Lisbon, Portugal

April 10, 2023

Around 10:00 this morning we arrived in Lisbon. It was quite scenic sailing towards the port on the Tagus river. Lisbon is the Capital of Portugal which has a population of 11million.Lisbon has a population of 600,000 and the total for the metropolitan area is nearly 3 million. Lisbon is after Athens the second oldest City in Europe.

As we were docked very close to the old neighborhood of Alfama, we decided to explore on foot. The streets were very narrow made out of cobblestone. The streets were lined with ancient buildings and many of them had beautiful tile on the outside. Right a way the grade of the narrow streets got quite steep. Once in a while we had to take a breather, as it was warming up fast in the morning sun. There were small cozy sidewalk cafees nearly on every corner and numerous small mini markets. Finally we made it to the top. Towards the top there are old street railcars being used for public transportation. When these cars pass by, you have to back yourself against the wall on the sidewalk to let them pass by. At the top we stopped for a coffee and and a famous Portuguese custard tard called pastel de nata. They are delicious. You should check your local bakery if they’re available? After the coffee break we visited a very old church and stopped at a couple viewpoints. On our way down through the narrow streets we stopped for a light lunch and a cold beer at one of the many patio restaurants lining the street. When we arrived near the bottom of the hilly part we hired a TucTuc for an hour to show us a different neighbourhood. The Tuc took us to Baixa neighborhood, the downtown area with shopping streets and many hotels. We made the odd stop to take a picture or two and enjoyed the ride. our final stop was at the pink street where the young generation hangs out at night at the clubs. Our final stop was right in front of the ship where the Tuc dropped us off. By now we were ready to put our feet up for an hour or so before dinner. For tonight there was a Portuguese dinner on the boat This was a great stop in a beautiful old City. We could’ve easily spend another day here.

Cheers