Life on the ocean waves… and on land

Life on the ocean waves… and on land

Because life’s too short not to

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Ships
  • Cruises
  • Featured Voyages
  • Amazing Experiences
    • Antarctica
    • Polar Bear Adventure
    • Concorde
    • Line-Crossing Certificates
  • Photo Albums
Menu

Welcome to Lisbon

Posted on October 15, 2010March 30, 2022 by bollingerbabe

Today was our 22nd wedding anniversary, so it was quite a treat to be spending it in Lisbon, the historic capital of Portugal.

There is so much to see and do in Lisbon, and the beauty of it is that you can explore quite a large area of it on foot from the port, as everything is in close proximity.  As the ship sailed into port it went underneath the spectacular “25 de abril” suspension bridge over the River Tagus.  The constant drone of the traffic over the bridge was rather an invasion on your peace and quiet; it sounded like an angry swarm of bees.  Nevertheless, the weather was fine and we were looking forward to exploring this fascinating city once again.

On disembarking Queen Elizabeth we strolled along the river bank, where there are lots of fashionable cafés, bars and restaurants.  It really did look as though it would be a lively and fun place to be at night, but at this time of the morning there wasn’t a lot going on.  We decided we would walk along to that most famous of Lisbon sites, the Monument to the Discoveries.  This is a large monument shaped like a sailing ship and containing statues of each of the famous Portuguese explorers, lead at the front by Henry the Navigator.  Portugal, although a small country, has an long and fascinating history as a country of maritime explorers and, like Britain, owned a lot of overseas territory at one time.

Monument to the Discoveries, and the view from the top, showing the QE under the “25 de Abril” bridge

On arriving at the monument we paid our five euros each to go inside and take a lift to the top floor, where you can come out onto a gallery and have a fabulous view of the city.  We also watched a 20-minute movie detailing a brief history of Portugal up to the present day.  Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world and has lots of interesting old castles, forts and buildings.  Not bad considering the city was devastated by a massive earthquake (9 on the Richter scale) in 1755 and had to be rebuilt.

We walked around until our legs ached and we’d worked up a good thirst for a Sagres, a popular Portuguese beer.  We then bought some postcards to send and found a bar.  We decided also to try the yummy local custard tarts called pastel de nata; they are absolutely delicious and it is difficult to stop at just one!  🙂

While we were sitting there enjoying our beer a little girl came up to us (I think she was the proprietor’s daughter) and started chattering away; it was obviously in Portuguese so we couldn’t understand her.  We pointed to ourselves and said to her “English”, so she then saw us as an opportunity to practise her English and was ever so formal, using phrases such as “How do you do?” and asking us our names etc.  It was so cute, particularly since we found out she was only five!  How many five-year-olds in this country can speak any foreign words?

As we strolled along the waterfront on the way back to the Queen Elizabeth the bars and cafés we had passed earlier were now open, and one of them had its cocktail list chalked onto a board outside.  One of the drinks was caipirinha, my favourite cocktail made from Brazilian cachaça rum (a sugarcane run, as opposed to sugar molasses), crushed limes, sugar and ice.  It is so fruity and refreshing, especially on a hot day such as this.  It is also easy to forget it’s quite strong in alcohol; try standing up after you’ve had two or three of them and you’ll know about it!

Once back on board the ship we had our lunch, then had a leisurely look around the ship before taking our time to get ready, as tonight was another formal night.

In the evening the entertainment was a classical violinist, Nicola Loud, who had won the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award.  She was very good, although her personality was a bit gushing and over the top.  Chac’un a son goût, however.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Nautical Miles to Date

Debbie’s Daily Doings

  • En Route to Southampton

    En Route to Southampton

    December 28, 2022
  • Cruising the North Sea

    Cruising the North Sea

    December 27, 2022
  • Flaming Flowers that Brightly Blaze

    Flaming Flowers that Brightly Blaze

    December 26, 2022
  • Christmas at Sea

    Christmas at Sea

    December 25, 2022
  • Deck the Halls

    Deck the Halls

    December 24, 2022

Categories

  • Cruises (398)
  • Everyday chat (5)
  • Land-based holidays (74)
  • Shipshape (25)

Previous Holidays

Cruise Calendar

April 2023
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
« Dec    

Tag Cloud

Adonia (27) Arcadia (30) Atlantic Ocean (26) Azamara Club Cruises (30) Azamara Quest (15) Balmoral (40) Borealis (22) Boudicca (47) Braemar (46) British Isles Cruise (27) Captain's Cocktail Party (31) Caribbean (35) Celebrity Eclipse (16) choppy sea (16) cocktails (16) cold beer (116) Cunard (46) Cunard queen (45) formal evening (46) Fred Olsen (165) hot sun (22) Indian Ocean (24) Norway (31) P&O Cruises (71) Pacific (16) Queen Victoria (32) Sea day (100) transatlantic (23) Travelsphere (22) Voyages of Discovery (15)
©2023 Life on the ocean waves… and on land | Theme by SuperbThemes
 

Loading Comments...