palace there which has Moorish features, an integral part of Portugal’s past since Muslims controlled the Iberian Penninsula for a period. This was quite a contrast from the Queluz Palace.
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| Tiles, tiles, everywhere! |
The town itself is set on hillsides with spectacular homes and buildings with charming winding narrow streets and shops.
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| Sintra shopping streets |
On the way back we stopped in the seaside suburb of Lisbon called Cascais. This is a resort town with lovely beaches and cobblestone streets and shops.
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| We enjoyed lunch at a cafe overlooking a small beach. |
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| The crazy streets of Cascais tiled with optical illusions! |
What a great day!
