Day 3 - Monday, October 21, 2024 - In Lisbon

 After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, we had a morning bus tour of Lisbon.

The highlight was a visit to a shop founded in 1837 that makes the Pastel de Nata which Lisbon is famous for. They are egg custard tarts and we each had one warm out of the oven - delicious! The restaurant sells 20,000 a day! Our tour guide said these are the only "real" ones. Several of these were provided in our hotel room but they didn't compare - cold and firm.

We stopped at a massive sculpture memorial of 500 years of Portuguese navigation from 1460 to 1960. There is a huge mosaic in front of the monument with a map of the world showing where Portuguese sailors had visited ports all along the coast of Africa to Asia.

After the tour, we took the metro to a recommended beer garden which was closed😓 but wandering down the street we found a seafood restaurant where I had a delicious shrimp curry which was more than I could eat.

After lunch we took a bus to the Lisbon Story Center near the waterfront which has an audio tour of the history of Lisbon from the first visits by the Phoenicians, then the Romans, Moors, Crusaders and finally Spanish. There was quite an impressive video simulation of the 1755 earthquake that completely destroyed Lisbon, killing thousands of people, especially with the tsunami that washed over the city. It was rebuilt with large avenues and open squares that we see today. 

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a cafe in the middle of a large pedestrian area to enjoy Aperol Spritz which were refreshing after walking around.

After a rest at the hotel we took the subway back to the pedestrian area for a light dinner of salads. Then back to the hotel on the subway. We are making good use of our 24-hour transit pass that covers all modes of transportation in Lisbon. Tomorrow we want to try the funicular and trams.

Pastel de Nata

500 year exploration monument




Exploration Map

Enjoying Aperol Spritz - happy hour


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