Portugal Trip Report: Sesimbra, Tomar, Evora, Lagos, Lisbon

N2- Sesimbra
You are asking yourself, Why Sesimbra. Me too! Haha! Nick picked this location. It has a rich history dating back to prehistoric times, with the Moors building the start of the castle and, after some back and forth, the castle being claimed and fortified by various Christian kings, and then somewhere around the 15th century, people started moving down the hill to the beach and the fishing village of Sesimbra was born. So, it’s a nice historical town, allows some beach relaxation time, and there’s also a castle. Sesimbra it is! There are other locations, like Cascais which has a Citadel, but this is the one he picked. I figured we’d fly into Lisbon and then taxi to our place, which is about 40km from the Lisbon airport. Easy, right?

Those who read our last trip report may recall how terrible my navigation and direction sense is. Well, I got that part going right out of the gate getting to our first stop of Sesimbra. The taxi station is right outside the terminal 1. There didn’t seem to be anyone directing who got which taxi, you just line up and the taxis park and one of them may or may not wave you over. Well one did wave us over and he asked me to enter the address into his phone. I did – at least I thought I did – but apparently I mistyped because 30 minutes later we arrive at this random industrial place and we’re like, “this doesn’t look like the beach.” I probably could have figured out we were going in the wrong direction a lot sooner if my Trip Getting Around Brain wasn’t total trash.

So then we put the correct address in – I still don’t know how I messed that up – but we were apparently so off track now, and rush hour traffic was going on, that it was more than an hour to get to our place in Sesimbra. Goodness! I hope I’ve gotten that out of my system!

But our place is right on California Beach. It’s wonderful and restorative to hear ocean waves landing on the shore. We got settled and had dinner at O Velho o Mar. We chatted with a nice British couple seated next to us. He was an English teacher and now is a poet, and she was an activist in the 60s, and now they are on a walkabout through Portugal. Lovely couple.

N3: Sesimbra
Today we decided to just rest and leave the hike up to the castle and other things for tomorrow. Sesimbra was a medieval fishing village and now is a nice beach town with lots of tourists. Not much English is spoken here. There is a long promenade with large hotels, restaurants (hamburgers are really popular) and shops selling all the same beach items (hats, umbrellas). The real town is up narrow cobblestone streets, up, up, and up some more.

Where we ate: We had brunch (I prefer eggs in the morning) at Gliese Sesimbra Restaurant and Bar, which I think is attached to a hotel. The price was very reasonable and my omelet was good, kind of a cross between an American-style omelet and a crepe. Then we had beach and relaxation time. People sure do love to tan! I'm very pale and need to be in shade at all times. haha! And then dinner at Barcadelta which was just a couple blocks up the street from the beach boardwalk. Nick had sea bass which was delicious and I had monkfish and prawns which was only okay. Overall the price of food and beverage here is very reasonable.

N4 – Sesimbra
Much of Sesimbra Castle was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake, but today we made the hike – and it was an official “hike” the way we did it – up the hill to see Sesimbra castle. You can absolutely drive up, or take a taxi/Bolt/Uber, but Nick has this thing where he loves to walk. So up we went. We began the journey by going up the narrow cobblestone streets and eventually arrived at “the stairs” (which I’m calling them out of love for The Lord of the Rings reference of Golum guiding Frodo up the stairs to Mordor to dispose of the One Ring). It was a dirt path with log stairs, up and up. A very well-maintained hiking path with a few benches along the way to stop and rest. And the views of the ocean just got more and more spectacular the higher we got.

It’s technically only 668 meters of walking length, but the elevation gain was about 100 meters. So if we did trigonometry…we’d probably stop reading. So let’s just say it was a steep walk! haha

The Church of Santa Maria do Castelo was restored after the earthquake and we stopped in there. And then we wandered around the grounds to see the remains that exist, including the cistern that brought water up, and the place where the elders met to discuss elder things. There are a few interpretive signs, but nothing more than that. There is also a cemetery.

May I just mention how many people I saw walking around the castle complex wearing flip-flops? So many feelings and comments… My legs were so shaky after our walk up that I was having trouble just walking up the rocky steps in my sturdy gym shoes, I couldn't imagine trying it with flip flops.

There is also a café and some tables where you can wait for a taxi/Uber/Bolt to take you back down the immense hill, which is exactly what we did. We “bolted” to Marulla beach bar/club – which is on the far side of the beach near the harbor. For 20 euros you can rent lounge chairs and sit under a palapa right by the harbor (but it is BYOT - bring your own towels).

There is a British pub right near our apartment that plays American football so we stopped in to watch some NFL. My team won!

Tomorrow we will take a taxi to the Europcar place to rent a car and drive to Tomar for some Knights Templar history. Wish me luck because people drive like maniacs here – and not the nice 10,000 kind from my youth.

Keep it coming!

Enjoying your report.

And we too were surprised by the driving in Portugal. There are just so many cars…..

Very funny (loved the 10,000 Maniacs reference!).........looking forward to more!

N5 – Travel day to Tomar, with a brief stop in Santarem

My legs are not near as sore today as I was expecting from our hike yesterday, so I’ll take that as a win!

Today we said goodbye to the waves with a breakfast croissant and a lemon nata. We didn’t get a chance to have one yet, so I made sure to get one for breakfast. Natas are small custard treats and come in all kinds of flavors, savory and sweet. Very yummy.

Renting the car. We took a Bolt to a Europcar rental place back in Lisbon. I picked a location that seemed most convenient (Av. Antonio Augusto), not back at the airport, and one that seemed on our way to Tomar. Somehow I got the address not quite right again (shocking) and we ended up on the wrong side of a busy street, but the driver was so nice to take another few minutes to go around the block so we were on the right side. The rental experience was just fine. We are dropping the car off in Lagos, so I did have to pay a 100 Euro one-way fee. Nick drove and I navigated. Me navigate?? I know, I know. But I was feeling so nervous about driving the car and I’m actually fairly decent at following Google maps, even if I sometimes don’t realize where it’s taking me. haha The location was a good choice because we were very close to the main highway (A1, I think) and quickly got on our way to Tomar.

Santarem. Since we were running a bit ahead of schedule, we decided to stop into Santarem for a bite to eat. I asked ChatGPT to recommend a place where we could park near the historic part of town and it recommended Parque de Estacionamento Largo Padre Chiquito. That’s quite a lot to plug into Google maps! Nick navigated narrow streets and we found parking on the street instead, as the parking lot was full (and quite small). Santarem is a very old city, having been renamed several times by the Romans, Moors, and Christians. It is also known for Gothic architecture. The Igreja da Graca (Church of Grace) is one example, but it was closed today. We had a mushroom pesto pizza, which was delicious, on the square by the Church of the Seminary.

We didn’t wander around too much, though, as Nick was anxious to get back on the road. And while we didn’t get lost at all, we did have a driving adventure. Google maps did not route us back to highway A1, instead we drove an hour on small backroads, barely wide enough for two cars to fit, through farmlands, by vineyards, and small towns. I think Google maps chose the "no tolls" route and it was a fortuitous choice and we enjoyed seeing a different part of Portugal. Most of the small towns were absolutely desolated – was everyone inside, or away at work? This was a Monday.

Arrived in Tomar and checked into the apartment. Got some laundry going, went to a Spar for some supplies. We’re just a short walk to the historic part of town. I’d say half the restaurants were closed today, but there were still plenty open, and we chose a tapas place called Tasca do Sogro. Turns out it has only been open for a few days. Nick had squid salad which he loved, I had soup with beans, potatoes, sausage and pork which was a little too fatty for my tastes.

I wish I had a taste for different kinds of food, like Nick does. I don’t know that I’d call myself “picky,” but I just prefer more basic foods, like the pizza today. Nick knows I need to eat pasta at least once every few days or I may expire. Haha

Tomorrow we’ll explore more of Tomar. I believe the Templar Castle is closed for renovation, although we have a nice view from our apartment balcony. Plenty of other wonderful things to explore.

N6 – Tomar

I’m glad we came to Tomar. We hoped for a low-key glimpse into Templar history and that’s what we got. We stuck to the old town area, which was kind of empty. I think many businesses are closed on either/or/both Monday and Tuesday, which were our two days here. But I enjoy having this kind of downtime to relax and people watch (the ones who were here, anyway). We enjoyed ourselves and would recommend a visit if you are into this part of history.

We took it a bit easy today. Nick slept in and I cooked eggs and potatoes in our apartment for breakfast. Then we visited the Convent of Christ. The Templar Castle part of the same complex is, unfortunately, closed for renovations, which we learned a couple of weeks ago. We had hoped you could still walk around and see some of the outside of the castle, but there’s not much to see.

Getting to the Convent of Christ. Our waiter last night told us, “oh you’re not going to want to walk up to the castle, it’s very steep.” And Nick was like, “hold my beer.” The walk was nothing compared to walking up to Sesimbra castle. It’s a much shorter walk on a cobblestone path. You can also walk up the regular road which is also cobblestones, just smoother. We brought this gigantic bottle of water too, thinking how we’d need to stay hydrated. Haha

I enjoyed walking through the Convent of Christ (may I add – all my life I’ve associated the word “convent” with nuns, but this convent housed friars). The history as I understand it is that the castle was begun in the 1100s for the Knights Templar who were fighting the Moors. Fast forward to the 1300s when the Portugal King Dinis created the Order of Christ. The Knights Templar were being wiped out and basically transferred all their assets and such to the Order. (I made a 10,000 Maniacs reference before and I could do a New Order reference here too...) So that’s why there is both the castle and the church. And then various other kings and leaders also built onto it over time.

We visited the sections that were open, including the charola which is the round church/rotunda. It has many large wood panel paintings of the life of Christ. My favorite part of the complex was the dormitory where the friars lived. The doors are so small, Nick had to slump down to enter one. It’s interesting to think how it was for a person to live in a dorm room, maybe reading scripture by candlelight? And praying and sleeping in a small bed. And then you’ll see something modern like a fire extinguisher and it kind of jolts you, like the friar in dorm room #75 was keen on fire safety. Haha

And then we strolled through the old town streets of Tomar. We stopped into the Church of St. John the Baptist, which was free. We went to the Synagogue, which is really just a few remains from the 1500s (they think) and a small museum. We stopped in for a snack at Café Paraiso, which apparently has been open and family owned for more than 100 years.

I needed my pasta fix, so we had dinner at La Bella, an Italian restaurant where I had mushroom ravioli and spinach and Nick had pork saltimbocca, both of which were delicious.

Tomorrow is travel day to Evora. We’ll stop at a different Knights Templar castle, Almourol, on the way.

Overall, I'm feeling good about our trip so far, although I wonder if maybe we're taking it too slow. Like we missed a couple things today. But it's also my vacation, which I don't get to take often. I wonder what it will be like when (I hope it's "when" and not never) I will have longer than 2 weeks to travel.

Sounds like a great trip so far and that you are going at a pace that suits you. It's a challenge for sure to balance seeing everything you want to see in the time you have, with feeling like you also got some R&R. There's no right answer.

I'm looking forward to reading and laughing more and I, for one, would have been all over a New Order reference ;)

N7 – Travel day to Evora with a stop at Castle Almoural

Today we had to get scooting earlier than we usually like as our check-out was at 10:00 am. I cooked eggs again in for breakfast and we packed up and got on the road. While it was a shame that we didn’t get to see Tomar Castle yesterday, Nick was actually more excited to see Castle Almoural, which is a Templar castle situated on the Tagus River, about 20km or so outside of Tomar.

Almoural Castle. Very easy to drive to, lots of parking. There’s a café at the upper parking area if you need a restroom or a snack before/after your visit. You take a boat for just a few minutes along the Tagus to get to the castle. The boat does not have a set timetable. It’s just two men who operate the boat, you give them 4 Euros per person, and they just go back and forth all day taking people to and from the castle. They take lunch from 1:00 to 2:30 pm, so you have to plan your visit around that. The walk to the castle was a dirt and rock path, some rock stairs and uneven parts, a little slippery because it rained, but there were rope handrails, and then inside the castle are modern stairs to take you up to what’s left of the Keep. It only takes 20-30 minutes to walk around the structure and read the interpretive signs. We saw a few tour groups too, but they were all in Portuguese so we couldn’t eavesdrop - shoot, haha.

This was a treat! As far as archeologists can tell, this structure began probably as a tower of some sort by the Romans in 1AD. And then the usual happened where it was taken over by various groups over the centuries, given to the Knights Templar in the 1100s and maintained as a strategic post on the river. The outer castle walls and ramparts are largely intact, while they believe the inner parts of the castle would have been “renovated” over time. I’m glad we made the stop to see this castle, would recommend!

Why Evora? This is another historical town, dating back to Roman times. AND – there are also even more ancient ruins to be seen. We will take a tour of some nearby megalithic rock structures, kind of like a “mini Stonehenge” tomorrow.

Whenever we walk over these rocky dirt paths to ruins and such – and I’m grasping for some handrail or something to balance myself – my mind does wonder, “what if next time we just stayed at an all-inclusive resort somewhere?” haha, I guess this is just our thing to look at old stuff dug up in the dirt.

Anyway, our drive to Evora was an uneventful 2-1/2 hours, part big highway, part smaller two-lane roads. Our apartment is within the walled part of the city and - WOW - are these quite narrow cobblestone streets. We did ding up the car on one of the back fenders turning right while trying to find the apartment. Noooo. Trying to put that aside to be a next week problem…

We had dinner at Pateo, which has a nice courtyard area off the main street. There was a massive flock of really noisy birds – not sure if that happens all the time or if we just timed it right. Pateo serves mostly small plates to share. We had four dishes (mushroom mouse, cheese fondue with herbs, octopus (for Nick) and sweet potato, and pork tacos) and it was all delicious! This is the first place I’ve eaten at where I can say I enjoyed every single thing I ate. Then we walked back to the apartment past the remains of the Roman Temple.

Tomorrow we go on our tour of the megalithic structures with the archeologists. The tour company does have a minimum of three people (30 euros each), and we will pay for the third slot to do the tour. While it bugs me to pay for an extra slot, it’s one of those spends that I don’t think I’ll regret doing a year from now.

N8 – Evora

Today was a good day! We took a tour of some nearby megalithic stone sites and saw a bit more of Evora. Had dinner, got lost walking home, joined forces with another couple who was also lost, and eventually found our way home.

We needed to meet our tour guide at 9:45 am, so we motivated to get up and find a place that opened for breakfast that early. We found the Bakery Lounge, which was perfect. They have an outdoor courtyard upstairs and we each had eggs and bacon. There is a restaurant cat named Simbra who came to visit us and that was just fine by me.

Ebora Megalithica tour. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour and would recommend! Our archeologist guide was amazing, knowledgeable and passionate. I will say – I had reached out to the company a few weeks ago hoping to visit the very large site called Almendras Cromlech and I thought that is where we were going today. But that’s not where we went. Maybe it was my misunderstanding. She said the road to the Cromlech site was basically impassible by car and instead would be a long hike and that was too far to do on a tour. We saw three other sites instead, and I just let it go and enjoyed learning about prehistory and how archeologists try to understand these large rock structures, called menhir, and what they represent. She showed us her evidence that the menhir represent people - there are impressions/images of shepherd's staff/crooks, and of eyes, a nose, and either a chin or a necklace. But the study of prehistory is very difficult, so it's not fully agreed upon in the archeology community.

I could go on and on about what I learned. Let me briefly say it is fascinating how the sites in the Alentejo region are all built in U-shaped formations, on the downward slope of a hill, and all facing east. And the dolmen (we saw one from a distance across the street, we couldn’t go up to it), which are tombs, more often than not, had new items buried with the dead - tools, sewing gear, pottery and such. The theory is that these prehistoric people believed in life after death, so they were equipping their loved ones with items they may need in their next life. That’s so considerate, if nothing else! I may modify my will to bury me with some wine!

Okay, enough of Megalithic Studies 101!

Back in Evora, we saw some other sites and stopped in for vinho branco at a couple of restaurants. We actually stopped into Pateo again because there was one other small plate we didn’t get last night – the lamb. It was delicious! Piparoza is a wine bar we visited.

The Cathedral of Evora has a very specific path you follow after buying your ticket (5 euros). You climb the very narrow winding steps up to the roof/terrace that has nice views of Evora and beyond. Then you go back downstairs and through the courtyard gardens, and then to the main cloister. So it’s not one of those cathedrals you just walk into the main area and sit for a bit, there’s a route you take. You can skip the climb up to the terrace if you are not able.

We also walked to the nearby Church of San Francisco, which I thought was lovely. Next to it is the Chapel of Bones. Meh. I didn’t think it was worth the 7 euros entry fee. Apparently I’m a “bone chapel snob” because it wasn’t as impressive as others I’ve seen, particularly the Capuchin Crypt in Rome.

We had pizza for dinner at Buona Forchetta, which was very tasty. And that’s when we got lost walking home as both of our phones lost cell service. The cathedral is on the highest part of the city, so if you just remember where your place is in relation to the cathedral, you can always just pick every upward street and eventually get to the cathedral and find your way home. That’s what we did, along with another couple who was also lost.

Tomorrow is travel day to Lagos. This will be the last long drive we do and we’ll return the car the following day and train to Lisbon.

I’m still with you and glad we made it to Evora!

Thanks, TexasTravelMom! Hope you are enjoying my report.

N9 – Travel day to Lagos with a stop at Silves

Today we slept in and had brunch back at Bakery Lounge and then got on the road to Lagos for a 3-hour drive.

Castle of Silves: We decided to make a stop in Silves, which was on the way, only about 30 km from Lagos. There is a large, free parking area, Silves Stadium Car Park, at the bottom of town and you walk up and up the narrow cobblestone streets. Silves is a very nice medieval town on a hill and is noted for the largest castle in the Algarve. The castle was built around the 8th century by the medieval Islamic peoples called Xelb, then fortified by the Moors, until being finally claimed by one of the Portuguese kings in the 13th century. It is striking with its red sandstone walls – it almost takes your breath away when you see it the first time.

Perigo! This was a very cool experience because you can walk the entire perimeter of the castle on top of the walls and battlements, peeking outside the ramparts for wonderful views the entire 360 degrees around. HOWEVER – much of that path is open on the one edge, meaning you could easily fall off about 20 feet down to the stone ground. Gah! May I speak to the Manager?? I’d say the path was about 6-feet wide, but still, I have to imagine someone has fallen off before. But I just tried to not look that way and pretended it wasn’t a super freaking scary and precipitous fall. And that worked okay for me. Highly recommend a stop in Silves, and I wish we could have spent more time strolling around the narrow streets.

We got to our apartment in Lagos, which has a nice view of the ocean from our balcony and even a private beach a short walk down the hill. We went to an actual grocery store (rather than the small corner markets we’ve been going to) and kind of went a little crazy buying cheese and all manner of snacks. Nick actually said, “I don’t know what these are but I want them.” He cooked fish and veggies in tonight, and I guess we’ll find out what these mystery cookie things are soon.

Tomorrow is probably beach day and we’ll wander into the town for dinner.

I too have been following along and am so glad you went to Silves. That was my favorite castle in Portugal.

Hope you enjoy Lagos. We only went for the afternoon and found it to be much less touristy than I had expected. We were there in mid October.

I hope you like Lagos. We spent a week in the old town there in 2019 and adored it.

We loved virtually everything we ate and drank - got a shirt for my son at Ol' Bastard's and he still treasures it.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Morgan, I’ve been following along and have enjoyed your report so far. So glad you were able to take the megalithic tour. Looking forward to the rest of your report

I'm so glad everyone is enjoying my trip report. We are having a great time!

N10 – Lagos.

Today was rest day. We slept in and had breakfast in – one of the impulse buys at the Intramarche was a pre-made quiche loraine. We are successfully making our way through all the snacks we bought!

Eventually we made our way down to the beach near our apartment, which is Praia Ana. We brought the umbrella and beach chairs provided in our apartment, but when we set them up, they were hobbit sized! Luckily there was beach club of sorts where we could rent beach chairs under a palapa. There is also a restaurant there, Restaurante Marisol, but they are not the ones who manage the beach chairs. You just pick your chair and a lady comes by to collect the payment. She seemed official to me, so we gave her the 25 euros per chair. We did that and relaxed for several hours. The waves are much larger here. And the little beach is surrounded by large red sandstone cliffs.

We walked into the town for dinner, which was a lot more crowded with tourists than I had expected. Lagos is just a lovely town.

So, a nice relaxing low-key day today.

Tomorrow we are going to walk along the boardwalk of Ponte da Piedade and maybe take a boat tour.

N11 – Lagos

When we first decided to include Lagos in our trip, I thought we’d take this scenic hike called the trail of Seven Hanging Valleys which would take us along the shore for some magnificent views. But when we got here, we decided that was too far to go and we could do just as well walking a bit along the Ponte de Piedade, which we thought was right outside our door because there are wood boardwalk paths right near us.

HOWEVER. (haha) I am not certain that’s what we did. We walked about 2 or 3 km along the wooden boardwalk path, but I think we went in the wrong direction (shocking). I thought we would have options to stop at different beaches along the way or find restaurants to stop in for shade and a snack., But there was none of that. It was just the path, unless I missed something. I guess I just imagined it different. The path was pretty even all along, I walked with my good walking sandals, not my gym shoes, and they were just fine. There were many lookouts along the way that offered particularly striking views. There were also lots of people walking the path, some with backpacks and walking sticks.

We walked from our place, Praia de Dona Ana to…I’m not sure exactly where we ended up. After about an hour or so, I was kind of done with the walk. I could tell there were some large hotels coming up, so we went that way and I found my way into one, which, ironically enough, was a wellness resort - Cascade Wellness Center. The nice lady at the front desk helped me get on their Wifi and I called a Bolt back to our apartment. We went back down to the beach club to relax on Praia de Ana beach.

You probably can tell this about me, but I am a creature of habit. I am a regular at our local bar, they know my name, they know Nick, they know our two cats’ names. So when I find a place I like, I tend to just go back there. I think that is what makes traveling abroad such a big deal for me, is I get out of my comfort zone and figure things out.

We dropped off the car at Europcar and I’ll deal with making a claim for the scratched up bumper when we get back home.

Tomorrow we take the morning train to Lisbon for our last three nights. I can’t believe we’re almost done with our trip. Our friends stopped into our place to tend to our cats and sent us pictures. I miss our kitties so very much.

Thanks for the finish. We did part of the Trail of Seven Valleys and it was harder than we expected. So I would say that you made the right decision.

N12 – Travel day to Lisbon

Today we had to get up early to catch the 8:22 am train to Lisbon. There are no vending machines at the Lagos train station. Apparently there is a café that opens later. I definitely wished I had brought a bottle of water with us. We started on.a small regional train for about 50 minutes. Then we had a 30-minute wait at the Tunes station. At the Tunes station, there is a restaurant, except it was closed today. The train from Tunes to Lisbon was a larger train, and of course my terrible direction sense made it so I couldn’t tell which car was ours. We ended up boarding six cars back from where we needed to be, so it was a bit of an effort to get out bags through all those trains, with other passengers doing the same thing. But we found our way – and also passed through the snack car – so water was obtained! It was about a 3-hour train ride to Lisbon Oriente, which is the final stop on that line.

I also had a snack on the train. I think one of the most common snacks in Portugal is sandwiches, usually ham and cheese, or tomato and cheese, or a combination of those. But what I find odd is there are not condiments that come with it – it’s just dry bread with the ham and cheese. This is the third bone dry sandwich I’ve eaten here. Haha

The Lisbon Oriente station is large and chaotic. I’ll spare you the details on the restroom, but I’m glad I carry tissues with me. We found a taxi and got on our way to our place. The way taxies zip along these narrow roads makes me just close my eyes and "trust the process." haha The taxi driver was playing 80s music and he laughed when Nick and I sang along and knew all the words to Papa Don’t Preach. Haha We are staying in the Estrella part of town. The streets are quite steep (shocking). There are restaurants and markets everywhere.

As we were walking to dinner, we walked by this tiny bar that looked interesting, Royal Vessel, and stopped in. It is very rare for me to order a cocktail but that’s what they specialize in (no food) so I ordered a lavender-infused vodka drink. It was quite tasty and the bartender was very nice and chatty. They were also playing Duran Duran, so it’s just an 80’s kind of day!

We chose Restaurante Cantinho da Rosa for some traditional Portuguese food, and also it was walking distance. I had an interesting mushroom dish that had tiny matchstick fries, onions and eggs – it kind of felt like breakfast, and Nick had octopus salad. We were treated to a couple sets of Fado music with a lady singing and a man playing guitar. People clapped along in parts, and the restaurant staff would chime in singing too.

Tomorrow is sightseeing day. There’s so much to see, I’m honestly not sure what we will target tomorrow. We are also trying to decide whether to do a day trip to Sintra. Nick is the one who brought up the idea and I'm leaning to yes, even though it would eat into our Lisbon time. Nick is now not sure. We shall see!

N13 - Lisbon

Today we had a rocky start with British Airways deciding to give me a heart attack. I decided to go online to remind myself when our flight leaves on Thursday. I knew it was early, I just couldn’t remember how early. I sign into my British Airways account and it says our flight has been “disrupted.” What does that mean? And my only options were to try to find alternate flights (which it said I wasn’t allowed to modify my reservation online) or to cancel and get a refund, and it wasn’t clear exactly what the disruption was. So I try not to panic and get in the online chat queue (#32 in line) and also on the phone queue, and close to an hour later I learn that there are some updates being made to their website and lots of other people are seeing the same inaccurate message about the “disruption.” Our flights are fine. Good grief!

But we got on our way and walked from our neighborhood down through Sao Paulo and had some lunch at a restaurant called Principal. And then we walked to Praca do Comercio. We walked along a very busy street called Rua de Sao Paulo, that has lots of restaurants and shops, and then along the waterfront of the Tagus river. The Praca do Comercio used to be the waterfront entrance to the Royal Palace, but the palace was destroyed during the earthquake of 1755. It was rebuilt to be a large commercial center to reflect Lisbon’s maritime importance. We stopped and had some gelato on the square.

Then we walked up to the Lisbon Cathedral – this is another one where you pay 7 euros and walk along a specific route that takes you through a museum of sorts to display some artifacts. You also walk up stairs and get a wonderful close up look at the stained glass window, just beautiful. This medieval cathedral was first built sometime in the 1100s and it was actually not destroyed during the earthquake, some damage but not completely wrecked. And then it’s been modified over the centuries by others who included some Gothic aspects to the building. And same with the Alfama neighborhood, which we walked through – it was largely spared from total destruction of the earthquake.

I’m enjoying Lisbon but it is a very different vibe from the other towns we’ve been do. There are many men in suits walking around, and I guess they must work in the Parliament building nearby. The streets are just jam packed with honking cars, and there's the tram and lots of buses. And by the waterfront there are lots of the tuk tuk drivers wanting to give you a tour - they can be quite aggressive and basically stand in your way with little signs that show you what you will see. And you can tell who is local because they walk so quickly and with purpose along these narrow cobblestone streets, kind of like the taxi drivers except pedestrians. Haha I just try to move out of their way and let them pass.

Tomorrow is our last day. I think we will see the Monastery and buy some souvenirs. We’ve decided not to go to Sintra, which I’m a bit sad about missing.

N14 – Last Day in Lisbon

Today I made a dumb mistake. Actually, the mistake was made probably a few days ago or even just yesterday. I did not buy tickets in advance to the Jeronimos Monastery and it was sold out today. I know I’ve read on this forum to buy tickets in advance, but I got the impression that was more for the Belem tower. And also in my mind I thought October would be different, like not peak season. But lesson learned – peak season here lingers on for quite awhile. I feel very dumb to have missed what I’m sure is a wonderful sight. And on our last day too!

We did go into the church, which is open and free. It’s just a small roped off part of the entryway – you cannot go into the pews and sit at all. The tomb of Vasco da Gama is there, a noted Portuguese explorer. I learned that the tomb was constructed centuries after he died and his remains were transferred to the ornate tomb, which was part of a 19th century national revivalism effort, basically to celebrate famous Portuguese people. But apparently some believe the transfer of his remains was botched and “they” transferred his great grandson’s remains instead! Whoops. His actual remains were transferred a few years later. So, maybe the tomb has the actual remains now.

We took a Bolt to Belem and back to our place. The 80’s songs of note during today’s rides were Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cindy Lauper, and then Jack and Diane, by John Cougar Mellencamp. Is the 80's station just free in Lisbon, or do people truly like the 80's music? For our final dinner, we walked nearby to a restaurant called Pao de Canela , which is on a nice little park area. Today was the first chilly (almost) night we’ve had and I should have brought that dumb light jacket I’ve been carrying around for 2 weeks and not using. Haha

Our flight is ridiculously early tomorrow, and I’ve arranged for a taxi from Airport Taxi Transfers, to pick us up at an equally ridiculously early hour of 5:00 am to take us to the airport. While Bolts are cheap here, I’ve noticed it can take 5+ minutes for a driver to accept the ride and then another 10+ minutes for them to arrive for pickup, so I can’t imagine how long it would take at 5am. I decided not to take the risk and ordered a taxi in advance.

It’s been a great trip, despite some mistakes here and there. We've seen so much history and had a good mix of sightseeing and relaxation. I’m looking forward to getting home to see our Kitties. We have a kitty cam so we’ve been seeing them come and go and have friends who have checked on them during our time away.

Thanks for reading along! I know I tend to ramble, but I do hope some of my rambling was helpful or interesting or entertaining to some. I’ll do one final post of last thoughts when we’re back. Wish us luck on the flights home!

Enjoyed following along on your trip! I am headed to some of the same places in November so your lessons learned are super helpful to me, especially the info about Bolt timing.

And I don't know why, but I almost always hear 80s music when I travel in Europe...maybe because it's my era so I'm tuned in to it. When I went to Ecuador and Peru, it was 70s and 80s music but delivered via pan flute. :)

Safe travels and I'm sure your kitties will be happy to see you.