One Day in Lisbon

We flew in from Marrakesh and had only one day in Lisbon before we shipped out on the Crystal Serenity for a trans-Atlantic crossing to Miami.  So what do you do with just one day in Lisbon.  Here is what we did and it turned out great.

We stayed at the Hotel Avenida Palace  in central Lisbon with a 100 walkability score.  It’s a grand old hotel where you experience a timeless elegance, great ambiance and excellent service.  And they upgraded our room to a suite.  Drinks and dinner at the bar are recommended.

After breakfast, we decided to take a chance on a free walking tour.  However, first things first,  a good sidewalk shoeshine.to get rid of the Sahara sand

We walked over to Camões Monument in Largo de Camões, and joined a Free Walking Tour .  Our tour guide was a sociologist and, so much to our liking, we spent most of our walk  in the neighborhoods of the old town, and not so much focused on museums and churches.   When we got to a very small, isolated square surrounded by narrow streets and alleys with apartment buildings leaning in, he told us to stop talking and just listen for 5 minutes.  We started to really hear the local chatter between people in the upper stories, dogs, babies, the rattle of dishes, the community buzz.  Worth trying wherever you travel.  Along the way we dropped into a small cafe for a mid morning pick-me-up of  Portuguese egg tarts and Ginja, a local cherry brandy

It was early afternoon, and we were most of the way up the hill to the Lisbon Castle, when our guide told us our tour was over, to have fun getting lost in the alleyways, and to get back to the starting point, just go downhill and stay right.  Brilliant approach to a tour!!  Cathy and I immediately headed to a small restaurant, and enjoyed a perfect late lunch of grilled sardines and a pitcher of vinho verde .

Next morning we were off to the harbor, and joined our friends John and Janet on a Crystal Cruise to Miami through the Canary Islands.  Here is a teaser, however really this is another story for another time.

sunset in Key West