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Published: March 30th 2010
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We arrived in Lisbon with no fanfare or parades in our honor. However arrive we did and we spent almost 2 full days sightseeing. The plane trip was uneventful and was actually quite comfortable. Our luggage even arrived with us. We spent the 1st 2 full days in Lisbon and I don’t think we’ve ever seen so many convents, monasteries or castles. What are called castles are really old but big residences and they are scattered all over the place. Lisbon is very colourful and very diverse in its architecture as it has had so many influences over the centuries. Lisbon is also a port city and it seems that every road either goes up or down. Every road is very long and very steep and when you’re walking, like we were, it was an adventure that our legs complained bitterly about.
We spent most of our time on a tour bus and it is amazing how big Lisbon actually is. With a population of some 2.5 million people, Lisbon is very spread out as a city. Every few miles we entered a different district usually based on the local parish and the colors and architecture varied accordingly. Portugal is
very Roman Catholic and the various districts were largely the result of the will of local bishop of the day.
The local foods are very interesting and, of course, were all unpronounceable. We discovered, to our delight, that we were able to try many of the local fish dishes, such as monkfish (massda de tambori) and pasta, sea bream, tuna, bass and salmon. We also tried a local sandwich (francesinha a casa) which is turkey and ham between really good local bread, smothered in melted cheese and a light gravey, almost like poutin (yum!!)
Today we arrived at our 1st villa in Casal da Ponte which is about 2 miles from Alfeizerao. These villages are about 1 ½ hour north of Lisbon. We arrived to find that we couldn’t contact the people from the villa who were supposed to meet us. After many minutes of using sign language, body language and pictures the owner of the little coffee shop that was the bus stop recognized our villa. She was able to take Renita there where she met the owners who were waiting for us to call them. Malcolm came back to meet us and ferry us to our new
home. Lynda was waiting for us and welcomed us with open arms. After the tour of the villa, we were left on our own and we kicked back for the rest of the day eating local cheese and crackers with local port, local wine and local beer. It was raining off and on but it was still warm enough for us to sit around the pool with our drinks and snacks. Our hosts drove the girls back into Alfeizerao to shop for our dinner at the local market and we had fresh pasta with vegetables and, of course, cheese, wine and port. It’s pretty quiet here tonight as we’re all pretty beat so we’re reading and writing. We had several incredible pieces of home baked pasteries after dinner and it will be early to bed tonight as tomorrow will be the start of new exploring. And now, we’re walking.
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