We changed our mode of travel and took a train from Porto to Lisbon. It was a very comfortable three-hour ride, and Steve was happy to not be getting on another plane. The only drama was finding my bag as we were getting off the train as it had been moved.
With a bit of direction from a security guard (the Oriente station is huge and on several levels), we found the taxi stand and were on our way to our hotel, the Epic San Marques Hotel. The hotel is newer and part of the Preferred Hotel Group and very nice.
When we went downstairs for drinks and dinner, we found a huge crowd, consisting of reporters and camera crews, waiting for the electoral candidates (EU). Once they arrived, all returned to normal, and we enjoyed a quiet dinner.
We usually avoid the Hop On-Hop Off tours. However, the starting point for the tours was just too convenient to pass on, particularly as we have been in Portugal (admittedly a long time ago) and just wanted to get the lay of the land again. We did two of the three tours and were all over Lisbon. Taking pictures from a moving bus is a challenge!
Although it was a Monday, it was also a Portuguese holiday, so everyone was out! At our starting/ending point, there was a long line of booths set up, and the crowd was huge! As I walked through the area, I realized that they were all book sellers! I included the picture below just to give you an idea of the crowd.
We had dinner at one of the hotel restaurants called Allora! It was an Italian restaurant and very good. The big surprise was when I ordered a glass of port.
As there were three tours and we had only taken two, I went on the third one the next morning. The Lisbon metropolitan area population is over 3 million and seems so much larger than when we were here in 1985. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe, and the “old town” area is extremely hilly with lots of stairs. Because of the holiday, there were people everywhere, on the streets, in street cafes and there were long, ling lines to enter museums. Following are a few images from today’s touring (again, from a moving bus).
The Monument to the Discoveries (above) was first erected in 1940, in a temporary form, for the Portuguese World Exhibition. It was reconstructed in 1960 of concrete and stone masonry to mark 500 years since the death of Henry the Navigator.
One final walk through the area we are staying for a few more photos. Then it was on to dinner at Veranda do Ritz at the Ritz Four Seasons (don’t quite get the name) and a wonderful dinner it was. Steve had the best sole meunière I think I have ever tasted. We ended the evening with a splurge on a glass of port.
True to form, the airline changed our flights after the reservation was made. Instead of one connecting flight (international connections through Fort Myers are rare), we had two connecting flights with the last one being an hour late. We arrived back in Naples at 2:00 a.m. Thursday morning, and we were really happy the last Fort Myers flight was not canceled and we were home! Hope you have enjoyed traveling with us. Saturday morning we leave for Tacoma.
I always love traveling with you and I hope to be able to continue for many more years!
Enjoy your west coast home. Try to get some relaxation!
Thank you! I hope we get to travel lots of years yet, too!
Next year we’re seriously considering going to Australia as we have not been. It’s just such a long flight, even from the west coast.
Thanks again for taking the time and energy to write and photograph your anniversary trip. Especially after on the travel and walking you had to do. Must be exhausting, but there you were with a smile on your face.
Steve was a real trouper. Glad he went through all the surgeries and physical therapy so he could keep up with you.
Enjoy and relax in Tacoma.
Thank you! Traveling energizes me, so I am rarely tired on a trip! I admit that Steve gets pushed to his limits sometimes! He is a good sport, though, and sometimes just “sits out” on a few activities.
thank you again for a wonderful tour of Lisbon (I had been there a very long time ago, so it was like seeing the sights for the first time). I think you should publish a book with the beautiful pictures and blogs that you prepare for each trip. They are so entertaining and well described. Glad you made it home sound and safe and have a few days to recover, or are you leaving this Saturday for the West Coast?
Thank you for your kind words! It was so long ago that we were in Lisbon, so it was almost like seeing the city for the first time for us also. I actually enjoyed Porto a bit more than Lisbon as it seemed a bit more manageable.
We are already in Tacoma, and I admit I was really, really tired last night!
Thank you Donna! Excellent photographer too. You make me so jealous but our memories are great and yours will be too. Caroline
Thank you! I admit I am trying to get it all in while we can. I do look back at photos when we first started traveling and wish we still had that energy, but we’re lucky to still be on the road!