48 Hours in Lisbon; Day Two

With only 2 full days in Lisbon we set out to do a lot, but it didn't feel rushed or hectic. After packing, checking out, and breakfast in the hotel we went shopping at the Conserveira de Lisboa. We had tried to go twice before but as we were there the weekend of Easter it (and many other stores) were closed. But on this day the adorable shop selling tins of all sorts of fish, which ha been in business since 1930, was open! As we could tell from the line around the block! No worries, it moved fast and soon we were loading up on an assortment of fantastic treats to take home. All personally labeled by this elderly woman who had her own desk in the corner.

We then hopped on the tram which took us out to the Belem area where we would spend the day.

First up the National Coach Museum. Now this might sound a bit hokey but we all loved it! A whole history of the country's use of carriages in a spectacular hall. The detail work, style, and progression of comfort were really interesting. And beautiful. If you are out in Belem I highly recommend a visit!

Time for lunch!! We found a recommendation, from Rick Steves of all sites, online for Os Jeronimos. The description said something like "it looks like shit but it is fantastic". We went into the divey looking restaurant, got seats at the counter, and had an absolutely stand out lunch! Fresh grilled fish, clams, a saucy rice dish with sausage, and some real characters who owned the place!

An easy walk from lunch took us to the Monument of the Discoveries which has two profile sides featuring 33 famous explorers. You can walk up to the top of this impressive stone tower for more amazing views (we even caught a glimpse of the five masts on our Windstar ship in the distance!).

The square below has a stunning map of the world all done in tile. It's cool from ground level but from above it is just gorgeous.

We then rushed over to the Tower of Belem but sadly did not make the last entry. Next time.

One thing we noticed all over Lisbon (and later in southern Spain) were beggars with tiny Chihuahuas trained to hold the coin bucket. Cute and sad.

We were suppose to board our ship by 10:00pm so we grabbed the tram back to town, had another round of gintonics at Taberna Moderna (while watching some absolutely wacky couple doing some kind of hide-and-seek performance art. We think.), and then headed to the very popular Cervejaria Ramirez. The line was already crazy long at 7pm so a taxi driver took us to a random place (his cousin probably owned it) which ended up being very good.

A quick stop to pick up our bags and we headed to our ship at the port. It seemed really quiet. Like deserted. We actually had to walk with our bags all the way down the pier to our ship as no one was working. Weird.

Turned out we were suppose to be on board by 5:30pm or something and that we were the last ones to arrive and they were waiting on us to pull up anchor and leave! LOL!!

I have to say that I absolutely loved Lisbon. There is so much to do and see, or you can do nothing at all except take in the views, wander up and down staircases, drink gintonics, and eat amazing seafood. And the pretty tile, don't even get me started on the tile! I hope to get back!

But we had a whole other adventure waiting for us, and we were excited to set sail!

All Lisbon photos here.