Lisbon

Well, after 2 relaxing sea days we reached the port of Lisbon in Portugal. This was our second visit to Lisbon, but it's always a pleasure to visit this city. Of course in a day, we can't really cover the whole city but we got a very nice sense of the town from our short time. It reminds us a lot of San Francisco; if SF were in Europe, it would be Lisbon. The hills and the atmosphere all lend a very SF feel to Lisbon.

We did not have a shore excursion in Lisbon but were on our own. So the three of us got the tickets for the shuttle bus to the city center and wandered around there for awhile. We took one of the outdoor elevators that allow you to go to one of the upper neighborhoods where we stopped at a cafe for a respite. We then had a failed attempt at riding the 28 tram which winds its way through the streets of the city. It failed because we waited and waited and waited for a tram and when one finally came it was packed full and only a few people at our stop were able to get on. It didn't seem like our idea of a fun time to be packed like sardines in a vehicle that we couldn't really see out of because we were standing. So we walked back to the city center where Marilyn caught the bus back to the ship while Allen and I spent a little more time wandering the streets. We had lunch where I ate octopus for the first time, which was actually very good. It was a new taste sensation for me.

The elevator we rode

For our depature from Lisbon, the three of us were invited to a special sail-away reception at the very front of the ship. It was fun to have that viewpoint as we sailed down the Targus River into the Atlantic Ocean. One of the fun things about Lisbon is that it has a bridge almost identical to the Golden Gate Bridge, built by the same person who did the GG Bridge. The only difference is that is has two levels, the lower level for trains. We sailed under the bridge, (whose name escapes me at the moment) and had some wonderful views of it.

Last evening was fairly quiet, dinner and some quiet time with a drink and some photo taking by an onboard photographer. As I write we're docking in Cadiz, our first port in Spain. We'll see what adventures await us here.