LONGING TO LEAVE LISBON

Today was a real disappointment to us. It was the first shore excursion that we felt was not worth either the time nor the money. We started the day with another long hike in order to get to the buses as the terminal was what seemed to be miles away.

We took a 5 hour tour that began with a bus trip around Lisbon. Our guide seemed to be totally bored with her job, so that did not make it pleasurable for us. We have learned through our travels that a tour guide can either make or break a trip. This position seemed to be a chore for her today and it really showed that she did not like her work. It was also the first really "gray" day that we have had on the trip and I'm sure that didn't help either the mood of the port or of the guide. Fortunately, it never really rained on us. the rain came while we were on the bus.
The first thing that we saw when we woke up this morning was this statue of Christ.

It was across the Tagus River from Lisbon where we were docked. The citizens of Lisbon who were grateful that Portugal did not join the fight in World War II built the statue as a thanks to God. The statue is a replica of the Statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. It is not as big as the one in Rio that we visited when we were there several years ago.

This port was on a river rather than the ocean, and we watched from our balcony as a tanker came and gave us the necessary fuel to make the trip across the Atlantic. I still wonder how something as heavy as our ship can stay afloat! For that matter, how do planes stay up in the air??? They're certainly not lightweight, at least not if I'm in one!

As we drove through the city we saw a lot of electric streetcars which seem to be a popular and economical mode of transportation for the local people.

A little piece of advice. If you are going to be traveling by bus and taking photographs at any time, don't wear white or light colors. Your garments will reflect in the windows and mess up your images, like in the streetcar photos. I never wear light colors when I travel, but invariably the person in front of me in the bus is always wearing white. The headrests on the seats are generally covered in white as well, so it makes decent photography a real challenge!
Many of the buildings in Lisbon have a facade of decorative tile on the outside.

This is not only attractive, it also makes the walls easier to clean. As usual, I am once again impressed with the pedestrian walks and the beautiful designs.

There were no flowers on the balconies as we have seen in other cities, but the sculpture adds color to the otherwise bland scenery on a cloudy day.

And of course, you can't ever get away from a Hard Rock Cafe, no matter where you are in the world!

Our first stop was at Edward Vll Park which overlooked the city.

Albert Edward was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910. He was the first British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which was renamed the House of Windsor by his son, George V. This park was named for him.
There was a reflective pool at the top of the park where you could stand and admire the view.

There were also people selling their wares and it's hard to resist a bargain, or at least that is what the vendors were telling everyone.

I noticed a little man in the street approaching all the cars, trying to sell the people inside them his tamales. He reminded me of the guys in New York City who wash your car windows when you're stopped at a light. The tamales looked really good, but he didn't approach our bus. Too many windows, I suppose ;-)

As we were leaving town on our way to the village of Estoril, we passed the Lisbon Aqueduct.

An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose.
The city of Lisbon has always suffered from the lack of drinking water, and King John V decided to build an aqueduct to bring water from sources in the parish of Canecas, in the modern municipality of Odivelas. The project was paid for by a special sales tax on beef, olive oil, wine, and other products.
While Estoril may not be famous for a lot of things, one prominent attraction that has helped establish its renown is the Casino de Estoril.

Casino Estoril is located near Lisbon, and it's reputedly "the largest casino in Europe".

During World War II, it was reputed to be a gathering spot for espionage agents, dispossessed royals, and wartime adventurers. It was the inspiration for Ian Fleming's 007 novel Casino Royale. I wanted to go inside and look for Sean Connery, but it had started to rain a little, so I stayed on the bus instead. Besides, I have a feeling that he's somewhere else today just enjoying life.

We passed by this museum on the way there which was in Belem.

Belém is home to a number of museums, many of which were established by Salazar for the 1940 Belém Expo. Belém is famous as the place from which many of the great Portuguese explorers set off on their voyages of discovery. In particular, it is the place from which Vasco da Gama departed for India in 1497. Frank's ancestors are from Portugal and came to America with some of the explorers.
We also visited the Monument to the Discoveries.

This is a 52m high slab of concrete, erected in 1960 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. The monument is carved into the shape of the prow of a ship in which stand statues of various explorers, as well as a statue of Henry himself.

Adjacent to the monument is a square into whose surface is set a map showing the routes of various Portuguese explorers.
The water was rough on this dreary day,

but that certainly did not seem to keep the fishermen away. Under normal circumstances, the ocean would be a beautiful shade of blue if the sun had been out.

We noticed something in the distance in the water and as we got closer, we saw that there were surfers everywhere. They were wearing wet suits and that told me that I didn't want to be in there with them! Brrrr!

Once we arrived back at the terminal we found a very long line. All the buses were arriving at once again and there was only one person checking us in!

When he was finally at the front of the line, he called me over to join him. It took him about nearly an hour which was way too long for me to stand!
When we finally got back on board, we had a late lunch and then rested for a while. At 4:30 we had a glass of wine and played a little gin (I'm still ahead on the scorepad!)

We decided that since our tour was not a very successful but a very long one we would cancel our next tour and go out on our own. I'd love to come back to Lisbon some day under different circumstances and better weather. After all, that's where Frank's ancestry is.

There was no show tonight. Instead they were showing the movie, "Angels and Demons" in the Queen's Lounge.

We had mixed emotions about seeing this having read the reviews, so we opted to watch TV in our room. We have another sea day tomorrow but we are very tired. Not much sleep the night before, so it was time to turn in. Hopefully the stabilizers will be activated when we leave.

We only have 2 more ports left, so don't give up on us!

XOXO, Pcasso