Lisbon, Portugal

And we were off!

An early morning flight out of Seattle that connected through JFK awaited us. We had spent the night in a hotel near the airport to allow a few more hours of sleep in the morning. We did not plan for the super fast flight to JFK and our 4 hour layover turned into 5 hours of wandering the airpot and watching movies (and continuing my crash course in Spanish!). It was so nice to arrive at an airport early and go to the gate instead of waiting on the tarmac until a gate opened up (you suck, SEATAC).

We arrived in Lisbon around 8am on the next morning. Our friends, Ken & Karlene, had been in Lisbon for a week already and we just needed to make our way to the hotel to meet up with them. Clearing customs and immigration was super easy and we grabbed an Uber and made our way uneventfully to the hotel. It was a beautiful ride with all the typical historical sights along the way. I am always amazed at the extensive collection of historical buildings and monuments in Europe!

Our hotel was fantastic! We got checked in, met up with K&K and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast before heading out on foot to explore and force our bodies into the new time zone. No sleep! I happened to glance out of our room and discovered this amazing view :)

The view from our hotel in Lisbon!

Wandering the streets of Lisbon was very enjoyable and we covered a lot of ground on Saturday. Our initial route took us towards Commerce Square and the Tagus River.

These venders were roasting chestnuts and the carts were all over the place!

The Elevator of Santa Justa - a tourist trap!

Hmmm...should I be concerned?

A typical Lisbon street with Commerce Square visible through the arch.

A beer museum? Genius!

Commerce Square.

Look like San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge? It should - the same designer was hired! We later crossed underneath it and the noise from traffic was very eerie!

One of several government buildings flanking Commerce Square - this one if the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

A side view of the Lisbon Cathedral's bell towers.

Ummm...no thanks!

The Column of Pedro IV is a monument to King Peter IV of Portugal and the Algarves, located in the centre of Rossio Square in Lisbon, Portugal.

We walked up the hills around the Cathedral and enjoyed some beautiful vistas!

We stopped for refreshments as we climbed a series of winding, narrow roads to get to a church and viewpoint above the city. The streets were cobblestone and the traffic was crazy (not heavy, just unpredictable)! The view from the church grounds was spectacular! After making our way up via roads, we went back down on a much faster (but foul smelling) set of stairs that would not meet any ADA requirements that I know of...

Hiking hills on the way up and taking the stairs on the way down. The smell of urine was powerful...LOL!

A little closer look at the memorial outside our hotel room.

Dinner was enjoyed at a nearby restaurant with traditional tapas and wine. It was very good!

It had been a long day and I we were ready to collapse on the bed and try to get some sleep. Overall, our plan to reset our internal clocks seems to have worked and we had a great first day in Lisbon.

Day 2 - Sunday

We had plans to use a local tour company to explore outside of Lisbon on Sunday - our destination was Sintra and Cascais with a stop at a palace and some free time for food and shopping in Cascais. The first challenge was learning how to use the shower in our very European bathroom. One question I have never resolved is why the Europeans seem to insist on having a shower door that only covers half the opening...

We met up with our guide and headed out of the city into the hills west of Lisbon. It was kind of gray and damp in the morning but we were excited to see the Palace grounds. The National Palace of Pena is a UNESCO Heritage Site and one of the "Seven Wonders of Portugal" - it lives up to expectations. It was pretty busy the day we toured, but our group included pre-paid tickets and we went right through the line and into the Palace without issue.

Awaiting entry into the National Palace of Pena in Sintra, Portugal.

The palace from the outside as we walked up the hill.

The entry gate with symbology everywhere!

A view of the area from high up on the terrace.

Palace of Pena.

After our visit at the Palace of Pena we took a ride into town and had an opportunity to stroll the streets and enjoy some local food. The return to our hotel stopped at the westernmost point in continental Europe.

We stopped at this little pastry shop on the advice of our guide. It did not disappoint!

The western most point in continental Europe - Cabo Da Roca.

An example of the beautiful street signs in Cascais.

Tapas for dinner? Yes, please :)

Portugal was a wonderful visit and we were very happy to have added a few days before our cruise to explore a little.