Beep, beep! 4:45 wakeup call and the Leonardo Express to the airport at an hour which Marshall and I rarely see! We made it to Lisbon, Portugal, around noon and arrived at our hotel. We quickly were out on the town to visit Lisbon sites since today promised no rain and gorgeous weather. We walked and walked for a solid 8 hours hitting all of the highlights- San Jorge castle, the Jeronimos Monastery (where the explorer Vasco de Gama is buried), the Belem tower, and Pasteis de Belem for tasty treats (that we still don’t really know what they were). Pasteis is a big tradition (since 1837) and also comes with a big line! We also saw great views of the “25th of April Bridge”, a bridge that connects Lisbon with another Portuguese city, Almada, across the Tejo River and is built by the same company that built the San Francisco- Oakland Bay Bridge and not the Golden Gate. As the theme of our time in Europe, we walked a lot today! It was worth it to see the sunset along the waterfront. The marathon in Lisbon that evening cut off many public bus and tram lines, so it seemed like we walked more than ever. At one point, we just gave up and hopped in a cab, only to find ourselves stuck in marathon traffic. That evening we dined at the Panorama restaurant on the 25th floor of our hotel with amazing views of the city of Lisbon. Big beers in hand, club and steak sandwiches and fries and an apple crisp to top off, the Sheraton is at tops of our list today! Off to bed before our day trip to Sintra, Portugal.
Trying to make Marshall smile at 5 in the morning is quite a challenge:)
Bags packed and ready for Lisbon...
Our posh hotel room! You've gotta love Priceline!
The streets of Lisbon. The cobbled sidewalks and streets were really neat to see.
On our way to the castle
Entrance to the San Jorge Castle
Views from the castle
We think this is a symbol of Portugal as we saw it everywhere, even at the souvenir shop at the airport.
A view of the coast
Outdoor cafe
A marathon is scheduled to run through the main plaza tonight, so public transport is very limited.
This is how we feel about all of the extra walking because the trams weren't in service
Jeronimos Monastery
Outside the monastery
The exterior of the Monastery
The much anticipated Pasteis de Belem
The chaos inside the bakery
Their delicious pastries!
More walking...
The Belem Tower
Marshall about to get soaked
We missed entry into the tower by 2 minutes, so lots of pictures of the outside.
As the sun was setting...
The bridge over the river