6/20/17: Lisbon Day 1

Is this California??

Today was a big day. We were up before five in order to get to the airport and catch our plane to Portugal. While we were on the tarmac waiting to board the prop plane, we discovered that Bilbao must be the "Hollywood of The Basque." 

 

On the plane we had a very interesting breakfast: individivually-wrapped sandwich halves that had the crusts removed. They were wrapped in cellophane. Although there was a quaint charm about this, it did seem like someone forgot about breakfast and said "Quick- what can we give the passengers?!"

 

We found the public transit in Lisbon to be much different than in Spain: not nearly as clean, or as prompt, or spacious. Several times we had to wait for a second train or bus because the firsts were so full. We made our way to an older section of Lisbon called Belèm, where we visited the National Coach Museum. Don't be a name hater: this place was pretty cool. We learned about the history of royal coaches over the past five centuries and saw those that belonged to royalty, papacy, and common people. 

 

 

On the way to the next destination we stopped to have a locally famous recommended pastry, the pastel Dr Belèm. We've seen them all over town. This warm custardy treat came with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Yum! 

 

Next we visited the Monasterio Jerónimos and learned about manueline architecture before having a nice lunch at another museum. 

 

One thing we heard about Lisbon is that the sidewalks can be quite narrow, which is true. In some places they are barely wide enough for a single person, and drivers don't often have lane designations to adhere to. But all of the sidewalks are made of limestone and basalt placed in very beautiful patterns. The photo here is just one example. Although attractive, they can be slippery and reflective. 

 

After a little nap and some down time we ventured out to a large square by the bay to enjoy a band playing fado music (we think), watching ships, and obseving street artists. Lisbon has a much more relaxed feel than any place we went in Spain. You could almost feel stress washing away from your body. And taking a look at the bay, you might think we were actually in San Francisco ! 

 

We ended the evening with a walk around the high town area, known for its shopping, and saw this fanicular. 

 

John's mother and her partner Richard landed in Lisbon, so we meet them and had a picturesque meal at a local, somewhat hidden restaurant called Gina's. We enjoyed some wine, sea bass, and secret black pig . 

 

If you have read this post and thought, "that seems like a really long day," well, you are correct. This was about 21 hours of activity. The sun is out much longer over here and people are up very late into the night. Hello from Portugal!