Lisbon

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After a poor night sleep due to jet lag, we woke up early for our 5am van ride to the airport. After arriving at the Lisbon airport, we picked up our 9 passenger van, referred to us all as "the bus."

We proceeded to the Belem area where we visited two sites. First, the Jeronimos Monastery whose construction began in 1502 and exemplifies Portuguese art at its best (I copied that description!). Then we went to the Tower of Belem, which was one of two opposing defensive fortresses along the river.

From there, we drove into downtown Lisbon to see the old castle there. We took a tram up from near the main square and hiked around the castle grounds. The castle goes back to the Moorish period in the 11th century. The castle afforded great views of Lisbon and at least four cats wandering the grounds!

We walked down the hill into the pedestrian shopping zone in which all the streets were lit nicely for Christmas. There was a skating rink in one of the squares and the streets were busy with shoppers and walkers.

We drove back to an area along the riverfront with many restaurants and had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant. Worn out from a long day, we headed out to Penha Longa where we were staying at a Ritz Carlton hotel (off-season). The rooms were quite nice and the boys took advantage of the nice robes provided!

Bonus feature. Mishaps Of The Trip So Far:

We forgot to note that in London, we had an exciting moment on the Underground. One time when we approached the train, Will jumped on and the doors quickly closed with the rest of us not yet on the train! We were going just one stop on this line so Deb and Mark both pointed one finger and mouthed "One stop" to Will. We were glad to see Will waiting for us at the next station when we arrived on the next train.

The "bus" proved itself to be exciting driving through some of the small streets in the older parts of the town. When trying to find parking near the castle in Lisbon, we found ourselves on some extremely narrow streets that required some tight manuevering. Given the fact the bus has manual transmission and the streets were very hilly added to the challenge. From here on, we're parking farther away and either walking or taking other transportation into the old areas!

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Photos

Monument and Bridge
The Discovery Monument and the April 25th Bridge (sister of Golden Gate Bridge)

Along the riverwalk
In the far right picture, large Christ statue is visible which is much taller than appears here

Tower of Belem
An old fortification to protect Lisbon