River of Gold Viking River Cruise
Day 4: Monday, November 11, 2024 - Lisbon, Portugal
The day's statistics:
- Weather: low 60s
- Steps: 9,373 Linda; 11,187 Steve
- Miles traveled (approximately): 29
The mini fridge was so well stocked - not that we ate or drank anything - that when we put our cheese in there,
as small as it was, we actually had to take a couple things out. We tried to arrange the items so we didn't have
to do that, but it didn't work.
But I took a picture of the contents this morning to show that we restored it to its former contents - but not
necessarily its condition.
We made our way to breakfast again, and it was as crowded - if not a little more - than the previous day.
From where we were seated, we noticed another table with different foods on it that we hadn's seen before.
This one had fresh sardines, smoked salmon, cold cuts, and a few other items.
While not open now, there was some outdoor seating in the back of the restaurant.
We didn't need to gather for our excursion, Cosmopolitan Lisbon & the Maritime Museum, until 8:45. So after breakfast,
we exited the hotel to the back, and found some seating, including that for two of the hotel's three restaurants.
We gathered in the lobby at the appropriate time, and made our way to the back exit where the bus fits.
In the stairwell between the lower level and the next two was a rather tall sculpture.
We boarded the bus and headed out.
On the way we learned this fun fact: ~62% of Portugals energy generation is from green / renewable energy.
This isn't a Plymouth Duster, that's for sure... (it's a Dacia)
Portugal is known for its tiles. We passed a number of tile murals just on one street.
We drove along the river and arrived near the Torre de Bélem.
We got off the bus in a narrow drop-off spot near a pedestrian overpass, blocking traffic in the process.
We made our way toward the war memorial, passing an off shore warship, a plane memorial, the Torre de Bélem,
and the Combat Museum where a number of servicemembers from various forces were gathering.
It wasn't until we were at the memorial that we - more the guide - realized that it was Remembrance Day.
This was a minor issue because there were quite a few dignataries arriving and the venue was off limits. We
couldn't even walk the expected route and had to detour back to the bus.
The bus pick-up spot was adjacent to a marina. There were quite a few fish at the shoreline, though the water surface
was too reflective to show a lot of them in the other picture not shown here.
We boarded and headed to the next destination.
The guide, as most usually do, did a headcount when we were on the bus before we departed. There were two people
missing. But they weren't outside the bus. They weren't to be found. But the bus HAD to move. Our guide called
the guide from the other bus, and it turns out that the other bus had two extra passengers.
It seemed like we were double-backing, but the bus had to go down the road one way for a bit before he could turn
around, and then we passed everything we already saw again.
The route to the next stop again passed by the mosaic, the statue in the Garden of Afonso de Albuquerque,
and Palácio Nacional de Belém (National Palace). We also saw some statues, sculptures, embasseys, and other
interesting looking things.
As the crow flies, our first stop could have been made in a couple minutes. However, as mentioned above, we
had to go all the way around. But we did finally arrive at the Maritime Museum. The museum is located in part
of the Jerónimos Monastery. There is part of the monastary that is still in use. We were told, before going
in, that we could visit the monastary during some free time, but there is usually a line to get in.
We entered and there was a statue of Prince Henrique, the Navigator, a stained glass window, and, most important,
a map showing how much land was owned by Portugal "back in the day" and what routes particular navigators took.
We then entered the main hall that included a number of maritime related artifacts, portraits, and ship models
showing the progress of ship construction over time.
There was one model that showed how the cargo ships were first being constructed, and nearby was an example of
what the large shipping jars looked like that were used to carry various spices.
And the rest of the first main large room.
We took a selfie near one of the models toward the end.
We were at one of the last models above, when, at 11:11, the guide paused as her smart watch was chiming.
She started reflecting on the fact that it was now 11/11 at 11:11 - the anniversary of the time that WW I ended.
She was rightfully rather emotional about it. She broke routine for just a couple minutes to reflect, than we
resumed our tour of the rest of the wing.
We entered the beginning of the next long display hall, but then exited the building to the left.
We walked down a long covered portico like area, and made our way to another building at the far end.
Right at the beginning were the anchors from the Nina - one of Christopher Columbus's ships.
We then entered a rather large open room. It might have been about the same length as the room from the first part
of the museum, but because it was wide open, it seemed larger. This room had a number of full size ships in it. There
were also a couple planes
The tour ended at the large room with the boats.
We were told we had until noon to be back on the bus. We were given a couple options that included visiting the
monastary, or more of the museum. We chose the latter.
We returned to the last room of the museum that we exited, and continued our own self guided tour.
We made it to the far end of the display hall. As this was part of a monastary, in addition to some stained glass,
there were some religious artifacts around as well.
As our time was running out, we headed out via the door near the covered walkway. Instead of heading straight to the
building with the large boats, we turned left into a courtyard sort of opening and in the direction of the bus.
Along the side of the building were a couple large anchors, ship props, and replica stone from somewhere.
We arrived at the parking lot.
After boarding the bus, we headed to the next destination.
We passed some interesting sights, as well as some more embasseys, and even a building with a basketball court on the roof.
The bus finally arrived at an overlook at the end of the park with the statue that we saw from the road near the river.
Near this spot, on the other side of the street was a park with a statue. We also saw a cork tree close up.
Near the top of the stairs was sone construction around a monument. This was a popular spot to hang out.
A bit before 1:00 we were back at the hotel.
3:00, the time for our next excursion, rolled around pretty quickly.
We gathered a little beforehand in the lobby for our next excursion - Flavors of Lisbon.
Again we boarded the bus, and headed out.
Another Porsche Carerra.
We got off the bus and started to walk into town. The route took us past a church.
And another Porsche Carerra - though this one was a 4S. Apparently there is money in Lisbon...
Our walk continued until we came across a small farmer's market sort of establishment where there were a number
of vendors selling various products including various drinks and foods such as sausages and sardines.
Our first stop was at a bar-type place that served us a shot of Ginja, a cherry flavored liquor. It was really good.
We walked around the market a little, then headed to our next stop.
We entered the restaurant - Teimar - and to the area in the back reserved for our group. It was more like a patio
like area with a covering. There was seating around the perimeter with tables, and more seats on the inside.
Linda had a glass of beer and I had a glass of wine.
We enjoyed our food and talked for a bit. Then we walked to the next stop not far down the road.
The next stop - Cortesia - offered a Charcuterie board with olives, cheeses, dried sausages, and bread
with dipping oil. And some Portugese red wine.
This was more of a snack than the first stop. But it was still good.
We left and continued to the third and final stop.
This walk was a little further. We saw some more modern architecture mixed in with older styles.
We also passed a park with some older gentlemen playing a card game, though it is hard to tell which one it is so
we don't know if the one guy's hand of 3-7♦ is really good or not, or the three 6's.
We eventually passed a park that had a duck ... thing happening.
We arrived at the final stop - Manteigaria, a maker of Pastéis de Natas (custard pasteries).
Our dessert consisted of a coffee and a Pastéis de Nata.
The snack was light and tasty, and the coffee barely enough to fill a cavity.
After sitting and chatting for a bit, we headed out one last time. The group arrived at a four way
intersection and waited just a couple minutes for the bus to arrive to take us back to the hotel.
A couple more fun facts we learned were:
- Portugese eat an average of 56kg (124 pounds) of fish per year. That's nearly 2.5 pounds per week.
- Many Portugese patents are actually sold rather than exercised due to the lack of manufacturing capability.
As our tasting tour was our dinner, we didn't have a need for any other food. But we did have wine...
At one point we emptied the room's box of tissues.
We called the front desk to ask for another to be sent up. A member of housekeeping arrived and had no idea what
we were talking about. So I went and grabbed the box and showed her.
The housekeeper returned with a box and said "We call those Klenex."
Well... the box literally says... tissues...
As we were departing the hotel in the morning, we got our luggage as organized as possible - meaning,
we put everything in our larger bags while prepping the carry-ons for the day.
Then it was time for bed.