January 28^th, 2024

Lisbon, Portugal

Sailing into Lisbon is always a beautiful sight, even if it’s a very foggy, overcast day.

We weren’t due to dock until late morning so we spent the morning sitting in the Observation Lounge observing our passage up the river.

When we returned to our cabin to get ready to head out on our tour, the cabin had been transformed.

Yay! For our stewardess Hazel! She really is a star. Happy Anniversary to us 🙂

We love Lisbon, but we have never been to Sintra, so we thought we would take the ship’s tour and check it out.

We were not disappointed. It is a really beautiful village, with lots of little shops selling all sorts of fun things. I had been very good until then, but could not resist helping the local economy. It is the right thing to do.

There is a News Museum there, with interesting characters in the windows!

The fort on top of the hill looked really interesting, but it is a 2 hour hike to get there so we had to give it a miss 

The tour stopped at a restaurant which failed to reveal its name, and we had a pastry, orange juice and coffee.

We then had free time to wander around, and wander around we did. It was the perfect little village in which you could lose yourself, but luckily we were able to wend our way back to the coach at the appointed time.

The drive back to the port took us over the mountains and then along the shore. It is very windswept with striking dunes. And seafood restaurants. I was thinking that we should definitely give one a try the next time we are in Lisbon.

It was dusk by the time we sailed away, and I watched from our balcony as it gradually became darker and darker and then it was time to go to the Lido Lounge for a drink.

There are several bars on board. None are great quite honestly, and the main bar, Morning Light, which has the best music is always too crowded to get a seat. The only bat that serves Strongbow cider, for which I have a particular passion, is only available in the Lido Bar, so that’s where we had to go. Our table mates, Jane and Paul joined us, and one of the Show Company singers was performing so it actually turned into rather a pleasant time.

It was interesting that the singer sounded so much better than she does in the production shows, and actually has a really lovely voice when she can sing the songs she loves.

To celebrate our anniversary we had dinner in one of the specialty restaurants, Colours and Tastes. The food really hasn’t been great in our dining room. There is often nothing on the menu that really appeals to me, and the food is usually cold by the time it gets to us. Our restaurant is on the 10^th floor, and the kitchen is on the 6^th floor, that could be the problem. The main dining room is on the 6^th floor, so maybe their food it hot. Anyway, we had a really good meal so I was very happy.

Tonight’s entertainment was a performance by the ship’s string trio. I love hearing them play as I walk around the ship, they are very good. They didn’t disappoint this evening, and it was a wonderful show.

When we returned to the cabin, the towel swans had moved, and now our dresser is almost completely occupied by towel creatures. We also have one on top of the fridge. We are reluctant to dismantle any of them as we do not want to offend Hazel, and are not aware of the protocol for dealing with towel creatures. They have not been a part of our lives for many years.