Chapter 6 - Morocco - Part 3

Day 23 – Thursday 26 May 2016 – Marrakech
Tour Day 12

An 8am breakfast on the roof terrace and then we met our guide for the morning – Abdul. Abdul started the morning with a walk to the Bahia Palace, a 19^th century home and working place for the Prime Minister of the day. He explained the workings of the various components of the palace – riad, dining room, house, courts of honour, etc.

View Inside the Bahia Palace

There were some lovely stain glass windows and mosaics to be seen.

                                       Stained Glass Windows

Aziz got a laugh when he tried to gather the troops with the Aussie “cooee” cry – and he did it well.

As has been the case all over Morocco cats and storks were in attendance.

We left the palace and walked through some of the authentic areas of the souks, where trades are plied via time honoured methods.  For the umpteenth time in Morocco I was called “Ali Barber”, due to my beard.  The locals thought it a great joke – and so did we.  Yesterday Shirley and Fay stopped at a shop about 20 metres behind me and so Shirley called out my name to get me to stop.  So all of the shop people with hearing range responded with ”Chriiss, come into my shop and have a loookk”.  Again, a great source of mutual amusement.

Again, we played dodgem with the numerous bicycles, motor bikes and goods vehicles in the souk.

               A Shared Souk Corridor

Anyway, after the souk we visited the Photography Museum where many historical photos of Morocco people were displayed.  It was very interesting and also sold great coffee.

       Example of the Museum Photography

Abdul then took us back to the great square and explained that the collective souks contain 13000 stalls and cover seven square km.  No wonder we get lost.

At the end of the tour, about 12:30, Shirley, Fay and I found a small eatery and had a panini and soft drink for lunch.

The ladies were after more punishment so back into the souks we went, with me as bodyguard and chief barterer. I bought a brown camel leather belt and a black goat leather belt, and a couple of other goodies.

It was 2:45 by the time we returned to the riad – a walk of around 8.5 km.

We relaxed in the heat of the day and caught up with some reading, diaries and blogs.  Others went sightseeing.

               Sicilian Pizza

For dinner we visited an Italian restaurant and I had an excellent Sicilian pizza.

Day 24 – Friday 27 May 2016 – Marrakech to Essaouiri
Tour Day 13

We had a sleep in with 8am breakfast and 9:30 walk to the bus. We had said goodbye to five of the group as the last three days were an optional extra.  We were heading to Essaouiri on the coast – a Moroccan holiday destination known for its surf and cooler weather than inland.  We left Marrakech via the new section and were surprised by the difference between the “old” and the “new”.

We were soon into the richest agricultural area of Morocco with the principal produce being grapes, watermelon, tomatoes, oranges and strawberries. There were also some olives.

For a change the road was flat and straight. It gave me time to proof read my blog, create new text, update the Probus newsletter and write a couple of emails. Although there was not much to see there were opportunities to take photos very typical of Morocco.

                                   A Typical Moroccan Scene

Another Typical Moroccan Scene – Drinking Coffee and/or Mint Tea

At 11:30 we stopped for the obligatory coffee & toilet stop, where we had a great coffee, cake and banana.

                   The beach opposite the Miramar Hotel

We arrived at Essaouiri and checked into the Hotel Miramar.  It is a great facility over the road from a great beach.  After a short period a group of us went to check out the local medina – as you do – because it also has souks.

The narrow streets of Essaouira are ideal for casual exploration. Apparently the fishing port is a serious commercial operation and one can observe the daily catch and its subsequent auction. Elsewhere there are numerous shops and several fine art galleries.

         Sardine Tagine

I know as we stopped at most of the shops. There is a wide variety of restaurants, and we stopped at one to have a late lunch.  I had a sardine tagine and it was superb.  The chopped sardines were cooked as little balls.  Lovely.

We strolled on and did more looking than shopping although a couple of the ladies opted for the Moroccan tattoos.

After a quick look around 50% of the markets/souks we opted for a cold beer.  Now I must say that when we travel we respect the local traditions and customs. Also alcohol is forbidden by the Muslim religion, although alcohol is legal in Morocco. We asked an al-fresco proprietor if we could have a beer. The answer was yes, so we ordered five beers and one coke.  After a long break he appeared with three ceramic mugs and one coke and announced that there was no more beer but the two who missed out could have wine.  So Shirley and Fay shared a half bottle of white wine.  It subsequently arrived in two ceramic glasses with the remainder of the bottle in a ceramic mug.  All beers and the wine were room temperature.

        

            Wine at the top. Beer below.

We were amused that we were permitted to have a beer in the open but no sign of alcohol was visible from the street.

We wandered back to our hotel and relaxed before Aziz lead us back to the medina and to an excellent seafood restaurant. The location was selected so that we could see the sunset, and take appropriate photos. 

I had grilled swordfish and Shirley had fish kebabs.  It was good. There was some great live music and Aziz and Shirley strutted their stuff for a couple of minutes.
It was 11pm before we were back in our hotel room.

             Essaouiri Sunset from Our Restaurant

I forgot my camera so the above photo is courtesy of Fay.

Day 25 – Friday 28 May 2016 – Essaouiri
Tour Day 14

I was up early and on the beach by 6:30 am. It was a pleasant 4km walk as shown by the following photos.

                    Essaouiri Sunrise

                        Essaouiri

                 

Essaouiri

Breakfast was 8am then a “chill out” period.  Around 10:30 some people went for a walk to a silver then a wood outlet.  Some of us caught up on communication, etc.
I met up (accidentally) with the silver/wood crown when I went for a stroll into the medina.  Shirley, Fay and I ended up at a great coffee place with a “muffin of the day”.  After some more strolling we wandered back to the hotel for more “chill out”.

Around 3pm Shirley and I went looking for light late lunch.  It was good.  We walked backed to the hotel via the beach, minus sandals as we walked through the shallow.  Being Saturday, and warm, the beach was popular.  It is also a great venue for many serious soccer matches – complete with nets and uniforms.

Activity on the Local Beach

Around 5pm a few of us gathered on the top floor terrace and demolished our last bottle of red – a well-travelled bottle at that.

Four Aussies Enjoying the Company of Each Other

At 7:30 we headed off to a restaurant, recommended by Aziz, that has excellent seafood.  And so it was. My grilled whole sole, topped with calamari and shrimps (cooked tagine style) was superb.

Day 26 – Sunday 29 May 2016 – Essaouira to Marrakech
Tour Day 15

The bus was not departing until 1pm so we had all morning to do some last minute Essaouira shopping. The most popular item was an extra bag to carry home recent purchases.  Shirley and I were also in that classification.

At 1pm the bus pulled away from out hotel and we settled into comfortable positions for the 190 km drive.  I listened to a couple of the African/Moroccan CDs that I bought in Essaouira, plus keyed in these words.

As usual, on the road home we noticed a number of police who were stopping vehicles and performing paperwork checks. It seemed to be at random locations and not every vehicle was being stopped. There seems to be a heavy police presence in Morocco. 

However, it seems to engender safety and security, rather than intimidation.  There were places where there were heavily armed police/soldiers, but again these seemed to be a security thing. A smile to a policeman or soldier usually got the response of a smile. However, if you looked like taking a photo of them, you quickly learned that this is not permitted.

By now I am enjoyed the CDs that I bought – most of which has some great guitar work – making me think of guitar-loving mates back home. One track sounds like an African Bob Dylan complete with mouth organ.

We stopped somewhere for lunch and arrived at our riad around 4:30.  There was time to chill out before we dined together for the last  time.

Dinner was at a hotel in the new part of Morocco, and the food (as usual) was excellent. One Aussie (me) and one New Zealander said a few words to Aziz, our tour leader.  He has done a great job.

The tour is now effectively over.

Day 27 – Monday 30 May 2016 – Marrakech
Tour Day 16 & End

The day started at 6:45 when I got up to say good bye to three of our party who were catching early flights. We had a slow breakfast and in turn said good bye to a few more.  There are now only five of us left (although two are still in Marrakech at another hotel).

Aziz appeared and we thanked him for his great effort.

Shirley and Fay went looking at a new shopping centre in the new area and I went back to bed – to build up strength for the next major components of our trip – Spain and Portugal.

Shirley and Fay returned with some bread sticks, avocado, cheese and tomato for lunch.

Around 3:45 the remaining five Aussies went for a stroll for a coffee and one last look through the souks.  At the last minute Shirley changed her mind and had a mango smoothie (a regular mention in the blog last year).

One last word of wisdom from Morocco.   Apparently Marrakech is regularly (as in daily) covered in a very fine layer of Sahara dust.  It can build up quickly if the locals do not regularly dust and clean.  So as you walk through the souks you constantly see people sweeping the footpath in front of their stall, as well as sprinkling water to manage the dust problem.  Often the mechanism for sprinkling water is a one litre water bottle with a few fine holes in its lid.  Very effective.

After our walk we had another cooling rest then headed back to the “square” for dinner.  The three of us had calamari, bread and water.

*** This Post is Complete – Next stop Madrid ***
 
Post Updated 9pm Monday 30 May 2016
Go to the previous location – Morocco Part 2
Go to the next location – Spain/Portugal Tour – Part 1
Go to the Home Page

Chapter 10 - London

Day 44 – Thursday 16 June 2016 – Lisboa to London
It was an early start – breakfast at 7am and in the airport transfer vehicle at 8:15am.  By 11 am we were in the air (BA 501) and on the ground at Heathrow at 1:45 pm.  By 4:30 pm we were in our Earls Court apartment.

As I write these words we are maybe 30,000 feet above France on our way to London. The exploration and tour part of our trip is over.  Now we have a social week in London, catching up with three groups of people – all in English pubs.  The few Spanish and Portuguese words that have become familiar to us will be replaced with Aussie vernacular.

                     Windsor Castle from Our Plane

Language was rarely an issue in Morocco, Spain or Portugal as English is very common in those countries – particularly where tourists are common.  However, we tried to master words like thank you, hello, wine & beer – plus a few others.

I was surprised how close our BA flight path went to Windsor Castle as we approached Heathrow (see photo).  With minimal fuss we exited Heathrow and caught the Tube to Earl’s Court.

We soon settled into our small but comfortable apartment in Earl’s Court, before we walked 75 metres to our local pub – The King’s Head – to have drinks with Fay and her son.  After drinks we moved about 200 metres to another pub for traditional English fare.

After that we fell into bed and slept.

Day 45 – Friday 17 June 2016 – London
Today started slow with Shirley taking full advantage of a washing machine while I did things to do with shopping, technology and flights.  We did manage a 30 minute walk around Earl’s Court sometime after lunch.

Around 4 pm we headed to the Tube for a ride to Trafalgar Square.  A photo was a waste of time as the square was covered in large and small marquees for some music-related festival on the weekend.  So we headed to the Coal Hole a favourite pub of our daughter Sara.  It is what I would call a typical English pub.

In due course five of Sara’s mates turned up and we had a great session. After that we headed to an Italian restaurant in Covent Gardens, where I had an excellent seafood penne.

                                  The Coal Hole and A Sign Within

Again, we did not need much rocking.

Day 46 – Saturday 18 June 2016 – London

We decided early that the trip was starting to catch up with us, so today was to be a quiet day. It was a bit disappointing as we had a previous commitment that had to be put aside.

          Shirley at Hamleys with Lego Friends

Around lunch time we needed to get out of the apartment so we caught the Tube to Piccadilly Circus and visited the famous Hamley’s toy store.

It is an amazing place, with many staff demonstrating lots of the toys. They seemed to be having a “ball” – and were getting paid for it.

I took some street-sign photos to prove that I have played Monopoly and was amused by an old fashioned phone box that had Wi-Fi.



We had a quick look at the Covent Garden market then headed home for more rest.
When it was time for dinner we went for a walk and found a great hamburger place. We liked the name plate on the hamburger delivery container – that had Aussie implications.

                           Hamburger Delivery Container

It was an early night.

Day 47 – Sunday 19 June 2016 – London

We started the day feeling a lot better than at the same time yesterday.  Again it was a slow start until we headed off around 11:45.

We arrived at London Bridge station and had a wander before we entered the Barrowboy And Banker at 12:30. Seconds later we were greeted by multiple English cousins, and having my arm twisted for a pint of bitter.  The group became 16 – seven of whom were my cousins – the rest were extended family.  Some I had not ever met – some I last met in 1975.

                       Location of Cousin Get-together

We settled into continual conversation, interrupted by the need to order roast pork and Yorkshire pudding, order more drinks, take photos or move around the table. 

                Chris and Seven of His Cousins

It was a fantastic afternoon, which crept into evening before we said goodbye around 7pm.  I headed home armed with photos, memorabilia and some great memories.

My only male cousin at the lunch reminded me that we had seen one day of an Ashes test at Egbaston (I remember that bit) in 1975 during which we saw Jeff Thompson bowl his first over of test cricket in England – in conjunction with D K Lillie.  It is now history that Thompson took 0/21 and 5/38, as Australia won by an innings and some runs.

Day 48 – Monday 20 June 2016 – London

The day started wet and looked like continuing that way.  It did, so we had a quiet day.  Around 3pm the rain stopped, and we started – walking. We found Brompton Cemetery, whose residents have dates mainly in the 19th and early 20th century.  It was a lovely place for a walk with plenty of leafy English trees and lots of greenery.

                 Brompton Cemetery

We also saw a lot of squirrels – probably the first to appear in any of my blogs.

Cemetery Residents

We used the Tube to get to Wimbledon to have dinner with a great mate of Sara’s, plus her family.  They live in a beautifully renovated home in a lovely part of London. We dined on superb Sri Lankan food.  I used my grandpa charm to put son number one to bed and to sleep – good story-telling and a “horsey” ride did the job.  It was a great night.

Day 49 – Tuesday 21 June 2016 – London

The weather was a huge contrast from yesterday as I headed off for a 7:15 am walk. It was a good way to start the day. Some time later Shirley, Fay and I went for another walk. We had lunch, went our different directions and relaxed for a few hours.

Around 3:30 we met up with a lovely Welsh couple who we first/last met on a tour of China in 2009.  Seven hours later we said goodnight. Those seven hours were filled with laughter, stories, memories, a few drinks and dinner.  It is hard to describe the joy of re-meeting such good people – people who believe in having a laugh, a smile and a casual drink – not to mention being on a return train trip for seven hours just to catch up with us. It was an excellent evening. These people know who they are and we say “thanks for being good friends”.

                     Good Friends at the Blackbird

Day 50 – Wednesday 22 June 2016 – London

We were not satisfied with seven hours at the pub last night so four of us returned at 8:15 am today for a hearty English breakfast.  After that we said good bye to two lovely people.

Shirley and I decided to get out of London for our last day in the UK and so we headed to St Albans.  It was only 25 minutes on a country train, and a comfortable trip at that.  We wandered around the town, admired the very old buildings and took photos of the 9th century school and cathedral.

                St Albans 10th Century School

The market was worth a look as were the excellent pasties that we had for lunch. I also took a photo of a sign that produced a smile.

              An Impressive Sign

The last photos I took on the trip showed the view outside our Earl’s Court apartment window.

                    View from our Earl’s Court Window

As I close our story I think of our journey via Dubai, Spain, Morocco, Spain (again), Portugal and England.  The time has gone very quickly.  The scenery, food, cultural experiences have all been very very good.  The wine experiences added to the trip.
The camel ride into the desert and a five star tent accommodation was probably the highlight – but there were many others.  We met some great people from the countries we visited (two tour leaders for example), as well as some great people who travelled the same or similar paths/tours.

We spent quality time with some cousins (who are now friends), and others who were already friends.

I hope you enjoyed the journey.  We did.  Reality at home beckons ……………

Well reality has arrived.  We arrived home about 10:20 pm Friday 24 June when the temperature was about 4 degrees C.  Another journey has come to an end.

*** This Post is Complete ***

Post Updated 3 pm Sunday 26 June 2016

Go to the previous location – Spain/Portugal Tour – Part 3
Go to the Home Page

Chapter 9 - Spain & Portugal – Part 3

Day 38 – Friday 10 June 2016 – Douro River into Porto
Tour Day 9

It was scenic sailing all morning – as we headed to Porto – so it was a lazy morning. A few of us scored a visit to the bridge where the Captain explained his role and the workings of the bridge. The ship is powered by two 1600 HP diesel engines. While we were on the bridge the depth of the water varied between 15 and 55 metres – not an issue as the ship needs less than two metres.

Pastel de Nata

Around 10:45 John the chef gave us a cooking lesson in how to prepare the locally famous Pastel de Nata, a delicious tart. We know it is delicious because we ate the results of his efforts. We now privy to a long held secret – re the recipe
Soon after we passed through the last lock on the Douro. The vegetation on both sides was very dense with the occasional house (or varying size and standard) being seen.

            Our Last Lock on the Douro

 

   A Big Change in Vegetation from Terraced Grape Vines (note the trees in the background)

Just after noon we arrived at Porto. Actually we were berthed on the south side of the river, which is known as Gaia. The view across the Douro river was picture postcard perfect.

           The River Side Café Strip of Porto

After lunch we boarded the bus and headed to Guimaraes. Guimaraes is renowned for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is the heart of the greenest and most fertile region of Portugal. Its rainfall is 10 times that of Lisbon and so it is green all year round. We had noticed that the grape vines had reappeared. It is also known for its popular corn bread – called Broa.

However the most important thing about Guimaraes is that it known as “The Birthplace of Portugal”. It was founded in the 10^th century when the Christians defeated the Moors.

It was a 50 minute drive north of Porto, and we noticed many eucalypts along the way. Laura, our guide for the day, mentioned that 30% of Portuguese forests are eucalypts. These are used for eucalyptus oil and paper manufacture.

We had two hours strolling around the old part of Guimaraes and took photos of the 11^th century chapel of St Michael, the castle, the Palace, the convent and St James’s square. Many old buildings have been rebuilt or repaired so that Guimaraes can retain its heritage.

             Guimaraes Castle

My last photo was of some beautiful gardens in front of another church.

Back in Porto we all got dressed up and enjoyed ourselves at the Gala Dinner. During dinner the Captain took the Queen Isabel for a one hour cruise to the head of the Douro river. After dinner we were treated to some operetta singing.

                      Head of the Douro

 

                Good Friends, Great Food, Fine Wines, Top Location

 
Day 39 – Saturday 11 June 2016 – Porto
Tour Day 10

The feature of the morning was a three hour “Do as the locals do” walking tour. This took us to the original part of Porto, most of which is world heritage listed.

                   Ceramic Tiles in the Foyer of Porto Train Station

We finished the morning at a small restaurant trying a peach-cold-tea and a couple of tasty morsels.

After lunch a select group of us had a bus ride to Croft & Co, the oldest port wine maker in the world. They have a new creation in Rose Port. It was excellent.

                 Port Barrels in the Croft Cellars

Day 40 – Sunday 12 June 2016 – Porto to Lisboa
Tour Day 11

It was an early start as the bags had to be packed by 6:30 am for a bus departure at 8am. We said goodbye to the very friendly, helpful and (often) humorous staff. It had been an absolute pleasure to have spent a week on the Queen Isabel in the care of these lovely people – from the Captain and Hotel Manager down to the most junior staff members.

We had 300 km to travel to Lisboa (pronounced Lishboa) the Portuguese name for the capital Lisbon.

Our first stop was Coimbra, the home of the first university in Portugal (circa 1308) and the only university until 1911. Coimbra follows the usual historical pattern of Iberian towns – established by the Romans, expanded by Jews and the Moors, and completely established by the Catholics.

          The Main Square in Coimbra

The 18^th century provided one of the most famous university libraries in the world and a magnificent chapel, that originally formed part of the King’s palace. The chapel has an Iberian organ, different from traditional organs in that it also has horizontal pipes – apparently not seen outside of the Iberian peninsula.

Cameras were not allowed so we have no photos of the memorable sights.

We were soon back on the bus and heading south on an excellent motorway. The countryside was mainly rolling plains of forests, most of it either pine or eucalypt.
Lunch was at Quinta do Paul, a magnificent resort style place with accommodation and a huge restaurant. As usual we ate too much and drank too little.

Our drive took us along a fertile-looking valley that seemed to have more market gardens and fruit trees than anything else. It was a pretty drive. From time to time we could see the sea.

               Medieval Walled City of Obidos

We then moved on to Obidos, a medieval village that is famous for its attachment to Queen Isabel, who was given the village when she married King Diniz. This gave her the right to charge decapitation taxes on the inhabitants. She did this, but returned most of it to the people in the form of services and support – sort of a Portuguese Robin Hood.

                    A Street of Obidos

Incidentally, King Diniz is also known for his role in renaming the Knights Templar, when the Pope of the day ordered their disbandment, and hence created the Order of Christ. The history of the Knights Templar is an interesting read.

Obidos provides a pretty village atmosphere with plenty of capability to peruse/buy various craft products and port wine. It was an enjoyable 90 minutes.

It was 5pm when we got to Lisboa and checked into our Hotel Intercontinental. We did not need a big meal so after our luggage arrived we walked.

We found some sort of book festival that had food stalls and so we tried a sort of Portuguese hot-dog.  It was excellent.

         Part of the Parade

As it was June 12 and the eve of St Anthony’s Day, there was an annual parade, with people dressed up in beautiful costumes.  Each group apparently represents a Lisbon neighbourhood and there was a winner for the best song and costumes.  We took a few photos.

After the parade there is a huge street party with dancing, singing, eating sardines, wine and beer.  We were in bed by then.

Day 41 – Monday 13 June 2016 – Lisboa
Tour Day 12

It was a public holiday in Porto on Friday and a public holiday today in Lisboa.

After the usual splendid breakfast we boarded the bus for the city tour.  The first stop was the Belem Tower which was constructed around 1515 to help protect the city.  It is now an icon of Lisboa, like the Eiffel Tower is to Paris.

        Belem Tower

After that we visited the 1960 memorial to the Portuguese discovery period when it ruled the waves of discovery. The lead figure on the monument is Henry the Navigator, the person accepted as being responsible for leading Portugal into the Age of Discovery – when it developed its empire.

               The Memorial to the Age of Discovery

It was interesting to see a (marble) map of the (known) Portuguese world where the southern parts of Australia did not exist.  I assured our American friends that the dot below Australia was our home town.

                       Early Portuguese Map of the World

     Pastel de Belem

Luis explained, on yet another cobble street, that the use of cobbles was started by a prison warden who had the prisoners shape rocks by hand for paving roads and the creation of patterns.  The same technique is still used to shape the rocks.

Morning tea was at the home of the lovely pastries that we made on the ship a few days ago – Pasteis de Belem. It was well worth the visit.  The name of the tart is different as copies are not allowed to use the original name.

The bus continued on to St Jeronimo’s monastery where the famous sea explorer, Vasco Da Gama, is buried.

We then walked a few of the narrow street of the old part of Lisboa where the previous night’s party was being cleaned up.

     Monastery of St Jeronimo

We rested for a couple of hours before heading out again. This time we visited downtown Lisboa.  We wandered far and wide and saw some great sights.  A few appear below.

     Left – Great view from great dining location. Right – My favourite sign.

        Foreground – Lisboa beach. Background – Longest bridge in Europe.

We spent the last evening of the tour dining with four people from the US in a local restaurant.  They are wonderful people and we had lots of laughs – probably to the discomfort of a few other patrons.  It was not my fault – I was the quiet one.
As the local festival also included sardines that was my choice for dinner. Lovely.

Day 42 – Tuesday 14 June 2016 – Lisboa
Tour Ends

Our Uniworld Jewels of Spain, Portugal and the Douro River is now over. Luis has provided heaps of information on Portuguese history, Kings, Queens, culture and lots of other details.  We have heard about the Romans, the Moors, the Spanish and (of course) the Portuguese.

We have visited churches/cathedrals, castles, other historical monuments, wineries and many other places.  We have tasted local food and local wines. We have sailed and driven through some very scenic parts of Spain and Portugal. We met some lovely people.  We had great accommodation.  The staff of the Queen Isabel were extraordinary.

We loved every minute.

Now the three musketeers have two days to explore Lisboa at a different pace.  Today I started with a 4 km walk soon after sunrise – to justify a hearty breakfast.  The most impressive part was the local prison – not far from our hotel.

                 Lisboa Prison

After a slow start Shirley, Fay and I walked around 2 km into downtown Lisboa, where we bought an all day travel pass.  We eventually found the 737 bus and wound our way up to the Lisboa Castle.  It was a majestic affair and well worth the effort.  The road up was so tight that the 737 bus is probably only a 20 seater.

                11th Century Lisboa Castle

                  View from the Castle (note the long bridge in the background)

On the way down the hill we achieved another milestone with a ride on a Lisboa tram – a very rickety and rocky affair.

      Funicular

Our next adventure was an equally rickety and rocky trip on the funicular up to another high spot in Lisboa.  The end result was more great photos and a cold beer.  All in all very successfully.

Our next trip was totally unsuccessful as we tried to use the Metro (underground) to visit the Lisboa bull ring.  We gave up on that one and returned to the hotel around 4:45.

I wandered off about 6pm to find a suitable place for dinner.  I arrived home about 40 minutes later with a plan in mind, plus some wine, beer, coke and nuts.  The success of the happy hour in room 626 was ensured. We were definitely “happy” by the time we headed out to eat.

We dined on pizza at one of my findings. The Portuguese pizza was excellent.  So was the wine. Some mates of mine in Oz would have approved.

Day 43 – Wednesday 15 June 2016 – Lisboa
It was a slow start. I had time to take the hazy photo below through the window of our hotel room.

                       View from Our Hotel Window

Around 11 am we went wandering to parts not yet seen by us.  We walked a fair way and did not spend much apart from lunch and afternoon tea.  The exception was to buy a t-shirt to fulfil a promise. 

When departing the Queen Isabel a few days ago I jokingly complained that I could not buy a “Porto” t-shirt in Porto.  So the senior staff member on the Queen Isabel requested that I buy a t-shirt in Lisboa and put it on the blog.  So xxx (name omitted for privacy reasons) here is my Lisboa t-shirt. The bulge in the front of the t-shirt was caused by your staff on the Queen Isabel.

                 My Lisboa T-shirt

I also took a photo of a Lisboa tram.

                      Lisboa Tram

We took a taxi downtown for dinner and had our last taste of Portuguese food.  We all had different paellas.

*** This Post is Complete ***

Post Updated 8 am Thursday 15 June 2016

Go to the previous location – Spain/Portugal Tour – Part 2
Go to the next location – London
Go to the Home Page