Home - Monday

Monday our travel day started at 7am in Lisbon and ended 22 hours later at 9pm in San Francisco.

Although we're sad to leave our travel adventure and life of leisure, there are a few things I'm happy to return to - Our bed, Mike's cooking and this guy...

Also looking forward to talking to you all soon!

Lisbon - Sunday - Part 2

We went out looking for a place for dinner. We stopped by a place that our friend David had recommended from when he was here. David, I'm not sure it's open any longer - the sign is still there though.

We ended up at a lovely tapas place - A good way to end our day and trip.

Lisbon - Sunday

A quieter day for us - And our first museum day. Ironic since it's our last day of the trip.

We went to the Gulbenkian Museum. It was started by an American with a love for Portugal and an extensive Art collection. Including a lot of Islamic Art from Turkey - Which seemed like a nice circle in my brain.

This clock from the Louis XV period still works!

I also liked these paintings

Then we had lunch and stopped by the modern art museum. It was MODERN art...

Then we did some last bit of shopping (before we check out duty free tomorrow). And since we'd walked there we took the metro and a funicular to get back to the apartment

Now we figure out how to get everything back in our suitcases!

Lisbon - Saturday - Part 2

We found a great restaurant tonight. A place recommended but when we got there we couldn't find a door to get in. We could see it on the second floor but were stumped on getting to it. Luckily a kid from the restaurant saw Mike looking and came to let us in. They were expecting a couple big groups. Otherwise for most of our meal we were the only ones there.

After we stopped by another place that offered "light music" and ended up listening to a singer who seemed to be doing a lounge act at first, but his second set he started mixing in Fado songs that were really beautiful. 

People were having so much fun they got up to dance.

Lisbon - Saturday

First I have to start with something that happened last night. Mike was mistaken for being Portugese by a restaurant owner AFTER he asked for a table. His language skills are just that good. 

Today - We headed to Belem the area next to Lisbon that survived the 1755 earthquake with most things intact and where most of the royalty and political figures hung out during the time Portugal was a world powerhouse - and especially after the quake.

A lot of Belem is dedicated to  the time when Portugal was discovering trade routes and conquering areas in Africa, India, China and Brazil.

Here's the tower marking the port where ships left and came in

A newer monument honoring the explorers - Good views from the top.

Then we visited this church/monastery where Vasco de Gama is buried

And then we went to a museum of coaches that was surprisingly interesting and cool. I'd never really thought about them before...

Caught the bus back to downtown and were dropped off near the beach so we sat on the pier for a break

And then discovered we were near the Portugal Wine Appreciation Center. We appreciated some wines

As we left the wine center - across the plaza was this...

But it was too much - even for us.

Lisbon - Friday

We walked all over downtown Lisbon today. Our good friend Rick Steeves (guidebook guru) divides it into three parts. First - the neighborhood where we are staying the Bairro Alto. We started out with a great view of the lower downtown area. 

We saw a few churches - In this chapel filled with Angel babies it looks like Mary is holding a Jesus T-Shirt. 

We also saw some beautiful tiled buildings and Mike had a Bica (espresso) at a famous cafe.

Next we went to the lower downtown area Baixa. There we saw monuments and more churches.

In 1755 Lisbon was devastated by a 9.0 earthquake - followed by a tsunami and a fire. There are some areas where they've left buildings as they were rather than rebuilding. Like this church...

Or this one tucked away in all the newer buildings

Lastly we strolled around the Alfama area. More great views

And winding streets

We finished up with the Fado Museum (sorry forgot to take photos!) and then had a refreshing beer at Lisbons first brewery (located in an old monastary).

Evora to Lisboa - Thursday

We spent the morning wandering around Evora and seeing parts of its Roman history. 

Here's a recent excavation that they've added some contemporary art to...

Then we jumped on a bus to Lisbon

And just arrived at our apartment. M - it reminds me of our rental in Paris lots of rooms off of rooms.

But the best thing about it is the terrace and view...

That bridge in the way background is the same as the Golden Gate (same architect and plan). We feel right at home!