Lisbon Day One

We all slept in -- well is was 6:30 when we got up and we all thought that was sleeping in.  An important note is that the three people who did not fast--are not jetlagged and neither is the guy who fasted--so I am thinking that fasting is not the cure all for jetlag.

With the help of Rick Steve's we took three walking tours of Lisbon.  The city is definitely built on hills, it puts Rome to same in the number and steepness of the hills.  So many of the buidings are covered with their beautiful tiles in geometric patterns.  The camera mavens (Lynn and Becky) were taking snaps of buildings everywhere.

We had lunch at a charming cafe serving Portugese tapas--similar to Spanish tapas but served in Portugal.  It was really windy and then started to sprinkle so we moved inside for a much more pleasant experience.  One of the tapas plates, our waiter told us, was an award winner, it was prociutto wrapped around a very light soft cheese with a bit of jam --  I know you think your kid could make that -- but I assure you, just like art, your kid really couldn't and it was really really good.

We then walked on and ended up at the castle, it is on a very steep and high hill, so we decided that cab ride was a good idea.  The castle grounds were facinating and the views of the city were beautiful.  I would disagree with Rick Steve's--this is not to be missed--not because they are necessarily unusual ruins but because they are lovely.

A walk down the hill, during which Ron pointed out, that going down only meant we were going to have to go back up, led us back to the water side.  The walk down was mostly on streets so steep we were on stairs.  Think Colin Firth in Love Actually as he was going to propose to his girl and you will know the type of stairs we were on!

Our next task was to find a grocery--our trailblazer and guide (Norris) failed us until we got back to the room and he googled it and found two within about 400 meters.  Ron was on wine duty and the Lynn, Nor and I went to Brio to buy supplies for dinner and breakfast.

Back at the flat (see how European I am?) Lynn and I prepared sauted vegetables over pasta and sweet potatoes with olive oil and goat cheese--in my unbiased and humble opinion it was REALLY Good!  The wines were amazing--which may have helped a bit--insert cockeyed grin here--

We all tumbled into bed fairly early -- Sintra tomorrow!