Thursday was a glorious sun-filled day in Lisbon. I had stayed up late the prior night visiting with new friends who were departing the cruise in Lisbon. About 200 guests departed with another 200 new joining the ship.
As soon as the ship cleared, we were off – walking about a mile and a half to the Praíca Do Comercio, the main square on the waterfront, with the beautiful Augusta Triumph Arch leading to the Baixa neighborhood.
Here we located the tourist information office on the west side of the square, and while waiting in line, picked up a brochure for Lisbon Inside Walking Tours. We’ve enjoyed walking tours in other cities and decided “why not?”
We located the meeting place at the Praíca D. Pedro, and at 10 am started the three hour Original Lisbon Walk. Nauda, our tour guide, was friendly and knowledgeable; our group included just one other couple from Australia.
Nauda showed us many of the sites in the downtown Baixa district, including a climb to the top of the St. Justa Elevator, which provided excellent views in all directions. She walked us to the site of the 1974 Carnation Revolution.
Next, Nauda guided us onto the old-fashioned Tram #25 which took the twisting route up hill through Old Lisbon’s cobblestone maze, the Alfama neighborhood. These Trams are similar to San Francisco’s cable cars. Besides seeing all of the cathedrals and historical sites, our favorite part was climbing through the narrow streets of the Alfama.
The locals were building platforms for a festival around June 12, which Nauda described as eating grilled sardines and drinking red wine all night long. This area has many of the taverns where the Fado music is performed.
It was unusually warm in Lisbon, over 90 degrees, and after the walk we were ready for some cold drinks and lunch. Since we had many things still on our “to see” list, we ate at Sudies, a sandwich and salad chain similar to Subway and a deal at 10 Euro for the both of us. After our quick lunch we boarded the new tram #15, taking us west to the Belém district (this tram can also take you from where the ship docks to the Praca Do Comercio, the fare can be paid onboard).
Here we visited (and climbed) the landmark Tower of Belem, built between 1515 and 1521, which looks like an elegantly-carved chess piece. We also visited the Monument to the Discoveries.
We enjoyed strolling through the expansive parks in this area before catching the #15 back to the port.
Back on board, the weather was perfect for a glorious sail away. Frank Buckingham, the port lecturer, provided expert commentary as we sailed out along the Tagus River, past the 752 ft Christ the Redeemer statue, commemorating the kinship with sister city Rio de Janeiro, and under the Salazar suspension bridge (a copy of San Francisco’s Golden Gate).
We didn’t make it to the Gulbenkian Museum, housing the collections from the tycoon Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, but our well-traveled tablemates did and thought it was one of the best museums in Europe. Well, there’s always next time.